Page 49 of The Erion Triad

“God. It’s… it’s not going to stop. It’s going to devour everything in its path. Everything on this planet will be destroyed,” Lucie said.

“But what can we do? It’s nothing but mist. Nothing can fight it,” Juliran said.

Kyel swore. Zaen had never seen him appear so lost.

Juliran couldn’t keep his eyes off Lucie. He looked at her as though he wanted her to be the last thing he would ever see.

Zaen’s gaze slid to his beloved also, regret taking place in his heart. The life he’d looked forward to since a child had been stolen away before it had even begun.

“We’ll still be together. In the afterlife. Now that we’ve bonded, we’ll have that. It cannot tear us apart,” Kyel said.

The screams of men merged with the screams of women and children. Kyel threw back his head and roared, giving voice to the same dread that coursed through Zaen’s veins. As though in agreement, the Erion crystal pulsed with light. The little tiny glittering stars in Lucie’s skin began to throb in time with the crystal.

Lucie sucked in a quick breath. Shock and clarity registered on her face before she pierced them with a sharp gaze. “We need to get the crystal back into the tower.”

“Lucie, we’re not going to put you into any danger,” Kyel said, turning towards her and cupping her cheeks within the span of his palms.

The expression on her beautiful face firmed. “If we don’t do anything, we’ll all be dead anyway.”

The guards shifted and darted a look between them, uneasy. He didn’t blame them. A sharp word from Tann had them square their shoulders and resume their position.

“How do you know, Lucie?” Juliran asked.

She frowned, her delicate brows pushing together. “It’s going to sound ridiculous…”

“Since when have recent events not been something none of us could ever have expected? And yet, I wouldn’t have changed it for anything,” Juliran said.

She offered him a relieved, nervous smile. “I think the crystal and I… well, something happened to join us. I can… almost hear it. Not like I can hear you guys now, in my head, which is weird enough, but it’s more…”

He wished he knew what she was describing. He was at a loss to understand what she meant.

Something pulsed in the middle of his chest, a tingling warmth that spread to his extremities. It vibrated with endless energy, and at the center of it, he felt an urgency to return to the tower. To be taken it where it could broadcast its energy and fill the land.

“I feel it!” He gasped, splaying a hand over his chest. Amazement and wonder raced through him. His gaze rushed over his brothers. His mate. His family. They were tied more than a normal mate bond. What they had was so much more. “You all should be able to feel it, too. Through Lucie. We need to get the crystal to the tower, and we need to get it there as fast as we can.”

“The tower is through the garden,” Juliran said, his voice flat. Zaen felt his concern for their safety, and fear for Lucie’s life washed against his own.

They peered below as the mist crept ever more towards them. The base of the palace was clear, and so was the path towards the tower, but it wouldn’t take long for the mist to cover that ground. Not with the number of people it was devouring.

There was no hesitation in Kyel’s words. His face was determined, steeled for the fight of their lives. “Then we need to move—now.”

Chapter Twenty

Kyel

Kyel took his mate’s hand and raced down the outside steps, along the side wall of the palace from the balcony to the ground. It wasn’t a place he wanted to be, not with those clouds cannibalizing everything in their path, but the cries and screams of his Homepeople were unbearable. He would not leave them to their fate without trying everything.

Until Lucie had spoken, he’d been out of ideas. If only he could stash her somewhere safe and save her from this trauma, he might breathe easier, but there was no time to dwell. Their sweet mate wouldn’t be happy hiding away. She might look fragile on the outside, but she was made from Negari steel on the inside, the toughest metal known to the galaxy.

She kept pace even though she was in poor physical condition. He would make it a point to see her health fully restored in the future.

Their future.

He would not let thisthingtake away the future he’d fought so hard for. He worked to stop the rush of anger, not wanting to distract anyone with his emotions. He’d never had to keep himself in check before. It was a new experience and something he welcomed.

“Turn left. Now!” Juliran pointed to a tendril of black mist that slithered along the ground.

Kyel wrapped his arm about Lucie’s waist and bolted away from the mist. His brothers and the guards followed the change of direction. Lucie clung to him as they dashed through another section of the garden. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, thinking that any of the shadows might be mist.

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