Page 64 of Witch Untold
I gathered her close and held her tight so that her head was pressed to my chest. There was blood everywhere. Dark, wet, and thick. Congealing, because that’s what blood did.
Because Sloane was… “No…”
Someone was crying softly.
Someone else screamed. “Breach. We have a breach!”
“Cora, you need to let go,” Elijah said calmly. “Sloane’s gone.”
I shook my head, dislodging tears. “No. She isn’t. She can’t be dead. I won’t let her be dead.”
“You’re right, she isn’t.” The voice was harsh and cold, clearing the haze in my mind. I looked up to find Vlad standing in the atrium doorway. Mircea and Radu entered, flanking him. “Let go of her and step away. Now,” Vlad ordered.
Wren slid off my back. “You smell wrong. You don’t belong here.”
Tor, Leif, and Rune growled low and menacing, a warning of pain to come, but Vlad simply sighed as if the whole thing was tiresome.
“What’s going on?” Elijah asked the vampire.
“This ishiswork,” Vlad replied. “He used your witch’s blood to access enough power to break through your barriers.” His jaw ticked. “He’s gone but he’s left us a message. Your friend is about to turn.”
“Turn?” Elijah sounded confused.
“Into an ice walker,” Radu said. “We need to kill her. She’s in transition. Which can take anything from a few minutes to a few hours, so you need to move and let us do what we do.”
My mind whirred. If Sloane was in transition, if she wasn’t dead yet, then there was a chance to save her. To stop whatever was happening. And I knew just who to turn to.
“The Magiguard will help.” I looked to Elijah. “They’ve been experimenting with subverting the vampire infection in outliers for over a year. If anyone can help, they can.”
“That’s not your call to make,” Vlad snapped.
“Go away,” Wren said. “Leave my Cora alone.”
Vlad ignored him, his attention on me. “Move aside. I won’t ask again.”
“What is your problem? If I can save her, then…” The penny dropped. “Youneedher dead. You need all the ice walkers dead to be free.”
His expression was grim. “And I won’t let anything, or anyone, stand in my way.”
The Sons of Adam approached, and my guys tensed, huge wolf bodies bristling with power, ready to shred and tear.
The vampires blurred toward us and a roar sliced the air, sending out a visible rippling shockwave. It slammed into the vamps, lifting them off their feet and throwing them back.
“Leave my Cora alone!” The voice was a thick, feral growl coming from a huge, furry, four-foot form with rounded ears and inch-long talons protruding from its paws. It stood in the exact same spot Wren had a moment ago.
What. The. Fuck.
The creature stomped forward, coming to stand in front of the wolves. “Go away!” it roared at the vamps.
“Wren?”
The creature turned its head to look at me, and I bit back a gasp at the sight of its elongated snout and razor teeth lining its lethal mouth. Its eyes weren’t round and cute like Wren’s, they were slanted, red-rimmed, and menacing. There was nothing Wren-like about this creature.
This wasn’t Wren.
It couldn’t be.
But then it blinked, and its bloodthirsty gaze softened. “Wren protect Cora.” It growled.
