His eyes went wide with horror. “No! I will not be bound again!”
My heart skipped a beat. It was working!
The chains of light pulled the Dark God back toward the orbs, and though he raged against them, they held like iron. His corded body strained against the golden bonds. Sweat glistened on his skin, and his strange tattoos blazed.
He was striking and terrifying, but I knew now that the Moon’s magic was stronger. That we had been stronger.
“It’s over asshole,” I said, my voice sharp and cold. “Enjoy eternity in the company of yourself and furry friends.”
“Seize them!” the Dark God howled as a lightning storm filled the sky above us. Then with a crack, he was gone, pulled back through the trees by the Moon’s spell, leaving a trail of broken branches like the wake of a tornado.
Holy shit.
He was gone. It was over. Hope flickered in my chest, and—
My shadow wolf darted past me, colliding midair with a brown wolf charging from behind.
Sam screamed, and I whipped around. A giant wolf was trying to drag her into the woods.
My palms tingled, and sucking in a breath, I channeled my magic into my rage. Casting my hands forward, I released a blast of magic at him. The ball of shadows struck the wolf head-on, and his body flew twenty feet back into a large oak. He didn’t rise.
“Badass,” Sam grunted as she climbed to her feet. Her left arm hung limp, and her shoulder was tattered where the Dark God had scarred her.
Wolfie growled behind me. Two wolves lurked at the edge of the trees. But then, with a snarl they turned and fled.
Yeah, I thought so, Wolfie muttered after the fleeing beasts.
I dropped to my knees beside Jaxson. Blood was everywhere, and a broken branch still protruded from his shoulder. The Dark God had barely left him breathing.
The ground quaked, and I felt a deep tremor of magic surge through the earth.
“The rift is collapsing,” Jaxson choked, agony on his face. “Get Sam, Savy. Promise me you’ll go through the rift.”
“No. We’re getting out of here together. Hold still while I take these out.” My voice was steady and calm, the exact opposite of the emotions that were tearing through me.
He was bad off. I needed to heal him, but I was so drained.
You’re running on fifty percent power, Wolfie said. Let me help.
My fearsome shadow wolf limped over. She was battered and wounded, but there was no hiding the triumph in her eyes.
Still, seeing her hurt pained my heart. Uh, Wolfie… you were absolutely incredible, but you don’t look so hot right now. Are you okay?
She gave me a toothy grin. Nothing that being back together won’t be able solve.
With that, my shadow wolf leapt back into my chest, expelling the air from my lungs. I gasped in pain as her sensations merged with my own.
Oh, I hurt a lot, by the way, she said.
But despite the pain, strength flowed through me—her strength, filling me with power and life.
Our strength, she said.
I gripped the stake in Jaxson’s right shoulder and pulled it free. He growled, but his gaze never left mine. “Savy—”
I ripped the left one out before he could finish, and he growled with pain.
Then I kissed him. Our mouths entwined, and I poured my magic into him as he groaned in agony and desire. Life and power and love, burning though us—healing me even as it healed him. It was pure ecstasy.
But suddenly, the ground shook again.
“Guys?” Sam said, her voice pitched an octave too high. “As hot as it is to watch you make out, I think something’s happening to the rift. It’s time to go.”
I looked up. A plume of magic spiraled into the sky to the west where we’d come from.
Shit. Would the rift completely collapse without the Dark God’s power? Or was Aunt Laurel losing control? What would happen to everyone on the other side?
I pulled Jaxson to his feet, and the three of us charged back the way we’d come.
As we burst from the cover of the woods, I took one glance behind my shoulder, and my stomach churned.
The pillars of magic rose high above us. But behind them, a dark cloud grew—a cloud in the shape of a black wolf. Lightning cracked through the air as the dark shape pushed against the bonds of the spell, but it held.
A roar of anger shook the land as we neared the rift, which flickered and rippled with unstable magic.
Time to get the hell out of here and lock that bastard away for good.
Grabbing Sam’s hand with my right, and Jaxson with my left, we barreled through the silver-black tear in the sky.