Page 42 of Cursed Magic

The silence was louder than any denial could have been.

The uncomfortable cold seeped into my bones, pressing against me like a living force. My wolf whimpered as I spun around to face forward, needing to align my body in order to breathe.

The pressure grew stronger, constricting, suffocating. It was as if an invisible weight was crushing me into the seat, pinning me in place. My breath hitched, and my hands clenched on my thighs as I fought against it.

Something was wrong.

Very,verywrong.

I had felt this magic before.

“Ember?” Ryker’s tone was anxious, his hand touching my shoulder as he leaned forward.

Raven glanced at me. “Is the witch using her magic on you?”

I shook my head as shadows emerged from the woods and surged forward from all directions, moving as quickly as the vehicle.

Dark tendrils slithered and coiled, racing toward us like a tide of living ink spilling across the ground.

“It’s the Blackwoods,” I rasped.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Avise wrapped around my heart, and it seemed to stop beating. We wereagainbeing attacked by our enemy, and this time, there were only three of us to defend ourselves. Even if we linked with our packs, they wouldn’t get here in time to help.

Raven hissed and pressed harder on the gas. Gravel flew into the air and rattled under the car, leaving a huge dust trail behind us. “Fucking bastards. Can you tell how many?”

That was the problem. They all seemed to blend into one another before separating to reform into another sort of image. “A fuck ton is the only way I can describe it. Their bodies merge with one another in the shadows, so I can’t make out individuals.”

I rolled my neck, trying to release some of the compression. We’d be fighting within seconds. I couldn’t be glued to the car seat, and I needed my body to adjust to the new environment like it had when we’d saved Briar.

“Fucking hell,” Ryker snarled. “Go faster.”

Raven’s nostrils flared, and she stomped down evenharder, causing the tires to skid on the gravel just as the shadows swarmed us.

“They’re—” Before I could finish that sentence, a high-pitched grating sound filled the vehicle, causing my eardrums to ache. They had to be running their claws against the windows, and the noise was more horrible than nails on a chalkboard. It was piercing to the point of being a screech while almost metallic.

When I thought it couldn’t get worse, I was proven wrong once again.

A mix of sharp shrieks, low groans, and the occasional threatening thump sounded as something tried to rip through the car like a predator clawing at its prey. This had to be the echo of a nightmare.

Soon the tires began to thud as they lost air, leaving us with two choices—keep pushing and hope the rims held up, or get out and fight. The latter didn’t seem like the best option.

Fate, being the bitch that she was, had the last laugh once again. If I’d had any doubts, this moment proved that she enjoyed watching me suffer.

The tires burst with deafening bangs, rubber tearing away in jagged strips that slapped against gravel. The vehicle hurtled into a frenzied skid, and the scenery blurred into obscurity as the shadows covered the windows.

The vehicle jerked violently to the left, and the seat belt dug into my shoulder as if the earth itself had tilted beneath us.

Raven’s hands gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles pale against the leather. Her gaze darted between the road and the rearview mirror. “Hold on!” she yelled as the vehicle fishtailed, the back end swinging dangerously close to the trees before she expertlycorrected the skid. But it was too late. The shadows had found their mark.

The car lurched and dropped to the ground as it careened out of control. I hit the front dashboard, and Ryker grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back against the seat as the world outside became a sea of sparks.

And then we rammed into the trunk of a large oak. My eyes closed as a scream lodged in my throat, but oblivion overtook me.

My eyes fluttered open, and the stench of copper assaulted my nose. Something didn’t seem quite right, but I couldn’t remember what it was. My head throbbed, and the faint tang of blood lingered on my lips, adding to the scent. I fidgeted, and my warm skin stuck to leather, contrasting with the faint moisture that seeped into my clothes.

Reality slammed into me. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through my temple.

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