“Now, can you take us to your wizard?”
“All prisoners are taken back to our base. The Wizard will be there. Whether he chooses to speak to you is up to him.”
Prisoners? Emily whimpered, and Dorothy took her hand instinctively. Sibling rivalries and spite seemed out of place in a situation like this. It wasn’t like she’d asked to come along for this ride.
“Fine,” Dorothy sighed, and Braxim’s shoulders relaxed in relief. She had a feeling he was as new to this prisoner business as they were and had no real desire to harm two defenseless women. He seemed like a decent guy. For a centaur.
As they trekked through the woods, Emily’s hand gripped hers so tightly her fingers started going numb. She could only imagine how much harder this would be on someone like her sister. Centaurs and storm travel. That unavoidable extra moon. They’d definitely left normal behind a while ago. Dorothy had been raised knowing magic existed, and she was still a little overwhelmed.
A different world. Z’s world. He hadn’t been lying.
“Em, how are you holding up?”
Her chuckle was grim. “Super. I’m having a nightmare I can’t wake up from, that’s all. And when I do wake up, I’m headed straight to my therapist. She’s gonna have a field day with sexy Mr. Ed back there. Ow! Son of a bitch.”
They stopped as Emily lifted her bloody foot, leaning heavily against Dorothy. She blanched, and Dorothy remembered what a weak stomach her stepsister had. She couldn’t stand the sight of blood. Especially her own.
She was about to ask if Braxim’s pack held any bandages, when two strong hands slid beneath Emily’s arms and lifted her up onto his back. “I will carry you. It isn’t far. We’ll tend your wound when we arrive.”
Emily wavered a bit, and he gripped her hands, wrapping them around his muscular chest. “Hold on to me. I won’t let you fall.”
Emily’s blue eyes grew to the size of saucers at the feel of his smooth, rock hard flesh. “Oh my.”
“Oh brother.” Dorothy turned and started walking once more, ignoring her own sore feet and aching backside in favor of imagining the damage she was going to do to Z once she got her hands on him.
Come to me, he’d said. Well, she was here, but he was nowhere in sight. Hadn’t she heard him? Hadn’t he been the one to send the storm?
She saw the smoke from the camp less than thirty minutes later and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She’d been a heartbeat away from begging for a turn on the centaur. Not that she had a chance in hell of making that happen. Emily, who was obviously sticking to her dreaming theory, was flirting and giggling with the handsome Braxim, who seemed to be charmed instead of irritated by her endless rambling.
Before she could take another step, a flaming bolt landed at her feet, scorching the ground in front of her. “What the fuck—”
“Gliders! I’ll give cover. Run toward the base.” Braxim slid Emily off his back beside Dorothy, turning and aiming his bow in one smooth motion. He fired off several rounds as they ran as fast as their feet would take them, adrenaline giving them speed.
Braxim was still a little ways behind, shooting toward the sky, when someone landed directly in front of them. He was covered with orange feathers, but his face was almost human. His glare didn’t look at all friendly.
“Pretty,” he sneered. “Too bad I can’t play with you, but I have my orders. The wizard doesn’t get his hands on you.” He reached fo
r Emily, his long taloned fingers gripping her by the throat, lifting her into the air.
A shout of rage sounded behind them. It was Braxim, galloping toward them with murder in his eyes. The birdman spread his wings, pushing off to soar toward the sky with Emily pressed against him.
Something inside Dorothy snapped.
Her fault. She should have forced Em to leave the beach, shouldn’t have called the storm until she was sure she was alone. Emily was a pain in the ass, but she was her pain in the ass, and she’d be damned if she let anyone hurt her if she could help it.
She threw up her hands, pushing her power with all her might. She wasn’t sure if it would work in this world, wasn’t sure it would work at all, but she had to try. Years spent controlling her emotions and hiding her magic faded in an instant as energy rushed through her, the wind whipping through her hair and crackling beneath her skin.
Five creatures flew through the sky, shooting flaming arrows at the fighters below. One of them was carrying her stepsister. All of them needed to— “Stop.”
They screeched in panic as the wind changed, stopping completely before whipping around them in individual funnels of energy. They instantly began to spin, so fast all she could see were blurs of orange, white and silver.
Dorothy gasped. She hadn’t meant to do that.
The orange blur dropped Emily to grab his head. Before she could scream out a warning or send more wind, Braxim was there, catching Emily easily in his arms.
Dorothy tried to call back her power, but she couldn’t seem to control it. It wouldn’t stop. It was killing them. Shit. She didn’t want to kill anyone.
“Stop!”