Page 112 of The Wolf and the Chimera
“Those are the creatures from the maze,” Elle whispered.
Her eyes glowed red and focused on Circe, who blazed with light across the expanse of the tundra. Witches in blue velvet cloaks surrounded her, each of whom launched spells of darkness, earth, water, and fire.
As if Elle’s voice had jarred our assailants from focus, their hungry gazes shifted toward her. An eerie quiet settled over the tundra.
Circe’s voice boomed.“Get to the ripple!”
The battle launched back into action, and this time, half the Handmaidens’ forces came crashing down on us. I shifted my hands into claws and allowed my canines to elongate. My clawed feet dug into the ice and snow for traction. Beside me, Elle’s eyes blazed with magic, and wings spread from her back. As her hands grew claws, she raised her chin and growled.
“Go for their hearts,” I told her as the golems and vampires attacked.
I lunged at the nearest earthen beast and yanked its stone heart from its chest. As the golem dissipated, a vampire with sickly gray skin and a bloodstained smile tried to knock me down with a swift kick. I crouched and evaded it, then leaped upward and grabbed its head. I twisted, and the creature’s neck popped. Before I could rip out its heart and truly kill the leech, something jumped on my back. The vampire’s slender form was strong, and I couldn’t shake it off me.
Elle roared, and light swelled. Though I expected the vampire who dug its fingers into my skin to become ash, it cackled.
“Don’t you get it?” the female vampire crooned. “The High Witch fed us your blood, and your light can’t hurt us! Nothing can.”
Faster than an asp, Elle struck. She tore her claw-tipped fingers into the vampire’s back and yanked out the creature’s heart. As the female vampire choked on her own vile blood, Elle shook her head.
“I beg to differ,” she whispered.
Gods be damned.
Though I wanted to bask in her power and ferocity, more creatures attacked. Elle and I fell into a rhythm of striking and kicking and defending. I forced myself to ignore the minor injuries she suffered because I couldn’t be distracted. Though we stayed alive, we failed to move any closer to the ripple.
I risked a glance ahead.
Amid the swirling storm of magic, Circe’s light flickered. The ancient witch was powerful, but she couldn’t hold off five Handmaidens forever.
“We need to get out of here,” I said.
With keen, glowing eyes, Elle studied the battlefield and nodded.
“Clear me some space,” she said low enough that thecacophony of battle covered her voice to everyone but me.
She twisted and raced backward, and I considered how to carry out her demands. Though we’d eliminated many of our enemies, there were still too many for me to force them back alone.
Unless…
I thought of how these creatures wished to take my mate from me and how willing they were to destroy anyone and anything to get her. The dominance buried in my chest stirred, and my wolf growled, but I hesitated. I couldn’t let my power stifle my friends.
Freya always talked about visualizing her magic as a tangible thing. Surely, I could do the same to control my dominance. Though I had never tried to target its power on anyone, it was an extension of me. I could shape it however I wanted to.
Wasn’t that what Circe and the Guardians had wanted me to learn?
Better late than never.
The golems and vampires pushed forward in a desperate attempt to get past my claws and fangs and reach my mate, who now stood several feet behind me. I bared my teeth and willed my dominance to stop them in their tracks but imagined containing it to those closest to me.
Raging against my control, my dominance blanketed the battlefield. For a heartbeat, everyone and everything was still.
I panicked, and the dominance snapped back into me like a rubber band. Even more frantic and bloody than before, the fighting resumed. Vampires and golems attacked me with renewed force.
I couldn’t let them get to Elle.
Letting my wolf guide my movements, I focused on the well of dominance that heated my chest. After the exertion of controlling the entire battlefield, it was slightly calmer. I imagined reaching into my chest and extracting the power. When my blood roared with the effort of containing it, I sent itat my assailants and imagined wrapping them in its fury.
They stiffened, but the rest of the battle resumed.
