back a cry pierced her core. Stolas somehow managed to fling the beast back and then sever its head with his sword, but more were descending. He slammed his horns into a male Golemite’s face, cratering it on impact. He rammed the butt of his sword into another Golemite’s temple, dropping him.
But there were too many. This was Morgryth’s revenge. If the orders were to take Haven alive, they would be the opposite for Stolas, the male who murdered Morgryth’s only daughter.
A Golemite female darted from behind, clipping one of his wings—
This time he grunted, every muscle trembling as he whipped to face the threat. His tormentors were laughing.
Laughing.
At the male who had saved her countless times. Who had endured torture for her. Who had somehow, somehow held on to a shred of hope for centuries despite unimaginable cruelty. Who had bet everything on her, a rash, impulsive girl who tried to end her life.
A life he saved. Over and over again.
Even when she didn’t think she deserved it.
Even when she probably didn’t deserve it.
Wrath like she’d never felt before split her open—a torrent of fire a thousand times hotter and greedier than the Netherfire.
Pain cracked her knees—she had fallen. The pressure in her chest was building and building and . . .
Oh, Goddess, she was going to break in half.
The air punched from her lungs as the pressure released. The fire sizzling her skin softening to a soothing heat.
She must have shut her eyes, and when she opened them, she had trouble understanding what she was seeing.
A great beast of golden light cut through the black smoke as it leapt toward Stolas. His tormentors were too enthralled in the attack to notice the creature. That is, until it roared.
That roar turned into a howl that was soon matched by another creature.
Stolas’s Shadow Wolf. Their plaintive howls intertwined to create an ethereal song that reached deep inside her, filling the yawning pit of emptiness she had felt her entire existence. Warmth cascaded through her, over her. A euphoria of belonging, of rightness she didn’t understand.
The Golemites pivoted to face the new threat, oblivious to Stolas’s wolf behind them. Haven watched, transfixed, knowing deep down what this was.
Her familiar had released.
And it had chosen a form.
A wolf—a majestic golden wolf to match Stolas’s black one.
It circled Stolas’s tormentors, and she could feel it waiting for her command.
She didn’t make it wait long.
Kill them all.
The Shade Queen’s army scattered—or tried. Her wolf snapped its giant head down, teeth cracking bone as it took them out in threes and fours.
Shrieking in terror, the Golemites and Gremwyrs tried to take to the air, but her wolf snatched them down one by one. Breaking their necks. Tearing off their heads. Eviscerating them. Ripping them in half.
A part of her said she should have looked away. Should have felt a twinge of horror.
Instead, she felt a deep, primal satisfaction.
It was all over in a few seconds. Her wolf had become corporeal, the golden filaments of light becoming luxurious platinum fur tipped in rich gold. She was slightly smaller than Stolas’s wolf, lither, her fur thicker when compared to the onyx wolf’s silky pelt.
Whining, her wolf padded over to Stolas, who had just finished off the last remaining Golemite. He was panting slightly and favoring his ribs, but when her wolf leaned down to sniff him, he went inhumanly still. The golden beast licked the wound over his chest before nuzzling her head against his cheek.
For a strange moment, Haven imagined sketching the scene. Stolas, his wavy bone-white hair fallen over the side of his forehead, thick ebony horns curved back against his skull like a crown. His glossy wings were held aloft behind him, one slightly more outstretched than the other.
And her wolf, radiant, almost glowing from within as it checked his wounds.
Stolas’s gaze went to hers, and she felt that same connection she had when her familiar had recognized his yesterday. A taut jerk low in her belly, but a hundred times stronger than before.
And when Stolas’s lips curled upward—her breath hitched.
His wolf howled, the sound beckoning Haven’s familiar.
It was a call to hunt.
Together, the twin wolves descended on the room, creatures of light and dark working in tandem. Their movements seemed almost coordinated as they pounced and lunged, sending Golemites and Gremwyrs fleeing in every direction.
As Haven watched, she couldn’t help but think of earlier when she and Stolas had cleared the corridors together. That same sort of bond between them as they hunted