Page 32 of Ruthless Fae
Too late. Too late.We had waited too long, and Vinya’s magic had failed.
In the back of my head, I was aware that Vaughn wasn’t holding me anymore. I curled up into a ball and shut my eyes as debris rained around me.
A deafening screech of metal surrounded me, sounding like a giant monster dying in agony. Smoke filled the air, saturating my lungs. Coughing, I opened my eyes against the terrible heat. Flames danced around me, devouring trees and dry brush.
Trees!
I was lying on the ground, the jungle ground. Vinya hadn’t failed. She had gotten us out of the ship, just not far enough from it. I got to my hands and knees and crawled away from the heat and smoke, holding my breath.
“Vaughn!” I called desperately once the air cleared. I received no answer.
I got to my feet, jumped into the air, and flew upward through a copse of trees. When I cleared the canopy, I turned around and faced the horror.
A hundred yards away, a huge mass of crumpled metal lay inside a crater, blazing and smoking, orange flames lapping at the darkening sky. The fire leaped from tree to tree like a mischievous leprechaun, bent on destruction.
I stared, paralyzed, unable to process.
Slowly, I tore my eyes away from the conflagration and searched the surrounding area for any signs of life. I noticed movement under a group of trees. Without thinking, I flew in its direction, landed a few feet away, and ran.
“Vaughn,” I called and came to an abrupt stop when I spotted two sooty figures.
Regina and Antonio staggered forward, squinting through the smoke.
“Tally,” Antonio said in a hoarse voice.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
Regina shook her head.
“Help me find them but be careful.”
We scattered in different directions to search around the wreckage, calling their names.
“Becca!”
“Vaughn!”
“Ronnie!”
I flew upward again, scanned the area for movement, calling out, inhaling smoke, until my throat felt raw. With every passing moment, my heart broke a little more. They couldn’t be dead. They had to be here somewhere. Maybe Vinya’s magic had scattered them far and wide, and that was why they weren’t answering.
I had almost lost hope when I heard someone calling my name.
I whirled in midair toward the sound and leaned into the wind, flying as hard as I could. From above, I spotted him, running in and out around the wreckage, only backing away when the flames threatened to take hold of him.
“Vaughn!” I landed and hit the ground running.
He turned on his heel at the sound of my voice. When he saw me, he let out a cry of relief, met me halfway, and wrapped me in his arms.
“Thank God you’re all right,” he said. “Thank God you’re all right.”
“The… the others,” I said, my voice breaking. “I can’t find them. Only Antonio and Regina. The others—”
“Shh, it’s all right. They’re okay. You three were the only ones who got separated.”
“Oh, thank the Fates.”
He pulled away, his face tense, brow furrowed.
