Page 63 of Hunted By Wolves and Shadow
“Emerald, stop now.” The woman’s voice was gentle and familiar, but distant.
Another voice joined it, rough and deep and urgent. “Em! Stop, Emi, please. You did it. You can stop now, sweetheart. Please, Emi, stay with me.”
Arms caught me as I fell. Darkness stole the remaining light.
At first, I couldn't make sense of the vague shapes haloed against the shattering brightness beyond my slivered eyelids. Also, that insufferable pounding needed to stop, except it seemed to be coming from inside my head.
Parts of my body hurt that I didn’t thinkcouldhurt. I couldn’t remember how to tell my arms or legs to move, or my head to turn toward the noise that filtered through the heavy thudding in my skull.
It took several more heartbeats before sounds sorted themselves into voices and words I could process.
“She depleted her magic, but she'll recover. You need to stand down, Wolf. None of us want to hurt her.” The voice was feminine and reassuring.
There was a growled response that didn’t sound like agreement.
Events trickled back to me. Amber. Was that her voice? We’d been trying to break the curse. Did I fail? Is that why I was like this?
“We might want to throw her a parade,” said another amused voice I recognized as Robin, “but not hurt her.”
Then an earnest, young tone I thought was Fox said, “You did it, Wolf. The prophecy said you’d gain the means to end the curse. Whatever our lives are after this, we owe them to you and her.”
Then, finally, I heard the voice that made my heart sing. “I didn't do anything. It was all her, and if it kills her…”
”Wolf,” I whispered.
“Emi?”
"I'm ... not dead ... don't worry."
His laugh sounded like he might collapse. “You scared me.”
“Why … so bright?”
This time I could hear his smile. “Open your eyes, witchling. There's blue sky.”
But as my eyelids lifted, the impossible cerulean canvas didn’t steal my breath so much as the quicksilver gaze looking down on me with relief and joy and something so precious I couldn’t name it.
Chapter 29
Wolf
There was a lot to be done. I wouldn’t leave Emi’s side until I knew she was out of danger, but after that, I turned to the unpleasant tasks at hand. When the Mist had lifted, most of us returned to human form. But for some of the monsters, the curse had stolen every last bit of their humanity and there was nothing left to turn back to. Some we killed. Others ran off.
As the curse faded from the bodies, they turned back the same way Leo had done. Bear and Lynx helped me bury them before I limped back to the campfire, my bruised ribs from the fight protesting the gruelling work. Emi kindly didn’t ask how many of those people I had known once.
Too many.
She looked up at me with weary eyes and indicated for me to sit beside her. It had been three days, and she still hadn’t regained her magic, but there was more color in her cheeks, and that was all I cared about.
We’d been lucky. None of my enclave family had died, although Bob was seriously injured and Emi kept fretting about not being able to help. Fawn was looking after him.
“Are you okay?” Emi’s gaze was sympathetic.
I could only nod.
“It’s okay if you’re not, you know.” She covered my hand with hers and I responded by flipping it over to lace our fingers together. We sat in silence for a time.
A frisky fox ran by us, making Emi smile. The curse had left lingering effects on all of us, some more interesting than others. For one, we could still shift, only now it was on our terms, when we wanted. I was one of the few who had no desire.
