Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

W ith the smoke gone and the area secured, relief washes over me. Shifting, I press a hand against my side.

"Let me see those ribs." Kirk goes into doctor mode beside me on the dirt floor.

"Ouch." I flinch away from his hand.

"Bruised at the least, possibly cracked, but I don't think they're broken." Kirk's voice is full of sympathy.

I grunt. "Sure feels like they are."

"Let's wrap them. Hold your shirt up." Kirks long fingers are gentle as they move over my flesh.

I watch as he removes gauze from his satchel. Wrapping me upright, he smooths my shirt back down.

Cadoc helps me stand. "Better?" He studies my face,

I exhale. "Much."

"You sure you're good, princess? Remember, playing hero isn't necessary here." Bo eyes me cautiously.

"Sounds like you care about me, your Highness." I smirk up at him as we begin to walk down the path of another cave. The non-descript brown walls could be anywhere in the United states.

"I do." The bold statement steals away my snarkiness.

This trip has changed us all. Still, I hadn't seen this coming.

I draw a blank, mouth opening and closing. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to." Bo runs his thumb over my cheek, wiping away dirt.

I stare at him, wondering about his change of heart. "I know I have a lot to prove, but I'm ready to do that."

"Are you telling me this because we almost died?" I study him through narrowed eyes.

"Partly. Things left unsaid has never been my style." He shrugs.

I snicker. "I know. Your mouth's always run faster than an Olympic sprinter."

He smiles. "That's true."

"It's warmer now." I look around. That's odd since we're underground.

A puff of steam shoots into the air.

"I think it's a hot spring," Cadoc says.

"This is tropical weather." Kirk sniffs. "It's like a hothouse."

The tunnel shifts as we walk. Greenery grows from the dirt walls. The floor turns into a forest. A large red hibiscus opens.

"Beautiful." Breathing in the floral aroma, I watch as black, red, and orange butterflies appear out of nowhere.

They fly further into the enchanted space and return. Their wings tickle my face, and I giggle.

"I guess we go that way then." Fell smirks. This area differs from the previous ones.

"What are we supposed to learn here?" Kirk looks around.

Water vapor explodes ahead of us. I jump. The steam rolls toward us, creating a haze. Sweat beads on my brow.

"Stop." The urgency in Kirk's voice makes me pause.

"Listen." Cadoc's hushed tone frightens me.

Footsteps and whispered voices come from further ahead.

"I can hear them," Bo mouths.

Kirk and Cadoc shake their heads.

Do you think they've noticed us ? Fell speaks through our link.

"Get us the hell out of here, Tove." The burned man barks an order.

"I'm trying. This place is alive."

What do we do? Kirk asks.

Change and trail them from a distance. Cadoc shifts into his wolf form, and I obey. Quietly stalking them, we observe, waiting. We lose them when they leave the thick forested area, not ready to reveal ourselves.

Horrified screams lead us to a rapid river winding through the forest. A blonde woman flails in the water. Smoke drifts off her red face.

"There's something in the water," a tall brunette in a black tank top and cargo pants yells.

"Get her out." The burned man remains on the shore.

"I'm trying." His strawberry-blonde companion waves her hand wildly.

A funnel of water springs up, stretching onto land. Turning into a hand, it grabs the strawberry blonde off her feet and tosses her into the water.

"Tove." The burned man rushes to the lake. The broad-shouldered brunette woman grabs his arm.

"We'll fly over and help them from the other side. I see vines we can use. Magic doesn't seem to work here."

She levitates, and I see her tiny fangs. Grabbing him by his shoulders, she lifts him off the ground and speeds across the water. A typhoon-style wave rises like a breeching shark, soaking them through. They scream. Her hold on him slips. She recovers quickly, righting them. Gray wisps drift up into the air.

Silver? I send the question down the link.

And wolf's bane. Kirk adds.

Why won't the river let them pass? Cadoc wonders.

I don't know, but this is our chance to pull ahead. We need to take it. Bo insists.

"Guess I'm up." Kirk trots forward.

Kirk jumps into the water. I flinch. They shut down their links. Muscles twitching, he struggles in the water. His face turns red and swells. Smoke rises from him. I whimper in the back of my throat.

Fell nudges my neck with his snout. I breathed in his fur, lemon, salt, and rosemary. This is something he has to do on his own. Shifting my weight, I focus on my breathing. Kirk swims to the middle of the lake. A bony white hand reaches up from the depths and grips his shoulder.

I surge forward, only to rebound off Cadoc's enormous frame. He barks, scolding me. I dance around, backing off. Craning my neck, I look around him. More deformed hands have joined the first.

Kirk's pulled under the surface.

We have to help him.

This is his fight– Cadoc insists.

Fight them, Kirk. I send the plea through the link.

Kirk's control slips. He opens up his side of the link. I see them in my mind's eye. The bloated bodies of those he helped wrong are dragging him down.

I pull away from our bond, terrified. Blood pounds in my ears and my stomach aches. Kirk surfaces, sucking in air.

"I'm sorry." Coughing, he chokes on water. His head disappears once more.

The water grows still. I stare at the place I last saw him. My vision blurs. I paw at the ground. Anxiety spiking, I prepare to shift and go into the lake after him.

Water explodes. The lake spits him out. He lands on the beach across from us. Turning his head, he vomits water. Rolling onto his back, he lifts his hand, showing us a ring. The blue gem winks at us in the moonlight.

