My limbs had gone numb. I let myself melt into the floor, stretched beside Ren’s body. My fingers twisted in the thick charcoal fur.
He can’t be dead. He can’t be.
I shifted into wolf form with the only will I could muster, settling my muzzle on top of Ren’s.
Shay didn’t try to approach me, but I glanced at him when I heard his shaky breath.
“I’m sorry, Calla,” he said. “I didn’t want it to end this way.”
I whimpered and turned my face away from him. Closing my eyes, I sent a final plea out, trying to touch Ren’s mind.
I love you.
But he was gone.
TWENTY-SIX
“LEAVE HER.” My father stepped between Shay and me. I was still curled against Ren’s body. I could hear my blood pounding through my veins, but I couldn’t feel anything.
“But-” Shay gazed at me, his features hardening with resolve. “We still have to face Bosque. We need her.” Adne was wrapped in Connor’s arms, crying quietly.
“Losing another alpha is like losing part of yourself.” Stephen bared sharp canines at Shay.
“I understand that.” A challenge flashed in Shay’s eyes, but he withdrew to stand beside Adne and Connor. “It doesn’t change what’s at stake. We can’t stop. This isn’t over. We still have to summon Bosque.”
Sabine approached us slowly. Ethan trailed close behind her, but kept a respectful distance as she knelt beside Ren.
I didn’t move, watching her stretch her hand to touch him. She bent forward, placing a kiss on the top of his head.
She turned her eyes to me for a moment, and I saw my sorrow reflected there.
I understood now why Shay had come to me in wolf form. Why he’d coaxed me to shift. He’d already known there was no hope for Ren, but he knew I wasn’t able to face that loss. That I would have attacked any intruders-just as I’d almost attacked Adne-that had come too close to Ren’s body.
But that time had passed, leaving me numb, exhausted. I wouldn’t attack anyone now. I wouldn’t do anything. The battle might not be over for Shay. But it was over for me. Doubt and regret stole my will to fight.
Sabine bowed her head and stood up, letting Ethan fold her into his arms.
“Come on,” Connor said, beckoning to Shay. “It’s time to end this.”
Shay nodded. “Get Logan up.” He turned to me. “Calla?”
I snapped at his fingers, unwilling to move from Ren’s side. So what if this battle was the last? We’d lost Ren. I didn’t want to fight. I couldn’t look at Shay.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Ren’s voice, his words warm against my skin. We were always meant to be together, Calla.
He’d loved me, but I’d found my mate in another wolf, another alpha. Had I been reckless because of my choice? Could I have done more to save Ren? I’d been fighting other Guardians, tasting wolves’ blood that flowed between my fangs, killing my own packmates. And now this. What could be worth losing Ren?
A warning growl slid through the space between me and the Scion. All I wanted was to be left alone. Shay gritted his teeth but turned away from me, following Connor to Logan’s side.
Bryn stayed in place, watching me, but she didn’t try to move any closer.
Connor kicked the Keeper, not too hard but enough that Logan finally lifted his face. “Is it over?”
“It’s about to begin,” Connor said. “And you’re the opening act.”
Logan didn’t move. He scanned the room, taking in Emile’s corpse and Ren’s. He swallowed hard and began trembling as he stared up at Connor.
“If I do this,” he whispered, “do you promise to let me live?”
His gaze slid onto me. I bared my teeth at him, snarling.
“Give me your word!” He rolled his eyes up at Shay.
“If you keep your promise, we’ll keep ours,” Shay said. “You won’t be harmed.”
“Now get on your feet,” Connor said. “Our friends are still dying out there.”
Logan scrambled up, stumbling forward as if he were barely able to force his muscles to work. He shook as he dropped to one knee in front of the fireplace. He unbuttoned his shirt, shrugging the crisp fabric from his body. Sabine hissed and my breath faltered. Logan’s back was covered in scars.
“Blood oath,” Connor muttered, gazing at Logan’s ravaged skin. “It’s a bitch.”
Logan began chanting, his voice low and feverish.
“Oh God.” Shay stepped back as one by one the scars on Logan’s back opened.
Fresh blood began to seep from the wounds. Then it was flowing, spilling down his back and dripping onto the varnished wood floor.
The fireplace, which had been empty and silent, stirred. It began like a gentle breeze. As if a breath of wind had been caught in the tall chimney, so that the sound barely reached us. The murmur of sound grew louder. Within the darkness a shape began to form. The angry noise buzzed like a swarm of insects.
My father snarled, pacing restlessly in the space between me and the fireplace.
The flowing mass began to congeal, stretching into the shape of a man. A putrid green aura surrounded the moving body that stood tall in the shadows.
Connor swore, shielding Adne as the sickly light grew brighter. Behind the dark figure shadows flickered in and out of the gleaming green, creatures that remained just out of sight.
“There it is,” Ethan murmured. “The Rift.”
Sabine shifted into wolf form, hackles raised. Shay moved forward so he stood directly behind the chanting Keeper.
Logan’s voice rose to a shout and then he collapsed.
Bosque Mar laughed as he stepped from the fireplace. Bryn snarled, scrambling to her feet and placing herself in front of me, as if she feared I wouldn’t be able to fight for myself.
“Logan, Logan.” Bosque’s smile glinted like the edge of a blade. “Whatever are you up to?”
“Master,” Logan breathed, though he scuttled backward like a crab, only stopping when he ran up against a bookcase.
Bosque scanned the room; his eyes settled on Efron’s body. “How tragic.”
“Hardly,” Shay said.
“Welcome back, my nephew.” Bosque’s voice almost sounded warm. He turned a stony gaze on Logan. “Did your actions lead to your father’s untimely demise?”
Logan stammered something, but all I could hear was the chattering of his teeth.
“I think you’ll find the price of treachery to be quite high,” Bosque murmured. Logan moaned, pressing his body tight against the wall.
Shay moved sideways, blocking Bosque’s view of the Keeper. He slowly withdrew the Elemental Cross. The power of the blades reacted instantly to the aura of the Rift, making the air around Shay crackle as if it were alive with electricity. The sight stirred something inside me. I forced myself to my feet, keeping my gaze fixed on Shay.
Calla? Bryn’s ears flicked as she watched me uneasily.
I’m fine. I bared my teeth. Get ready to fight.
I crept toward Shay, keeping my body low. Positioning myself behind him, I crouched, ready to leap at any hideous creatures that Bosque might conjure.
Bosque’s gaze flitted over Shay’s swords. “What a pretty toy you’ve brought me.”
“The better to kill you with,” Connor said. Beside him, Ethan raised his crossbow and Sabine growled.
Bosque glanced at the two Searchers. “Oh my, toy soldiers as well.” He flicked his wrist and the men went flying. They crashed into the far wall, books tumbling down around them. Sabine yelped and tore across the room.
Go! I didn’t want to leave Shay, but Bryn could help the others. Without hesitation, Bryn bounded after Sabine.
“No!” Adne shouted, running toward the mess of wood, pages, and limbs where Sabine had already begun digging in an attempt to reach the bodies of Ethan and Connor.
“What a lovely young thing.” Bosque watched Adne move, running his tongue over his lips as if tasting the air. “And with such power. You’ve been playing with my garden, dear. Without permission.”