Page 106 of Faerie Hunted

Even Elfwaite’s power wasn’t enough to shift the tide in our favor.

“What about my mother?” I protested.

“She’ll be fine.”

Another yelp sounded but Laina made sure we kept pace down the front steps and along the path toward the street.

“They’ll catch us. We’re going too slow.” My snarl fell short and ended on a gargle.

“Trust me when I tell you I have this covered,” she insisted.

“Then stop the fight.”

Another yelp, followed by a long lupine whine cut off by sudden silence.

My heart thrummed against my ribs. Laina headed straight for the gates to the community at a tempo I had a hard time matching. I held her tight enough for Laina to swallow over a cry of pain yet she never faltered.

My mouth filled with the taste of something bitter. “I’ve gone downhill fast,” I mumbled.

“It’s the stress.” Laina’s voice was sharp. “You’ll be fine once we get home.”

Home. Faerie was home, not this moral world. Not the house where I grew up with nothing but Uncle Will and his rules to keep me safe. The same house I was now being hustled from.

Footsteps sounded from behind and Laina and I turned to see Livvy booking it, pumping her legs for more speed and blood dripping down the side of her arm. Magic pulsed out from her in a wave, wrapping around me and hurtling us forward at a great clip.

Air magic, tied to the elements themselves.

A fresh chorus of howls sounded from behind and my hackles rose. “I hope your magic can take us far away,” I said once Livvy caught up with us. “Because the pack is coming.”

“They aren't the only ones,” she muttered. She tucked her hair over her shoulder and her next breath rattled in her lungs. “The blockade?”

Laina bobbed her head. “It will hold as long as we need it to.”

We got away but if the pack caught up to us, then we were screwed. My head lightened further until the black at the edge of my vision crept inward and left only a tiny tunnel of reality left in front of me.

Somehow we made it to the portal. Somehow we managed to escape, but I wasn’t sure how.

Livvy removed her key from her pocket and opened the door, the wolves howling balefully behind us. Then it opened, and Mike stood on the other side gesturing madly for us to hurry.

“Go, go!” Elfwaite added her own magic to Livvy’s and carried us further, her tiny voice a bellow of command.

Blinding, needle-like pain drove into me and disintegrated the air in my body. Sweat glistened on my skin and the rest of me shook with fatigue.

“Come with us, Elfwaite. Please.” Oh yeah, I was slurring badly.

“Not yet. It isn’t the right time. I’ll be here when you need me.” Her little eyes lit up. “Trust me, Tavi, the time’s coming when you’ll need me. Now hurry!”

Laina practically threw me onto Noren’s back and the direwolf hurtled through the doorway. The moment his feet touched down on land, I sucked air in through my burning nostrils, the lightheaded feeling slowly dissipating and the ache in my bones only a dull roar.

Laina followed with Livvy close behind her.

Mike was about to slam the door shut when another body flew over the threshold. Uncle Will came out of nowhere and reached out with claw-tipped fingers, snagging Livvy’s shirt and dragging her backwards.

27

Another werewolf shifter in Faerie that didn’t belong here.

I blinked, catching Uncle Will’s gaze before he tore his attention from me. He sucked in a breath and stared around him at the open field and the faerie ring beyond.

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