to the ground, shaking and uncoordinated. A giant chasm had opened up inside of me, and it felt like I was being pulled apart from the inside. I could feel the earth, not just around me, but everywhere. A cacophony of voices, thoughts, and sounds invaded my brain. I was being spread too thin as I was pulled in every direction at once. The sensation was overwhelming as I was aware of everything but unable to filter anything out.
I was paralyzed, trapped in an unending loop. I was vaguely aware of my body lying on the ground, but it didn’t feel like it was me, not anymore. It felt like a shell that I’d outgrown. Something I wouldn’t be able to squeeze myself into anymore. The moments ticked by as I struggled for control of all the different sensations.
I was everywhere all at once, but nowhere in particular. I could feel everyone, but just as an indistinct blur, a hum in the background of my existence. There was darkness spreading over my world, I could feel it like a cancer, invading the land and the people who called it home.
I was displeased at the feel of darkness and death where light and life should be. That was a problem I needed to take care of. Cancer needed to be killed. I looked down at where my body lay with disdain. That weak form wouldn’t be enough to win the battle that was coming my way.
Chapter 17
Mason
“Did you feel that?” Jason asked me with wide eyes.
I grunted and closed my eyes to concentrate. I could feel Anna as she reached through our mate bonds, and I sent my love back to her. From this distance, I could vaguely sense her distress, but I was helpless to do anything else to help her.
“Get up,” James growled. “We’re going after her.”
Jason jumped up, his weapon at the ready, but I got up more slowly.
“Going where?” I asked. We needed a plan - we couldn’t just run off in a random direction.
“Wherever she is,” James answered as he stalked ahead of us. The pendant tied to Anna’s lifeforce was tightly clasped in his hand.
I had barely taken two steps forward when power rushed through the bond, flooding my body.
“What the fuck?” Jason asked with a gasp.
My heart thudded. If Anna was in distress, she should be pulling magic and strength from us, not sending it in our direction. What was happening?
A massive burst of magic unexpectedly slammed into all of us. James stumbled in front of me, then fell to one knee with a grunt. I reached out for my brother, and the two of us braced each other against the sudden onslaught.
My head buzzed with magic. I used my own magic to shift forms, but I’d never felt anything like this. Was this how Anna felt all the time? How did she keep this under control?
Magic pulsed one more time inside of me, and then the stream faded. Jason and I looked at each other in confusion. I felt different. More alive. My twin bond with Jason also felt different. The constant hum of his presence had become more intense. I looked over at James to see him standing up with a frown on his face.
“What was that?” I asked.
James rolled his shoulders back and ignored my question. “Can you still feel her?” he asked instead of answering me.
“Yeah,” I said slowly as I felt for my mate bond with Anna. “It’s faint, like she’s far away, but it’s still there.”
“I don’t like it,” Jason added.
A bright white light shimmered to life in front of us, and I squinted my eyes and raised my weapon against the potential threat. When the light faded away, Nimue was standing before us, Anna on the ground in front of her.
Jason and I both rushed to kneel by Anna’s side while James raised his stolen sword at Nimue.
“What did you do to her?” he asked gruffly.
I stroked Anna’s hair gently away from her face as I tried to reach her through our bond. It should have been easy as we were close, but it felt like she was still distant from me. Her skin was cool, her breath shallow.
Nimue raised her hand to halt James stalking towards her.
“Anna passed all of the tests, except the last. She still needs to make her decision. Her humanity or her world.”
With those final words, Nimue simply disappeared.
James cursed, and his sharp eyes scanned the terrain around us, searching for a