Page 215 of Between Despair and Hope

“No,” she snapped. “Do not make it take…long,” she said, struggling to speak around her slowing breaths. “Let it…be quick.”

“Let me heal you, please. Dewalt, come here,” I begged.

I heard his footsteps behind me, but Nana’s eyes darted to his, a warning on her face.

“Save those…babies.”

“Nana, please.”

“Like you and…Lucia. It’s been nice…to remember.”

A soft knock came behind us, and Nor’s apologetic face stared back at me from the doorway.

“Everyone’s almost ready. Do you want to open the rift in here?” She glanced at Nana.

“No,” Dewalt said, voice lower than normal. “They don’t need to see this. I’ll sit with her.”

“I’ll stay too,” Nor added. And I nodded, looking down at the woman who I’d only just been able to reconnect with, and knew by the time I returned she would probably be gone. She tried to nod toward the door.

“Save them,” she whispered.

I breathed deep before squeezing her hand, knowing in my heart she couldn’t feel it. I only stood there for a moment before walking down the hall to where over a dozen faces stared at me, fear thick in the air. Opening a rift into my chambers in the palace, I directed them to stay there, uncertain of where the safest place would be. It only took me a few moments, but by the time I returned, Dewalt was gone, and Nor shook her head, eyes wide and bright, and I knew Nana had slipped out of this life.

“She—she said something about your mother.”

Unable to think about Nana’s final words, I latched onto something else. “Where did Dewalt go?” I asked, voice raw.

“Theo. He was outside. He ran to get him.”

“Oh gods,” I said, covering my hand with my mouth. “We left him out there.” A loud screeching noise resounded outside, and I drew my fire into my hands as I slammed out the door. “Stay here!” I shouted as Nor made to follow.

Running out front, I turned, finding nothing—then I caught a glimpse of massive wings flapping behind the building. Hearing Dewalt’s shout and Theo’s scream, I ran for them, opening a rift behind the evil beast and directing my fire at its wings. Letting the rift close in front of me, I started to open a new one to attack it from another angle.

There was a sharp pain in my shoulder blade, and I sucked in a breath before spinning, reaching for my dagger with one hand as I drew fire into the other. I’d thought I was being attacked from behind, but when I found nothing, I shook out my limbs and opened the new rift and hit the attacker with another divine burst of flame.

Dewalt stood in front of Theo, brandishing an old rake at the creature while Theo scrambled backward.

“A sword, Theo. Get him a sword,” I ordered, preparing myself as the vile monster lurched back screaming, its massive wings flapping wildly. Instead of extinguishing the flames, the beast only succeeded in lighting the stable on fire. The evil thing leered forward, clawed arms slashing across Dewalt’s chest. I attempted to use Rain’s divinity, dragging roots upward from the ground to wrap up the creature’s legs as Dewalt stumbled back. Reddened stripes of torn skin showed through his ripped shirt, and he scrambled for the sword Theo brought, both men’s hands shaking.

I wrapped the beast’s leg in a thorny branch, and its screams turned frantic. Between the fire destroying its wings and its inability to move, it panicked, shrieking in a language I didn’t know.

A hawk’s screech tore through the sky, and a second later, a large mouse dropped to the ground in front of me. My jaw fell open in shock when I recognized Aedwyn in his shifted form, and relief tore through me as he ran up my leg. I plucked him from my pants and cradled his tiny body in my hands. How he had come back to us, how he and his sister, Aerfen, had escaped, I couldn’t know. But gods, I was thankful. Grateful Declan had been lying about Aerfen’s death to hurt Rain. All these months, we’d been using spies to keep an eye out for Aedwyn and had heard nothing. But now they’d finally come home.

Theo ran toward the dormitory, panic and self-preservation rightfully coming over him. Dewalt staggered toward the beast stuck in the tangle of roots, ready to stab it in the chest.

“Sorry, in my shirt you go,” I said, hurrying to protect the shifter as another cursed nightmare soared into view, dipping low in a scream with claws outstretched. I put Aedwyn in my breast pocket just as I pulled more divine fire into my hands, about to attack the newcomer, when another loud sound came from above us.

My dragon.

Irses had come to help. I knew now he was more connected to me than I had ever thought he could be. His giant maw tore a wing from the new creature, and it fell, spinning to the ground. Theo jumped back just in time, turning toward the stable once more as the newest assailant thrashed about.

Ryo startled me, diving from behind me in a roar, not quite as ferocious as Irses but no less intimidating, and tore into the newly grounded horror. Within a few moments, both creatures were dead thanks to the two dragons and Dewalt. My friend dropped his blade in disgust as shadows and a muddy liquid poured from the beast’s chest. It fell backward beside the stable, long limbs drawing up as it died, causing chills to creep up my spine. Ryo dragged the other monstrosity toward the copse of trees, settling down to gnaw on it before I reprimanded him. Disgusting.

I staggered toward the stable, pulling water from the creek nearby to extinguish the flames. My attempts were much more messy than Rain’s, and I soaked Dewalt in the process. He shot a glare at me but said nothing. I still needed my husband to teach me how to control that aspect of his divinity.

Panicked, I reached down the bond, feeling for Rain, and the anger and rage and worry I felt knocked me back a step. I needed to get to him and Elora. If we were being attacked, I was sure the whole city would be in trouble as well. I did what I could to tell him I was alright, gently tickling those precious threads, when an aching pain ran through my legs. A sharp spear of hurt in my breast a moment later had me wrenching the mouse out of my pocket and gently setting him on the ground, where he began to shift.

“Was that necessary?” I shouted at the mouse before turning to address my loyal beasts. “You two,” I directed the dragons. “Get the others and hunt down those monsters.”

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