Page 7 of Hunted By Her Demon Wolves

Dragomir and Cyrus both flinched, but Horatiu and Lucian mumbled their agreement.

If you’d seen the madness in our mother’s eyes, you’d agree,Horatiu said to them.

Daeva feared the need for this spell. She couldn’t imagine her mates or her being obliterated. She’d always considered obliteration to be a fate worse than eternal torture, for there was no coming back from it. They would simply cease to exist.

“What do we do?” She knelt beside Elria, a knot of fear expanding in her chest, making breathing more difficult.

Elria motioned to a pewter goblet that sat on top of the mantel. “Pour some wine into that goblet.”

Lucian jumped to his feet and snatched the goblet while Cyrus grabbed a jug of wine. After they poured it, Cyrus held the goblet out to Elria.

She waved it away. “You each must spit into it and whisper ‘Memento tempus’ three times.”

Dragomir helped Daeva stand on trembling legs as that darkness that leached into her veins spread like a sickness. Her prognosticating abilities weren’t as powerful as Elria’s, but she felt the evil now. Holy flame, she thought she heard the sibilant whisperings of witches echoing in her skull.

That knot in Daeva’s chest expanded as they passed around the goblet. This all felt so very wrong. Elria was helping to save them, and they were planning on locking her away in a curse chamber. What if the evil that threatened them attacked Elria while she was in the chamber? She’d have no means to defend herself.

Perhaps we should consult with Elria first,she projected to Horatiu.

No!

She gasped when his protector voice ricocheted in her mind.

I’m sorry,he said, his voice softening.There is no time.

But she’ll be vulnerable.

She’s vulnerable, anyway, with her dizzy spells. The curse chamber is the safest place for her.

Her shoulders caved inward as she relented. He was right.

After her mates finished with the goblet, Cyrus held it up, a shaft of candlelight striking the metal. “Now what, Aunt?”

Elria nodded toward the hearth. “Now toss the liquid into the fire.”

He tossed the liquid into the hearth. The flames rose up with a great gust of smoke and quickly died down.

“Now what?” she asked.

“Now a part of you has been thrown out into the universe.” Elria leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “Flames forbid, should any of you be obliterated in the coming days, you’ll find your way back to your pack.”

Daeva fought the urge to shake the woman. “When?”

“Ten years? Ten thousand years?” Elria shrugged, her eyes still closed. “Only the universe knows.” Her words came out in a slur.

Horatiu bent over Elria, gently shaking her shoulder. “Aunt?”

The queen let out a snore, her head lolling to one side.

“Carry her to the furs,” Daeva whispered to him.

He laid her down and then turned to Daeva, his mouth pressed together in a firm line. “Make the curse chamber now before she wakes.”

Daeva swallowed back her trepidation. “She’ll be angry when she wakes.”

“I know.” Shadows fell across Horatiu’s features. “She will forgive us in time.”

“She has enough food and wine in here to last a few days,” Cyrus said at her back.

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