LOGINVioletA cold sensation ran down my spine as I repeated those words inside my head.We will lose our mate.No, no, no...My stomach dropped as I watched Kylan’s fingers squeeze harder. The red in Kian’s eyes had already begun to flicker.I doubted the two were suddenly working together, so it was hard to tell if this was Kylan’s doing or Baelor’s. Both had their reasons.Baelor would want to be whole again. And knowing Kylan, he would want to make sure Kian would never be able to hurt anyone again. And knowing Kylan, he would want to do his part in making sure Kian would never be able to hurt anyone again.Especially after he had been forced to watch all of it on his knees, unable to do anything.Maybe I was wrong, and they were working together. Some kind of understanding, like the one they supposedly already had today.High-pitched laughter rolled through the woods, and my head snapped toward the source.Gloria.She still hadn’t moved from her spot and didn’t seem like she was even
VioletMy hands stayed frozen midair above Jorn, but I let my attention slide to Kylan for a second. There was too much happening all at once, and I didn’t know what to do.Nobody moved.The witches, wolves...Gloria.Whatever had just come out of him and given him that strength was ten times more terrifying than Kian. Even he looked stunned, his jaw clenched.My eyes darted between Jorn, who needed whatever help he could get, and Kylan.‘Kylan?’ I reached for our link, but there was nothing.No pain. No anger. Not even the warmth I’d grown so used to. It was as if every light inside him had been snuffed out.He took slow, steady steps toward Kian.‘Kylan—‘‘Don’t bother.’ Lumia’s voice slipped into my mind. ‘He isn’t exactly himself right now,’ she said. ‘Focus on what you can do.’“Okay.” I breathed loudly. Just as my eyes were back on Jorn again, he let out another groan. Smoke began to curl up through his gear. My stomach turned. This was so much worse than an apple.“Wolves, retre
VioletWe could try to make a run for it.Get everyone back on the bus and come back another time. I would get to the bottom of this. Find out more about this realm and find my way to that cave, and I would find my parents. But I needed Kylan for that, because he was the only one who could get us inside.I was not willing to risk his health over any of it. Not for a fight neither of us truly wanted today.My glowing eyes scanned the group until they landed on the giant Lycan dominating the formation. Sterling.Hoping he’d understand, I tilted my chin toward the path we had come through. The one right behind Kian.The big Lycan gave me a nod, then looked at the others and let out a loud growl. Trinity understood first. She shifted back quickly, followed by Dylan and Nate. They moved fast and got to Kylan, pulling him up by his shoulders.He leaned against them, his head still hanging while his eyes were glowing. I just needed him to hold on for a bit longer. I was hopeful that Baelor w
VioletI squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact.The paws were seconds away. I could hear them through the wind. I did not know which one would reach us first, and I did not want to know. I just kept my body pressed hard against Kylan’s so it wouldn’t hit him.‘Violet!’ Lumia roared. ‘You need to get up and fight!’‘I can’t—’ The glow from my eyes dimmed as the last of my magic drained from me.‘Do not embarrass me. Fight!’I couldn’t. My body wouldn’t allow it, so I did the only thing it could do.“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to the back of Kylan’s head. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”“No!” Kylan groaned beneath me. His shoulders shook as he used whatever strength he had left and tried to push himself up to get me off, but I pressed him down harder.He was too weak to fight me. The sound of paws drew closer, and so did the heavy breaths. I took in a breath of my own and counted down the seconds.I was down to the final three when an unexpected, bone-rattling growl echoed from ab
VioletKian lifted a single finger. That was all it took to stop the light bursting from my palms. A red shield appeared in front of him, splitting the light in two before it faded away.My hands trembled. That one attack had nearly drained every ounce of strength I had, leaving me breathless. He had brushed it aside like it was nothing.He didn’t even pay attention to me. His red eyes went right past me, straight to…Kylan.No…I looked behind me. Trinity, Nate, and Dylan formed a tight wall around him. He had two wolves and a Lycan circling around him, but I didn’t know if that was going to be enough.Sterling was moving too, slowly making his way toward them in case something went wrong. And I knew it would.Gloria’s laughter echoed through the woods, joined by the laughter of the other witches. Esther stood beside her with a hungry look in her eyes. She was only waiting for her turn.As Kian drew closer, I analyzed the situation further, trying to figure out our chances. Rochwall a
VioletUnharmed…But just for today?It was always going to be one of us. My eyes flicked to Kylan again for half a second, then back to her.“Then we might have a problem,” I said. It would be better to be honest rather than giving her false hope. She wasn’t doing that with me either. “That is never going to happen. You will have to kill me first before either me or Kylan will ever join you.”So maybe I did understand her after all with wanting to take our eyes...I caught the smallest glimpse of Kian. His mouth opened, closed, and then he shook his head once. Just barely, but I noticed it. Maybe that look from before had been regret. Regret that he’d made himself believe I would ever join him.Either that, or he’d realized that, since his eyes were a match for mine, he would be the one who had to kill me. Kylan too.‘Lumia?’ I prepared her.‘Don’t make me do this without Valerius.’ She let out a low chuckle. ‘You are going to need eyes on this demon, Witchey.’ She said. ‘She is all







