Cael follows me silently and when I turn to face him, it is easy to read the frustration in his expression as well.
“I hate this,” he says. “The not knowing. There is so much I still cannot recall and I feel like it’s just there… out of reach.”
“I know. I—” I stop abruptly as my gaze is drawn to a slight ripple in the water beside us. “Cael, did you see that?”
He frowns. “See what?”
I start to point, but a burst of water explodes from the surface.
A long rope-like appendage whips out and wraps tightly around Cael’s leg.
His eyes go wide and he pushes me away to safety. I stumble back, falling onto the sand as the creature jerks him into the water.
“Run, Kyra!” he yells as he’s pulled beneath the surface.
I scramble to my feet as Lynx and Astra rush toward us.
Astra jumps to me. Instinctively, I open my arms to catch her, and she disappears. Warmth fills my entire body as the familiar flare of magic floods my veins.
This is what I was missing when we were in the tomb. This is the power I remember—the magic coursing through me like fire and flame.
Anger churns deep inside me as I race toward the water. I will make this creature pay for daring to harm my mate. Power ripples through me as electricity sparks across the tips of my fingers. I raise my hands, directing my rage toward the water. A burst of energy erupts from my palms and races toward the surface, disappearing beneath the crystalline liquid.
The creature’s body erupts from the water, suspended in the air. It releases a high-pitched screech as its rope-like arms hold tightly to Cael.
Its body is strange. With at least a dozen long whiplike tentacles and a large bulbous head with two beady eyes, its skin is clear to match the water. No wonder we didn’t see it before.
Gritting my teeth, I direct all my focus to the terrifying creature, desperate to force it to release Cael from its deadly grasp.
Thoughts of intense blood and hunger fill my mind, and I realize it is coming from the monster. “Kill, kill, kill,” the creature repeats in my mind like a dark chant of terror as it tightens its grip on Cael.
My beloved’s eyes are wide with terror as they meet mine, fueling the fury that burns deep within me.
Power flows through my veins like liquid fire, leaving nothing but ash and devastation in its wake as I struggle to contain it, holding the creature suspended above the water. Barely able to hold onto it any longer, I cry out as I direct it toward the predator and jerk my hands apart.
The sick sound of ripping flesh fills the air as the monster tears in two and then goes still.
The tentacles fall away from Cael’s body as it drops back to the water, sinking beneath the surface.
My hands shake as I hold Cael suspended in the air. Gathering the last of my strength, I carefully guide him to the shore and then lower him to the sand.
I drop to my knees beside him as he lies coughing and gasping. His entire body is covered in blood, with several small barbs sunk into his skin. He struggles to turn onto his side, groaning in pain.
Panicked, I look up at Lynx beside us. “What do we do?”
He moves to Cael’s side and then disappears. I watch in wonder as Cael’s body begins to glow softly.
“What’s happening?” I reach for Astra with my thoughts.
Her voice fills my mind. “Lynx has joined with him to heal him. He is a part of him, just as I am part of you. He is lending his magic to restore Cael’s health. The barbs of that creature were poisonous.”
I watch in wonder as Cael’s fox ears appear, along with his long white tail. Even in this form, he is handsome despite these odd features. Opening his eyes, they are a strange mixture of blue and teal. And I realize it is because he is joined with Lynx.
The barbs fall from his skin and I observe as the many wounds begin to close, stopping the bleeding.
I cup his cheek. “Are you all right?”
He smiles up at me. “Now, I am.” His brow furrows softly. “It’s strange, but now that I am joined with Lynx, all my senses are more heightened than they were before.” His head snaps toward the desert, and his gaze sweeps across the sands.
His expression fills me with alarm. “What is it?”
“Something hunts us. A great evil has tracked us here.”
The powerful magic coursing through me begins to fade as Astra appears beside me.
Cael levels an accusing glare at Astra. “You and Lynx both sensed this. Why did you not tell us?”
I watch as Cael’s eyes return to their normal teal coloring as Lynx appears beside him. He lowers his head. “Because we must focus on moving forward, not on what is behind us. We cannot defeat this evil without the gemstone. It is too powerful.”
Dread fills me. “How far away is it?”
Cael answers. “I was able to sense that it is far enough away that we can sleep tonight, but we must leave at first light.”
Chapter 34
Kyra
I’m exhausted and I don’t know if it’s from fighting the monster with the use of my magic or just the result of the long day of traveling. The sun has disappeared, taking the last of the day’s warmth with it.
Now that his health is returning, Cael lifts his hands and creates a small flame in his palms, using it to light a fire to keep us warm. Lynx rejoined with him to complete his healing process even faster. Apparently, there was some sort of toxin in the barbs that had embedded in his skin, but Lynx assures us that his magic will heal Cael completely.
We sit around the fire,
