“Are you sure?” Hunter asks, his eyes wide.
I nod, surprising myself with my own coherence. “I’ll be okay. Get him out of the line of fire.”
Hunter hesitates for a moment, his gaze stormy, and then sets me gently onto the ground. In a flash, he’s sprinting back towards the scrimmage, almost too fast for my eyes to track.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Shade yells, still in his wolf form, as the vampire shifter comes to a stop beside him.
Silas and Landon are still working on driving back the dragon shifter, and although he appears to be flagging, I’m aware of the rain of gunfire spraying across the field.
“Can you stand?” Hunter demands, the authority and self-assuredness in his voice enough to catch me off guard. He’s come a long way from the insecure guy I met in shifting class all those months ago.
Shade lets out a growl and forces himself back to his feet before shifting back into human form. There’s a gnarly gash on his side, I can see, and my stomach drops when I notice that his clothes are already seeped through with red. “Get in front of me,” Hunter commands. Shade glares at him but does as he instructs, allowing the vampire shifter to cover him from behind as they make their slow way back over to me. Bullets glance off Hunter’s skin like raindrops as they pull back, coming to a stop beside me.
“We have to go,” I pant. There’s a queasy feeling blossoming in my stomach, a mixture of fatigue and panic, and I focus all my attention on the guys. Keep them alive, at all costs. “There’s too many of them. And if they send reinforcements…”
“You’re right,” says Hunter, sliding a hand around my waist to support me. “Can you both stand? I can’t carry you both.”
“Didn’t think you’d ever be the one saving me,” Shade pants as he slings an arm around the vampire shifter’s shoulders. “I owe you one, Ash.”
“Save it,” Hunter tells him, and the three of us begin to work our way towards the stand of trees on the other side of the clearing. There will be cover there, which is more than we can say for where we are now. It’s slow going, and the pained noises I’m hearing from Shade make my blood run cold, but he’s tough, and makes no complaint as we stumble into the shade of the forest. I’m reminded eerily of the forest surrounding the Academy building. If only I had known then that it was designed more as a prison than as a boarding school.
Back in the field, I watch as Landon unleashes another shockwave. It’s powerful enough to deflect the most recent barrage of bullets, but I can tell that he’s flagging; siren songs are meant for mental manipulation and not physical attacks, and if Hazel is to be believed, that kind of power takes a lot out of a person. Silas seems to realise the tide is turning, and before Landon can even protest, he’s shooting up into the air and picking him up with his strong talons. Flapping his wings again, he glides out of the range of the attackers, bypassing the brush fire entirely as he swoops in to land beside the rest of us. In the blink of an eye, he and Landon are shifting back into human form, and then we’re picking our way through the densely packed trees, disappearing into the darkness of the woods.
“Where are we going?” I pant.
“Anywhere that’s not here,” Landon replies, shoving a branch out of the way so I can pass. The sounds of shouting and crackling flames can still be heard behind us. If we’re lucky, they’ll fall back to regroup. If not, though…
The roar of the remaining dragon jangles my nerves, and I force myself to pick up my pace as we hike deeper into the woods. At least the canopy will make us hard to spot. I’m running on pure adrenaline at this point, all hope of using my magic dashed for the time being, and putting one foot in front of the other feels more and more difficult with every step. I grit my teeth, tightening my grip on Hunter, and the feeling of fingers interlacing with my own makes me look up; Shade meets my eyes, giving my hand a squeeze—although whether that’s for my peace of mind or his own, I don’t know. His fingers are dreadfully cold and clammy, and the fact that he’s not mouthing off for once doesn’t bode well either.
“Shade…” I pant, gripping his wrist, “Are you all right?”
“Bastards got me,” the wolf shifter replies. “Don’t know how deep. Doesn’t matter. We have to keep moving.”
“Just focus on walking,” Silas reminds us. “We’ll find shelter and regroup.”
“Right,” Shade pants, sweat standing out on his temples.
And then he collapses.
Chapter 2
“Shade? Shade!” My voice sounds like it’s coming from the far end of a long tunnel. Am I panicking, or just about to pass out? Or maybe both? I feel myself drop to my knees, the world already narrowing to a pinpoint before my eyes. My limited grasp on my own consciousness feels dangerously close to slipping away, and a voice in my mind whispers that I’ve about maxed myself out, even as I grab the wolf shifter by the shoulders and give him a gentle shake.
“Shade, say something!” I cry, desperation seeping into my voice. My breath is coming hard and fast, the combined trauma of the experiments and seeing one of the men I love injured enough to make stars appear in front of my eyes. The idea of dying in the Academy’s clutches before having a chance to say goodbye to them was one thing. The idea of any of them being harmed in the process of saving me is another, and my exhausted mind rebels at the notion. A sudden coldness on my face makes me aware that tears are running down my cheeks, although I’m not even sure when I started crying.
“Boots…” Landon’s voice sounds far away. “Millie, wait a second. Hold on to me…” He puts a steadying hand on my shoulder, and I lean into his touch, aware that it might be the only thing keeping me from passing out. My eyes are still locked on Shade’s unconscious body, and although his chest is rising and falling, the movements are irregular and rapid. Fumbling forward, I press my fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse, but I’m shaking too badly to get an accurate read.
“Here,” Landon gently takes my hand and moves it away before taking over, his frown deepening as he holds his fingers to Shade’s throat.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, my voice trembling. “Landon, what’s wrong with him?”
“His heart rate is off the charts,” the siren shifter replies.
“What about the soldiers?” Silas, ever the pragmatic one, asks. The others have all stooped down to cluster around the fallen wolf shifter, but I can see the fear in their eyes behind the rallying. We may be adults, but just barely. And now, more than ever, we’re in over our heads.
Hunter furrows his brow and transforms for a moment. We all go silent as he cocks his head to one side, listening for any sign of the pursuing agents. What we all know, but don’t dare say aloud, is that Shade, being a wolf shifter, has the best senses of our entire group. Unfortunately, he’s out of commission… and I don’t want to follow that line of thinking any further. “I can hear them,” Hunter says at last, “but barely. It sounds like they’re heading east.”
“Good,” Landon says. “Then we head west.”