Page 95 of Forged By Heart and Claws
The brown bear I’d seen in the first trial lumbered from the trees, each pawfall heavy against fractured stone. The crimson dragon descended from the sky, wings stretched wide, firelight gleaming along its scaled back. The golden eagle screamed and dove, talons bared. From the blood-soaked ruins, the sea serpent rose, coils slicing through water with rippling grace.
They charged and collided with one another, and the crack of sound seemed to shatter the air. Light burst around them in a violent, blinding explosion. The night sky erupted with new stars, twinkling bright and bold.
Grief surged through me so suddenly that it knocked the breath from my lungs. My knees struck the ground. I pressed one palm to the earth, gasping, pain sitting like a blade beneath my ribs.
A broken raw sound escaped me, and I pressed the heel of my other hand to my chest, as if I could shove the feeling back down.
But I couldn’t. The ache twisted, sharp and impossible to deny. I bent forward, curling around it.
Vad.
His absence slammed into me, and the pain was somehow even worse than when my pack had been slaughtered. Images flashed into my mind… the way he’d looked at me, protected me, the love that had made him lie to me in order to save me. He’d risked his life so that I might breathe longer.
I couldn’t go on without him. I didn’t want to. I would rather die by his side. My heart shattered into millions of pieces, the pain so intense I couldn’t breathe.
“Briar!” a familiar voice whispered in my head.
But I ignored it, curling my body into the ground. My fingers dug into the soil as if I could become one with it. I wasn’t surewhat was beyond this life, but if there was a chance I could be with Vad somewhere else, I’d willingly die to be there with him.
“Dammit, Briar! Don’t make me do this,” the voice called again, a little louder.
My body shook like the ground was trembling again. I wanted it to open up and swallow me whole. Anything to get away from the crushing agony.
“If you don’t wake up, I’m going to have to do something.” This time, the voice sank in.
Ember? No! My sister couldn't be here. She’d die. After everything she’d done to protect me, the last thing I wanted was to lose her on top of Vad. I flinched away from the voice and whimpered, “Go away. Don’t come here. I need you to be safe.”
Pure terror strangled me as my heart disintegrated. This had to be Colm’s doing. Had he found a way to get into my mind again? “You bastard! Stay away. You’ve done enough!” My body shook hard, jarring my bones. “You took everything from me.”
Something hard slapped my face, jolting me awake.
“You gotta pull yourself out of this!” Ember screamed, her emerald eyes glistening with tears as she raised her hand to smack me again.
“Babe! Chill.” Ryker reached across me, catching Ember’s hand. “She’s awake.” The golden flecks in his brown eyes stood out from his alarm.
I blinked as shock filtered through me. Ember and Ryker werehere. This couldn’t be happening. Maybe I hadn’t woken from the nightmare after all. “No… no… this has to be a bad dream.”
Tears trailed down Ember’s face. “You don’t want to see me?”
My head spun, but then the stone pressed against my back, cold and unforgiving, and my fingers clutched at rough wool—a heavy blue blanket tangled around my legs. The air smelleddamp and stale, tinged with something earthy and old. The soft hum of conversation drifted to me.
I blinked, trying to orient myself. The dim light was coming from somewhere to my left, flickering and uncertain, and the vesting chamber came into view. Rhielle, Quen, and Myantha surrounded my head with Ember on one of my sides and Ryker on the other.
Reality crashed into me. My sister and Ryker were here, and the first thing I’d said to her since I’d been kidnapped had been cruel. “That’s not what I meant. I just… It’s dangerous here. I don’t want you two to get sucked into the chaos. You have enough to fix back on Earth.”
“Briar Sinclair! That’s exactly why we’re here.” Ember narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at me. Her darker copper hair fell over her shoulders. “Did you think I wouldn’t find a way here once I knew you were in danger? What kind of sister do you think I am?”
For a moment, I felt like the Earth version of myself, wanting to support my sister. “The best kind.” I smiled tenderly.
Somewhere across the room, Kaylen snorted. “Good to know smacking you in the face and shaking you like a doll is what you consider the best way to treat you. I’ll make a note.”
“You even think about harming her, and I will rip out your throat!” Ember jumped to her feet and bared her teeth.
“I suspect that Ember and Ryker can turn into the strange shadow beast like Briar can, so I’d be careful.” Rhielle scowled.
Hoping to calm things down, I pushed myself up into a seated position. The world tilted, and I pressed one hand against my temple and the other to my cheek, which still stung. My body felt heavy, disconnected, like I was moving through water.
I noted the rest of the group clustered near the entrance to the vesting chamber. Elara was gesturing with one hand while the other rested against her side.
