DianaThe irony isn't lost on me. Originally, our strategy had been to let Emerald and me escape battle until the very end when we have to face the Dark Mage, only for us to seek refuge in what we thought would be a safe place, just to find a fight waiting for us.I finally manage to kill the first creature, putting all my strength behind a vicious strike. With a snarl of effort, I decapitate it with my large knife, the blade cleaving through artificially hardened corrupted flesh and bone. The head and body fall to the ground. Immediately, I spin around to intercept claws dripping with some kind of venom as they slash toward my face. When the liquid splashes on the grass, it sizzles and melts. My face hardens at it and remind myself to be careful not to let it touch me.Then, out of the corner of my eye, I notice something that makes my heart sink into my stomach. Its the creature I just killed. The severed head continues to snarl and snap its jaws while the headless body has somehow
DianaYes. I think with certainty. These are werewolves, but someone has twisted them into nightmarish parodies of their former selves.The least disturbing of the group appears to be wolves caught mid-transformation, their bodies frozen in the agonizing space between human and wolf form. But as I look closer, I realize this isn't just that—their limbs have been deliberately elongated and twisted, joints bending in directions that should be impossible, faces stretched into permanent expressions of anguish.More emerge from the shadows, each more horrifying than the last. One drags itself forward on arms that appear to belong to different species entirely, its lower body a writhing mass of what might once have been legs but now resembles something between tentacles and serpentine coils. Another has had its skull split open and reshaped, with foreign bone structures creating horn-like protrusions and cavities where additional sensory organs have been crudely implanted.The smell hits us
DianaI'm grateful for the faintly glowing fog that surrounds us now. At the top of the cliff, there had been moonlight to aid our sight, but down here in the abyss, darkness usually reigns even during the day due to the thick canopy above. The ethereal luminescence filtering through the mist provides just enough visibility to navigate safely. While Billy and I could manage with our enhanced werewolf senses, Emerald lacks those advantages—every bit of light helps keep us all together.We push deeper into the woods, carefully picking our way through the undergrowth. Twisted roots and fallen branches create natural obstacles, and more than once we have to navigate around patches of treacherous swampland that would slow our progress. Finally, we discover a small clearing where the ground is relatively even—no protruding stones, no clinging mud, no marshy bog. Just normal, dry earth beneath our feet.I survey the area with a critical eye before nodding in satisfaction. "This will do."I s
DianaI maintain my human form, using my speed and agility to stay one step ahead of her assault. A massive fireball forces me to leap sideways, and I land hard, rolling to absorb the impact as the ground where I'd been standing turns to molten glass."You're faster than I expected," she calls out, sounding genuinely pleased. "This might actually be fun."I don't waste breath on a response. She's toying with me, and we both know it. This is a game to her—a deadly one, but a game nonetheless.That's when she gets clever.She sends a wind blade directly at my head—an obvious attack that any competent fighter would dodge. I lean left to avoid it, exactly as she predicted, and find myself moving directly into the path of a killing bolt she'd already launched.Shit!Time slows to a crawl. The dark magic races toward me, and I realize with crystal clarity that I can't avoid it completely. I throw myself backward desperately, feeling the spell graze the corner of my sleeve. The fabric doesn'
DianaAs my eyes land on Emerald, I remember Dom’s words again. However, there's an additional reason I believe its best we stay away from the fighting for now. I desperately hope that Emerald can be protected from as much of war's brutality as possible. If we need her for the Dark Mage, then I'd prefer she only engage in battle with him directly, and only if it comes to that.I take a deep breath and say to Emerald and Billy. "Follow me."To their credit, neither asks questions. They simply fall in behind me as we begin moving carefully through the trees, searching for a clear path to the cliff. I'm acutely aware that I have a target painted on my back—the dark witches' priority will be eliminating the Priestess before she can interfere with their plans.The sounds of fighting echo around us as we creep through the forest. Finally, we find what we're looking for: a spot where the tree line juts out just enough to partially block the view from both the cliff edge and the main battlefi
DianaMy gaze shifts to Dominicus.He stands with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the fighting with cold calculation. He hasn't engaged yet, and there's a wide berth around him that both witches and wolves alike seem to avoid instinctively. The air around him practically vibrates with restrained power.Damn.‘That’s so sexy though…’ Nova says in my mind.‘Uhun.’ I reply. So fucking sexy.I catch sight of movement at the battlefield's edge. Arran, Natasha, and the two other warriors are using the sudden mayhem as cover.Natasha stays in the center of their protective formation, her ordinary pack wolf strength no match for any witch's magic. The warriors move with practiced precision, creating a shield of bodies around her as they advance.When they reach the cliff's edge, a lone dark witch stationed there hisses at their approach, her hands already rising to cast what I'm sure will be a devastating curse.She never gets the chance.Arran moves faster than my eyes can follow—j