Page 60 of Wrath of the Fae

‘You can cut that out. I can growl just as much as you if needed.’

His snout nods behind me.

‘After you.’I start to walk.‘By the way. My body is sitting with Wolf and his men. I’ve told them your location, and they are heading this way. Wolf is pissed.’

Great.

I head towards the kids and get them to their feet. It takes some time to convince them that this dark monster made to slaughter our kind is a friend. Lucca leaps into action to set their already traumatised minds at ease by rolling around and nuzzling them like some well-trained dog.

I load the smallest of the kids onto Lucca’s back and ensure the others can walk.

And as we head out, something stops me dead.

A voice. Something that feels old and angry. It starts as a whisper, then becomes louder until I have to cover my ears.

No one else can hear it.

Lucca is walking ahead. The small ones on his back giggle as he tells them a joke in their minds.

‘Raven?’ Tessa says, standing at my side. I can’t hear her, but I see her mouth move. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Something is screaming at me!’ I shout, making her flinch as I raise my voice to be heard over the noise only I can hear. I look around us, hoping to see what it is.

The ground shakes, and the distant fire mountain roars before exploding. The sky fills with plumes of smoke, and great chunks of stone and burning boulders begin falling from the sky.

‘The fire mountain is exploding!’ Tessa screams, throwing us both out of the way before we’re crushed by one of the many pieces of smouldering debris.

The ridge behind us collapses, and the whole city shakes and rattles. We hear the screams of those living there as smoke, fire, lava and ash assault their home. We feel the heat from here and look on as the fire mountain cracks.

Lucca can’t get past the onslaught of volcanic debris, and he and the children are pushed further into the trees.

‘Get the children out of here!’ Tessa yells at him. ‘NOW!’

She screams and holds me close, her wings draping over us both as the world falls into chaos beyond.

The ground below us cracks, and an immense heat pours out. It glows hot, like molten metal.

And something actually roars. Something alive. The same something that had me covering my ears.

There’s something buried deep below. I feel its darkness. Feel its hunger.

And it’s waking up.

I look at her. She looks at me.

‘We’re going to die,’ she whispers, her hands tightening on me.

I slam my hand onto the ground and scream.

I scream so fucking hard and with such rage, my throat burns.

More cracks spread through the ground around us, forming a perfect circle. Gold dust ripples through it before turning black.

Rune markings burn all around us.

The beast bellows.

It bellows my name.

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