Page 125 of Wilds of Wonder
The vine reeled me closer to the wall, and I squirmed, fighting against it and trying to lunge forward. The wall hissed and spit out all the different types of elemental magic. If I got too close, the impact of the magic alone would kill me.
“Let loose,” Driscoll murmured, then looked at the white wolf. “Okay, Hot Wolf Man, it’s time to let loose. I need you to save my friend, okay? So go do your wolf thing. I know you’re in there, Aron, and if you were here instead of the wolf, you’d know what to do. You’d help us save her.”
The white wolf didn’t move, just stayed in that crouched position, eyes assessing the situation.
Panic stretched across my chest, making it hard to draw a breath. If something didn’t happen in the next few seconds, I was going to die.
“Emory!” Maverick lunged toward me again, but Annalee caught him around the waist, and Driscoll grabbed his arm. “Let me go!” He thrashed against them. “I’m going after my wife!”
A roar shook the ground, a blur of white streaking through the air as the white wolf charged straight for the wall. Vines shot out at him that he snapped with his massive jaws. Fire, ice, and wind bounced off of him like he was a shield himself. The vine that was reeling me back toward the wall froze, and I hung midair. Pops of fire grazed my cheeks while wind barreled past me. Ice shards cut at my clothes, tearing the sleeves of my tunic.
Everyone else stayed completely still, watching the white wolf leap toward the wall, his roar echoing around us. A vine punched him in between the ribs, and he landed with a deafening thud. I stared in horror, convinced this would be the white wolf’s end. He bounced back up and snapped the vine in two. Then he leapt off the ground, launching straight past me and right into the wall.
Everything exploded at once. Fire, ice, wind, plant, shadows, and some kind of haze that made my eyes grow heavy again. It felt like the magic Bellamy had used on us. Star magic. It must’ve only got released when the wall was hit. The vine slipped from my waist, and I fell to the ground, trying my best to lift my head amongst all the magic raining down over me, but I couldn’t fight the urge to close my heavy, heavy eyes.
With a final glance at the blurry figure of the white wolf laying on the ground next to me, I fell into complete darkness.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
EMORY
“Well, this is certainly not what I expected,” a voice said from above. One I faintly recognized but couldn’t quite place in my mind-muddled state.
A blast of wintry wind swirled around me, and the cold jolted me from my stupor. I shot to my feet, already seeing Driscoll, Maverick, Annalee chained to trees nearby. I tried to lift my hand and realized I was chained to a tree as well, and so was the white wolf. Except his head was slumped over, his chest not moving.
“Aron,” Driscoll pleaded. “Please wake up!”
Oh, not Aron.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think he’ll be waking.”
My gaze snapped to the voice, and I stiffened. The queen of the frost court stood before me, wearing a gold gown with thick long sleeves, embroidered with flowers and vines. A white cloak was draped over her shoulders. And in her hand, she held... an axe.
One that shimmered with blue dust. I tilted my head. I’d seen that axe in drawings. In ancient texts. Spirit Frost’s axe.
My mouth dropped open. “How do you have that? How did youfind us?” I shot a glance at Maverick, who shoved against the iron chains wrapped around his chest.
“You’re asking all the wrong questions, White Rabbit.” She used an inflection on my name like it was an inquiry.
“How did you find out?”
She twirled a finger in the air. “Your little chest of trinkets that you left in Mr. Von Lucas’s office. That and quite a few of your servants coming forward detailing your strange outings.”
She tsked. “Thank you for delivering her, Maverick,” she said to my husband.
His jaw went slack and his wild eyes found me. “No, no, I would never betray you, Emory. I swear, I was going to tell you, but then so much was happening, and?—”
I shook my head. “Maverick, it’s okay. I trust you. I know you wouldn’t betray me like that.” I turned my glare on the frost queen as she sent an amused look Maverick’s way.
“You and the white rabbit? Really? And you had so much potential.”
“She’s my wife,” he growled. “And if you so much as lay a hand on her...”
“You know you’re going to prison for this,” the frost queen said with a bored sigh. “For harboring a criminal. Marrying one. My goodness.” The queen put a frail hand to her chest. “I don’t even know if we have a punishment for such a thing.” She shot him a smile. “But we’ll come up with one.”
She heaved the axe into the snowy ground. “Or maybe I should reward you for delivering the white rabbit and the white wolf to me. Both have been a thorn in my side.” She tapped her chin. “No, actually, I think I’m going to have to kill you all because of the secrets you’ve discovered. We can’t have any of them getting out.”
“Secrets?” I echoed.
