23. Apryle

Chapter 23

Apryle

I see the knife as it comes toward me. Instinctively, I reach for my magic at the last second, deflecting the blade away from my heart and pushing it at Hester at the same time. Pain flashes through my shoulder as it slices through the skin near my armpit before it flies backward, as if being dragged by an imaginary rope.

"Apryle!" Savannah's voice splits the air, and as desperate as I am to check on her, I have to focus on survival. "Get away from her!"

A piercing scream has my hands covering my ears, not caring that I'm covered in blood. It's Savannah. It's Savannah screaming. Power is gathering momentum around her, and I can tell she's about to direct that magic at Hester. Before she can unleash it, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her against my chest and effectively cutting off her scream.

"Savannah, stop! I'm okay."

As I stumble back holding her, the males subdue Hester quickly and my wolf surges to the surface, roaring her anger.

Now you choose to turn up…

Give me control. The order fills my mind, but I ignore it. There is no point in giving her control because we have never managed to shift and that isn't suddenly about to change. Like most tau, I am latent.

When I don't do as she commands, she retreats back into my mind, leaving me alone with only the mating bond. Kye doesn't try to mask either his fear or fury, and I don't send reassuring vibes through the bond. Nothing I do is going to make this situation better.

Holding Savannah against me with one hand, I press the other to the wound on my shoulder. Blood trickles between my fingers, warm and viscous, staining my shirt. My mate approaches me cautiously—not because he's afraid of me, but because of Savannah.

"Sav, Kye's going to come to us."

"Okay," she whispers.

He steps closer, glancing over Savannah before his eyes scan mine. Gently, he pulls my fingers away from the wound, wincing a little as he sees the damage.

"That was too close," he rasps.

It was, and it was also my own fault. I let my guard down. I didn't believe for a second that Hester would try to hurt me.

She didn't try to hurt you, Kye's voice sounds in my head. She tried to kill you.

That's not even him being dramatic. She had come at me with a knife, aiming for my heart. The reality of the situation sits on my shoulders like weights.

She tried, but she didn't succeed, Kye, and she's not going to.

"Is everyone okay?" Cade demands, dragging me out of my mind as his eyes bounce around us. I didn't even think about anybody else being hurt, but I don't see blood or injuries, so I relax.

"Fucking peachy," his brother mutters, leaning his weight against Hester, who is no longer fighting, even though her eyes are locked on me.

A shiver trails up my spine. What did she see me do? She said I was going to kill them all—how?

"Let her go," I say.

Kye squeezes my neck. "No."

"Kye."

"She just tried to kill you."

I place my hand on his chest, releasing Savannah for a second. "I know you're trying to protect me, but I need to know what she's talking about. If I'm a danger to you and the others?—"

The growl that emanates from the back of his throat would be terrifying if I didn't know he means no danger to me. He's pissed, and I can't blame him for that. We've been through a lot in such a short span of time, but if Hester knows something, if she's seen something, I want to know what.

"Over my dead body are you leaving or going somewhere I can't follow. I don't care what danger she claims you are. You're not leaving me, Apryle. I will fucking hunt you down and drag you back."

Damn. No one has ever been that passionate about keeping me around before, and while I know I should be a little freaked out by how crazy he sounds, warmth is spreading through my stomach and the wall that was once around my heart is now a big pile of rubble and ash. I roll to my toes, pressing a kiss to his mouth, ignoring the flare of pain in my shoulder at the movement.

I feel everything he's feeling through the bond. All his hopes, all his fears, all his ill will toward Hester for planting the seed inside my mind. He doesn't know her the same way as we do, doesn't know how good her visions are, and I don't think he cares. So I pour all of my love, every emotion I feel for him into this kiss. He is the other half of me, and I don't know how I ever tried to deny that or why. Our bond might have been decided by magic, or whatever forces there are that determine who we are meant to be with, but it doesn't change how I feel about him. There is not a moment in my life that I would want to be without him, and yet, I would leave him behind if it meant saving him.

As if he's picked that thought out from our bond, he rests his forehead to mine, his eyes closing before he says, "You're not leaving me."

"I'm not going to put you in danger, Kye."

He shakes his head, cupping my face with his big hand. "Mates can't survive apart for a long time, Apryle. You leaving me wouldn't save me. It would destroy me."

He's right about that, and it makes me feel hopeless.

"We need to bandage your shoulder," Roux says from the side. "You're bleeding heavily."

I glance down and see my shirt is soaked. My arm is buzzing as if I have the worst case of pins and needles. I let Roux push me into a chair, both Kye and Savannah staying close to me. They both tried to defend me, to protect me, and that also makes me feel loved in a way I never have before. I stroke Savannah's hair as she glares at Hester, who is on her feet and being pushed into a chair as well. Her eyes never leave mine, and I can see the fear dancing in them.

"What did you see?" I ask as Halle places a hand over my wound.

I feel the surge of magic as her healing power infuses my body, knitting the skin together.

