Page 72 of Challenged Mate
“Shit.”Chase’s muffled curse let me know he’d noticed the magical attackers. He rose and pulled me to my feet, shoving me behind him as he faced the cloaked figures.
“Give us the girl.”
My ears still rang from the explosion, but I heard the man’s voice loud and clear.
My heartbeat raced. I peered around Chase’s arm.
Was this group in league with the sorcerers who’d attacked me in Montana?
I hoped so.
One group of sorcerers searching for me was enough. I wouldn’t know what to make of two…
My thought was cut off as Kayla unleashed her power.
I thought she intended to attack them. Instead, her magic formed a thick dome barrier. I heard the power buzz like electricity traveling through a wire, surrounding me as the magic stretched to include me and Chase within its perimeter.
Through the flickering power, I watched the cloaked figures look to one another.
Kayla backed towards us but kept her eyes on the enemies outside. “What’s the play here?”
Chase paused for a second, then said, “I’ve alerted Asher.”
Almost on cue, a sharp pain twisted my gut. I winced and clutched my abdomen.
“Blair?” Chase turned and wrapped an arm around me. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t know how, but deep in my soul, I knew my next words were true, “Asher. He’s injured.”
Chase released another curse. His grip on my waist was all that kept me from falling to the ground.
“Chase?” Kayla pressed. She lifted her arms and released more magic into the barrier around us. Her entire body trembled with the effort. Dark tattoos flickered along her wrists and the back of her hands. “What do we do?”
I gritted my teeth against another wave of pain. It wasn’t as severe as the first. I hoped that meant Asher was healing.
“We hold the barrier.” Chase lifted me, then adjusted his hold so I leaned into his side. He raised his free hand and shot magic into the barrier.
Aside from turning to look at one another, the cloaked figures didn’t move. They stood there, staring at the barrier through dark hoods. The glow of their eyes had dimmed.
I breathed through my pain, wondering why they weren’t attacking. Then, I noticed dark clouds billowing at the bottom of the barrier. The inky blackness crept underneath the barrier and began crawling along the debris-covered floor towards us.
“Chase.” I pointed a trembling finger at the oncoming darkness.
He followed my finger, and his entire body tensed. “Kayla! Smothering cloud incoming.”
“Bastards,” Kayla growled. She diverted her magic. It intercepted the dark clouds. The two met with a flurry of sparks. Static cracked. Kayla’s power eliminated the darkness in seconds, but it cost her.
Her skin was sickly pale—the warm tan leeched from her face.
I forced myself to stand upright, ignoring the stabbing pain urging me to fold in on myself. I refused to be a burden. I needed to find a way to help.
“Come to us willingly, Blair Hemmings, daughter of the Mother Goddess, or we will take you by force. And trust me when I say, your friends will not survive it.”
Well, that answered the question of whether they were associated with the sorcerers from the Badlands territory…
Those attackers had given me the same title—a title I could thank my mysterious mother for.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Chase rumbled.
