Chapter 48

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Ryker

"Ellery!"

The creatures enclosed her with a speed I wouldn't have believed possible until I saw it. Trees didn't move, but these were not only moving, they'd sent beasts from the earth to capture and drag her below.

I didn't care what these things were, I wasn't going to let anything harm her. As I ran toward her, I pulled lightning from the ground and the sky.

I unleashed the ground lightning, and a whiplike torrent smashed into the back of one of the strange creatures while lightning bolts sliced through the tops of the trees, creating a cascade of leaves and sticks as it shattered their branches.

The beasts closing in on Ellery released an inhuman, keening wail. Sparks shot through the air, and fire blazed across the leaves before going out.

Another lightning bolt crashed onto the top of another creature, splitting it in two. Ellery twisted to face the one trying to drag her backward. When she placed her palm against its face and filled it with lightning, the thing burst into flames.

Less than a minute ago, Ellery was unwilling to work in this area because she didn't want to damage the trees, and now she was unleashing on them. It was good to know she'd do everything necessary to survive and win.

From above, a tree branch creaked and swung at my head. The breeze it created stirred the air, and I ducked in time to avoid a blow that would have crushed my skull.

Diving forward, I wrapped my arms around Ellery's waist and took her to the ground as more branches swung at me. The wind their movement created blew back my clothes as one of their limbs skimmed my legs.

Something grabbed at me, one of the thinner roots from those creatures. It tried to encircle my calf, but I dislodged it as I rolled with Ellery away from the offending monsters.

Her lightning enveloped me, but instead of feeling unpleasant, it crackled enticingly against my skin. My power rose toward her as her lush body pressed against mine in all the right ways.

When we came up against the base of a tree that blocked us from going any further, I told myself to let her go but pulled her closer. I'd forgotten how right she felt—no, I could never forget that; my damn dreams wouldn't let me, but they were nothing compared to the woman herself.

We were in the middle of a war against trees , and a desire to bury myself inside this woman consumed me. That would be impossible if we were both dead.

Priorities.

My arms were slow to release her, but they finally did when more of those things emerged from the earth. Before, they were almost silent as they rose, but now, their rage-filled cries were deafening.

The one we'd rolled into shifted against my back. We had to get away from these trees, but there were so many of them, and they'd created so much chaos that I couldn't see a way out.

One of the creatures lowered its head and charged as Ellery and I rose. My first thought was to shove her out of the way, but my instincts took over before I could act.

My hand found Ellery's as the electricity in the earth rose to encompass us. It crackled while power swelled between us.

I always felt more alive when drawing on the lightning and harnessing something that could blow others apart. It was mine to control, to unleash, to use as it filled me with its energy and mingled with my blood to course through my veins.

Monsters surrounded us, but I felt invincible standing beside her as our power became something I'd never experienced. Our abilities united to strengthen us in a way I'd never dreamed possible.

When my lightning combined with Ellery's, it became a living, breathing thing set to destroy everything in its way. It was right in every way.

Our power erupted in a burst of blinding white light unlike anything I'd ever unleashed. It ripped through some creatures and hit one of the trees behind it to blow it apart.

Their screams intensified as bark and leaves exploded into the air. What remained of the tree creaked as it fell to the ground. The thud of its impact echoed over the land as the ground quaked, and the tree bounced up before falling again.