"You will be the one who opens the gateway that allows my mother to be free."

My mouth dries, making it hard to swallow. The air is so cold and tense, it feels suffocating. "Because of my blood? Because I'm related to this line of witches who created the blood magic that trapped her there?"

She nods. "I don't want to hurt you, Apryle, but my mother, for all she suffered, is not going to come back and be a savior for hybrids. My brother knows something, knows what havoc she is going to rain down. It's why he's building this army against her. So we can't allow my mother her freedom, do you understand?"

I do understand, but I'm also not willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good just yet, not without more information. "So we stop it from happening," I say. "We don't let Revna's supporters get my blood."

"I've seen it happen, which means it's already in motion. You will do this, and you will unleash her on the world." Her lips turn down at the corners. "I'm sorry. I wish I had better news to tell you, but my visions always come true."

Kye steps toward her, as if he is contemplating throttling her, so I wrap my fingers around his arm. The last thing I want is for him to get hurt defending me. I ignore his grumbling under his breath, focusing instead on Hester. "I understand that, but forewarned is forearmed. We have information now that can help us, and if you know anything else, you have to tell us."

Hester runs a hand over the back of her neck, as if she has too much tension there. "I should have known it would eventually get to this stage. I should have done more to prevent it. Erik is just as psychotic as our father was, and he is not going to stop until he fulfills whatever purpose he has."

Dove steps forward, Jackson moving with her. "You can't keep burying your head in the sand. For over a thousand years, this asshole has been murdering our kind—your kin. Now, he's taking hybrids and brainwashing them into being good little soldiers that he can breed more good little soldiers from. He is snatching babies out of their mothers' arms, Hester. You are a mother yourself, you have to know how that would feel. You did everything you could to protect your children, so help us protect ours. Please."

Her chin wobbles, the emotion weaving through her words. She and Jackson still have no idea if they have a child of their own out there, and although they hold out hope of finding out the truth, I'm skeptical they will ever have the answers they deserve.

But hope is a powerful motivator, and it is the only thing we have left. We have to hope we can be reunited with our loved ones, that we can win this battle and be allowed our freedom. Without hope, there can only be despair, an empty abyss with no option but to lie down and die.

I'm not ready to do that. I have too much to fight for now. And I promised Savannah she would have a safe, happy life. I'm not going back on that.

Hester blows out a breath, as if trying to calm herself. "You can't win this battle. He is stronger and more determined?—"

Dove narrows her eyes. "There's not a single person on this planet more determined than I am to find out whether I have a child in his disgusting little prison."

Halle places a hand on Dove's shoulder, showing her support. "If you think he's stronger than us, then you're not seeing the full picture. We have so much more to fight for than he does. I want my mother back, Dove and Jackson want their child back, Tessa and Abel want their pup to grow up in a world where they are not hunted like an animal. We all want to be free, Hester, and we understand that freedom comes at a price, but it is one we are willing to pay. The Order has to be stopped. We have to fight, and whether you like it or not, you are a part of that fight."

"You might even end up finding your sister and having a family again," Roux adds.

Hester flinches as if she's been hit, but it has the desired effect. She lifts her lashes, her gaze bouncing between us. "I would give anything to see my sister again. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her with a deep ache in my heart, but the odds are stacked against us."

"I don't think so," Callum says, speaking for the first time in a while. "Every day, more and more tau groups reach out to me, wanting to form alliances. I think we have a pretty big army at our fingertips. And the girls are right. I'm tired of running, I'm tired of hiding, I'm tired of fearing that every day will be my last or the last of someone I love. We're not weak, not at all. Each one of us has access to intense power. We can stop all of this if we work together."

"What do you say, Granny?" Sawyer asks. "You want to lead the revolution against your insane family?"

"She's not leading anything," Kye snarls. "Did you forget the part where she just tried to kill my mate?"

I rub his arm, trying to soothe the angry beast inside him. "We've all tried to kill each other at least once," I tell him. He doesn't find it amusing, so I kiss his cheek. "We need her. She has inside information that we can use to fight this war."

He grits his teeth together. "And the moment your back is turned, she's going to stick a knife between your shoulder blades."

I can't argue with that, mostly because I think he's probably right. "Then we'll have to make sure my back isn't turned. Besides, no one is going to get close to me when you're around."

His brows come together, clearly not buying the shit I'm peddling. "I was around just now and you're bleeding."

I glance down at the wound Halle healed. "Not anymore." I pull apart my sleeve to show him the unblemished skin beneath. "See, good as new."

He growls again under his breath, pulling me away from the others. As soon as we're out of earshot, he dips his head toward me. "I don't want you good as new. I want you unharmed, period. That woman thinks you're dangerous, and she's not going to step aside and let you bring forward her mystical fucking ancestors."

"I know, but what's the alternative, Kye?"

"We run and hide."

I feel the power moving through the air at the same time as the others. I grab Kye, dragging him to the ground, and hoping someone does the same for Savannah as an explosion ripples through the air around us.