Page 103 of A Hunter for Luna

Powerful wings beat around me as my captors took to the sky. This couldn't be happening. Panic flooded my veins, my heart a war drum in my chest. I was supposed to protect Luna, to keep her safe. I couldn't abandon her like this.

I craned my neck, desperate for a final glimpse of her. She and Sofia were a swirl of flashing steel and red hair far below, a bolt of lightning singing the feathers of the things carrying me.

Luna's furious screams echoed in my ears as I was borne away, each one a barbed arrow to my heart. They would be overwhelmed. I struggled to free myself, even though we were already high above the trees.

Then a pinprick of brightness danced between the trees, small as a firefly. Even at this distance it felt like starlight magic, powerful, and that could only be Sofia.

Hope surged through me, dizzying in its intensity. She must have used her magic to get them to safety.

The lights winked out, swallowed by the darkness. They were gone. Safe.

Fierce triumph blazed in my chest, momentarily eclipsing the fear.

By the time the tower loomed closer, blotting out the stars my shoulders were cramping hard enough I couldn’t move my arms and I shivered despite my cloak. The upper air was bitterly cold.

As we flew in, I could make out grotesque shapes carved into the stonework, dragon maws and leering gargoyles. The stuff of nightmares.

I closed my eyes, steeling myself for what lay ahead. So be it.Luna's face danced behind my eyelids, fierce and beautiful and alive.My love, be well. Raise our child to be strong.My last thoughts are of you.

The winged men alighted on a balcony jutting from the tower's flank. I was dragged forward, my boots scraping across theflagstones. A dark archway yawned before me, a portal to the unknown.

Dead gods eat you, Moonshifter.I gritted my teeth and rolled my shoulders, despite the pain it caused me.Let's finish this.

A blast of darkness and suffocation wrapped around me, choking, and the world went black.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

LUNA

The world spunaround me as we materialized in a field.

Sofia had teleported us without any safeguards, the ones she’d taught Rose warning that not to use them courted immediate messy death. My stomach kept spinning and then, once again, I vomited.

When I stopped retching, I looked up in the direction Sofia gazed. The winged men, mere speck in the sky, vanished into the distance.

Sofia turned to me, her expression grave. "They're taking him to Moonshifter's tower."

I wiped the tears off my face, my jaw clenched with determination. "Then that's where we're going. We're getting him back."

"You don't understand." Sofia regarded me, her face expressionless. "You've lost any element of surprise you could have salvaged, even if he knew you were coming. He must know I’m here from the spell I just did. Moonshifter's tower isn't just a stronghold. It's a death trap. If you went in unprepared?—"

"I don't care," I said. "I'm not leaving him. I don't care how dangerous it is."

Sun's mercy, what was I getting myself into? I questioned as we made camp. But I couldn't abandon Benedetto. Sorcerer or not, I had to try. I needed some kind of plan.

What was a stick big enough to threaten a Sorcerer?

Another Sorcerer.

I turned to Sofia. "Soulrider. Will he help us deal with Moonshifter? We need help, especially because he's been warned somehow."

Sofia closed her eyes. "Soulrider's power could tip the scales, yes. But bargaining with him wasn't easy. He’s a hard but fair dealer. Think how much you’re willing to pay. If you tried to cheat him, the consequences would be severe."

Severe? Sofia wasn't one to exaggerate. If she said it was dangerous, it was more than just a precaution. It was a promise of the potential price I might pay.

But I couldn't back down now. Not with Benedetto’s life hanging in the balance. I took Sofia’s hand, squeezing it, letting all my feelings flood my face. "What do I need to know about bargaining with Soulrider?"

"You have a rare talent," Sofia said. "Soulrider will want that. Your magic is unique, something he can't easily find elsewhere. It would help him in some of the experiments he runs. Or he could want something different. I don’t speak for him, Luna."

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