Dyna took one step out of the circle and met my eyes. In that moment, her saddened gaze said all I needed to know, and I renewed my struggles to escape Vikar’s grasp. Dyna reached in her pocket and took out a small bottle full of bright green liquid.
My stomach dropped down to the tips of my toes. I saw nothing but the white sheen of sorrow, fear, and the boundless pit of helplessness. Held captive by my alpha, I couldn’t run after her. I couldn’t stop what was about to happen. I fought it anyway.
“Don’t!” I cried out, but it was too late. She lobbed the bottle upward, throwing it so that it landed just behind the line of skotaurs. The sound of the glass shattering was loud and then immediately, bright green fire licked hot at their heels before it burst upward in a plume of flames that seared at their backs. Furious snarls of agony roared throughout the clearing and when Dyna burst back into the trees, the entire gathering of skotaurs tore off after her.
Just as she planned.
A diversion so that all of us could escape. Except her.
I wailed, reaching for her even as I lost sight of her in the darkness.
Without pause, Vikar flew in the opposite direction. I was vaguely aware of the fact that Ivar and Ariana followed, but my gaze was focused on the place where my lifelong friend Dyna had disappeared. The green flame never stopped burning and soon, there were an eruption of fire that could have only originated from the beasts that chased her. I watched as the fiery embers rose up on the wind and amidst the snarls and rumble of the skotaurs, I heard something else even more chilling than the terrifying beasts.
I heard the scream of a woman.
I struggled, wanting to go back, wanting to rescue her, but that choice had been taken away from me. With a shriek of pain, I curled around Vikar as if he was a lifeline and his grip tightened around me. Then all at once, it went quiet.
There were no more shrieks, no yelling. No more growling. No more snarling. It was as the world had gone silent all at once.
There was absolutely nothing at all.
I started to sob.
She’d sacrificed herself for us. For me. For my daughter.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to kill every last skotaur that had taken her from me and rescue my friend from her terrible fate, but even I knew it was too late for that.
Vikar kept running.
I was grateful for it.
I pressed my face against him and cried, using him to mute my screams of sorrow as we tore off into the night.
Chapter Eleven
Luna
“Shhhh, little omega. It’s going to be alright. Focus on what’s ahead. Focus on your daughter,” Vikar whispered. I shook ag
ainst him as tears poured down my face at the sudden terrible loss of my friend. My entire body trembled, but I knew that his words rang true.
There would be time to grieve and now was not it. I had to pull myself together for my daughter’s sake.
I had to. For Dyna. For Esme. For all of us.
The noise of battle grew louder. I could hear swords clashing and men screaming. Deafening popping noises fractured the very air surrounding us and the roars of beasts reverberated long into the night. The closer we drew to the city, the more my heart began to pound with adrenaline. I closed my eyes and took several deep calming breaths before I opened them once more, bringing forth the protective nature of my inner omega. I was a fighter and I held onto that with everything left in me.
I would not allow Dyna’s sacrifice to be in vain.
I would honor her by rescuing my daughter. I would fulfill her final wish, no matter what it took.
Beside us, Ivar had thrown Ariana on his back in order to keep up with Vikar and me. When we finally reached the city walls, the four of us slowed down to a steady pace as we cased along for an optimal entry point. The majority of the wall was rebuilt even more so than I’d seen before, but as we went on, it seemed that a few segments were done with such haste that they would be easily broken with enough force. Vikar paused when he reached a section built solely with planks of wood, studying it closely before placing me down on the ground beside him.
He gripped my chin firmly in his fingers. His eyes searched mine, trying to gauge where my mind was, and I met his gaze with the fiery determination. I would show him he could count on me.
“You will remain by my side and you will obey my every word the entire time we are inside the city. It is going to be dangerous and you are not practiced in battle as I am. If I say to jump, you will jump. If I tell you to hide, you will hide. If I command you to run, you run. Do you understand me, omega?” he snarled, and I shivered by his side. My omega cowed to his alpha and I knew in the end that obeying him would make getting through this that much easier. I held onto it like a lifeline.
“Yes, Alpha,” I answered. I knew how serious this was. All our lives depended on it.