Crawling over to the water's edge, he puts his ring on the water. Blue stones surface forming a pathway. The others move to the water doing the same. A rainbow of stones forms a bridge.

"Hurry," Kirk croaks. He glances behind him. "I can still see the bodies trying to rise up out of the water. It's all the patients I've come across in the labs." His voice shakes.

We run across the stones. The water behind us splashes as they disappear.

"What about you?" Bo asks. I feel the warmth of my broach.

"I think I'm covered." I hold it away from my t-shirt.

A sense of urgency settles into the woods. We reach a large circular pattern of stones with a place for four to surround one in the center. The colors correspond with the stones in their rings. The opaque white stone rests in the middle, ready for me.

"Let's go." Holding my head high, I walk the path first. This last leg is my test. Doubts cling to me like energy-sucking vampires. What if you're found wanting? This could be a trap. My steps slow, but I never stop. Fear wraps around my throat. My tongue grows thick in my mouth. I can't talk. After everything they've done to you, no one would blame you for walking away. Are you doing it to save the man responsible for murdering your family?

The thought makes me stumble. I stop, nine yards away from the center.

"Ylva?"

I turn and find each of them on their corresponding stone. The surrounding energy is alive and warm. I can see a thin sliver of light running from one spot to the next, creating a grid.

"What's wrong?" Fell sounds a million miles away. I stare at the space, seeing the ghosts of my parents and my brother. I approach them cautiously.

"I'm sorry." My voice shakes. "Jarl. If I had known you were alive, I wouldn't have run or stopped searching for you until I found you." Guilt fills my chest. Am I betraying them by taking up this mantle? No, this is our family's legacy.

I wouldn't have chosen my mates on my own, but we're connected now. I take the final walk. My foot brushes the stone. Bright lights flash and shoot into the sky like a beacon. They wind together weaving like a braid.

The shimmering chain slams into my chest. White hot pain sizzles along my flesh. Head thrown back, I spin in a circle. Energies unlike anything I've felt before entering my body. Closing my eyes, I lose track of everything.

"It's okay, princess. Open your eyes for us."

Cracking my eyelids, I find myself in Bo's arms. The others kneel around me.

"What happened?"

"The amulet created itself," Kirk places a hand on my chest. I feel a warm weight against my skin.

"I want to see it."

Bo helps me sit up. Fell carefully removes the necklaces from beneath my t-shirt, and I marvel at the heavy circular piece etched with complex bind runes. The power emanating from it is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. The protection coming off the broach pinned inside my shirt is a trickle, this is a tsunami.

Fell looks up. "We have to leave. The winds are changing."

"In English?" Bo requests.

"The site is preparing to reseal itself. If we're still here when it completes the process, that's where we'll stay."

Standing, we shift, and I marvel at the bind runes drawn on the bridges of their noses before they sink beneath the skin.

Trusting Fell's instinct, we follow him through the woods. His energy pulses with strength and a new magical signature. His aura shimmers, glinting gold. Each man appears to maintain an overlay that corresponds with their rings.

Why can I see this? What changes have continued inside me?

A swirling blue and purple portal flickers in the cleaning ahead, shrinking. Increasing our speed, we face ahead. A heavy weight slams into my back. I tumble through space, and land on the ground, hard.

Rolling in the dirt, my body's pummeled by the stones buried in the ground. I stop, face first. Pushing myself up, I spit out grass.

I turn and watch as the black-shrouded crew disappears.

"It was too much to hope they'd be trapped there, wasn't it?" Bo's sarcasm draws my laughter.

Cadoc groans. "That's a problem for another day."

"I think the Alpha knows more about the Fellowship than he lets on," I admit.

"It's time to decide what we plan to do about him," Bo says.

Standing, we brush off our clothing as we hurry away from the sacred circle.

"Once we take our place, we'll have more power." Kirk jogs beside us.

"Do you think he's going to ignore the power we've gained long enough to let us get to that point?" Bo snorts.

"He has no choice. All eyes are on us, and my new position will only increase that," Fell stops at the SUV.

"The best we can do is to be prepared for whatever he throws at us." Cadoc unlocks the door, and we climb in, ready to take the long ride back.

"We'll have the next forty-eight hours to figure it out." Bo scratches the back of his neck as we buckle up.

Battered, dirty, and exhausted, we all slump into our seats.

"The wheel has shifted. There's no going back. A cycle will end, and another will begin," Fell says absently.

"How do we get in to spin in our favor?" Cadoc's voice is thick with exasperation.

"Give everything you have and keep going," Fell replies.

"The fuck, Fell." I bow my head and press the bridge of my nose between my fingers. I am so tired of riddles.

"I cannot read my own future, and ours is too interconnected to support. This will rock more than our community. The echoes will continue to travel far beyond for years to come." Fell frowns. "I can do one thing." He closes his eyes.

I can sense he's in a liminal space, not quite the Fell we know, but not fully the new Volva yet.

I glance over at Bo who shakes his head. We don't know what he's connecting to.

Black tears run down his face. He blinks, opening his eyes.

"Fell?" I whisper.

"Your aunt was the one who betrayed me." I gasp. She's the one who cast the spell on him, silencing him and forcing us apart? My hate for her goes from a flickering flame to a ragging inferno. After all those years of making my life a living hell, she's responsible for the final straw that broke me too.