Kissed by Krista Street

Chapter 23

~ WYATT ~

I jolted forward, intent on stopping Avery before she carried out whatever plan she’d devised, but when I tried to grab her, all I reached for was air.

“Avery!” I howled.

Around me, the royal guards blinked, as if coming out of a trance.

“Avery!” I roared again, even though I knew it was in vain.

She’d stopped time again.

My mate was gone.

But then I remembered what she’d whispered to me.

“I’m sorry, but I have to do this. If I don’t kill Lord Godasara before he creates his army in the Derian Forest, this entire realm will fall.”

The Elixias Mountains. The Derian Forest. She was going after the elf lord. By herself.

“No!” I bellowed. What was she thinking? How could she even consider doing something like that, just her against Lord Godasara? Because even though she was immensely powerful, so was he.

The guards surged forward and tried to seize me, but with a vicious snarl I lashed out. I managed to keep the three off that were trying to detain me.

“We need to get to Bavar!” I yelled at Nick and Reese. “Now! Avery’s in danger. Stop the guards!”

Nick and Reese snapped into action.

A burst of vicious disabling spells exploded from them, knocking out the surrounding guards one by one.

When it was just the three of us left standing, I jerked my chin toward the door. “Come on, let’s go. We need to mobilize Squad Three and portal transport to the Derian Forest. Avery’s gone after Lord Godasara by herself.”

Nick’s eyes widened.

Reese whispered, “Fuck.”

We raced out of the room, down the hall, and past a dozen opulent rooms. Thankfully, I knew the palace well enough during my time spent here while searching through their archives, that I knew where to go.

We skidded to a stop outside one of the training rooms. Squad Three was inside, doing coordinated training exercises.

I burst through the door. “Bavar! Avery’s in the Derian Forest with Lord Godasara. We need to mobilize immediately.”

The fairy commander swirled around, a confused expression on his face. “Come again, Major?”

I forced myself to take a steadying breath even though rage rippled along my skin as my wolf threatened to unleash.

“Avery stopped time again. She went after the elf lord by herself. She’s in the Derian Forest, possibly right now as we speak. The fact that I’m telling you this means that time has started moving again.” My lungs seized. I didn’t want to think about what that signified. It either meant she’d beaten the elf lord or—

She was dead.

Gods. My claws lengthened, my wolf straining to shift.

No. She was strong. I couldn’t think that way. I would completely lose it if I did.

Bavar gave a curt nod. “Squad Three. We move now.”

They whipped into action, already suited up since we’d all anticipated an onslaught of problems once we arrived here.

“What about the three squads we’re waiting for?” Dee double checked the blades strapped to her legs.

“No time,” I told her.

“Copy that.”

Bavar reached into his pocket before tossing out portal keys. “You know the drill. Link up. Destination, the Derian Forest at the base of the Elixias Mountains. We go now.”

Bishop, Heidi, and Charlotte joined hands. I joined with Nick and Reese, while Bavar grabbed Dee and Terry.

We all whispered the spell-activating words, the portals opening instantaneously.

The portal winds swept around us, the floor disappearing beneath our soles. We cleaved through time and space, snapping and bending as immeasurable magic propelled us to another place.

Cold air greeted us when the portals spit us out.

I took in the evening sky. This far north, the sun had already set. Three moons shone down on us, but it was the sudden scream from my right that caught my attention.

My eyes widened in horror when, not even a hundred yards away, I saw Lord Godasara whipping his arm back, a spell forming in his hand. Behind him, thousands of immobile humanoid tree-like figures waited.

Avery knelt in front of the elf, screaming, as two humanoid trees held her down.

Intense rage slammed into me. “Attack now!” I commanded.

The entire squad dove into action. I shifted mid-run, my wolf breaking into a sprint faster than the wind as my clothes shredded at my back.

Just as the evil elf muttered the last word of his spell, I crashed into him. We went down in a tangle of fur, fangs, and limbs.

Avery screamed again as my wolf clamped down onto the lord’s arm. I bit viciously, sinking into his flesh, the taste of his blood making me want to tear him apart.

He cried out, my attack obviously catching him by surprise.

And then the entire squad was there. Charlotte rushed to Avery, hacking her from the trees, as the others encircled me and Lord Godasara.

The elf threw me off him, but I landed on my four paws, sliding to a stop just as he raised his hand and gave a command, all while Reese and Nick threw spells at him and Dee let a throwing star fly.

A shielding spell erupted around the lord, deflecting our blows as the forest army sprang to life.

Thousands of humanoid tree-like figures moved as if commanded by some grotesque puppet master.

In less than a second, we were surrounded, their wicked arms made of whittled branches as sharp and strong as swords.

We didn’t slow. Dee, Terry, and Bavar hacked at their limbs. Nick and Reese threw explosive spells in never-ending succession. Bishop and I snapped limbs from the trees as our jaws cut through them. Charlotte dropped her bow and switched to her blade to cleave the wooden limbs in two, while Heidi conjured winds to knock the trees from their rooted feet.

Avery still stood in the middle of us, looking so haggard and exhausted that my wolf’s fury strengthened to a cataclysmic reaction. Each tree he pounced upon was destroyed in seconds.

But it wasn’t enough.

The trees came at us too fast. There were so many. They were closing in on our group, and we couldn’t fend them off.

Because it was ten of us against thousands of them. Not even the entirety of the SF could stop this.

We didn’t stand a chance.

Lord Godasara laughed. “Did you really think you could beat me? She thought so too.” He cast a scathing glance at Avery. “But none of you are strong enough to take me on. I am the ruler of this land, the rightful ruler.”

My wolf snarled, rage making him crave bloodlust.

He lunged for the elf lord again, but at the last moment Lord Godasara whispered a spell and my wolf fell to the ground, our ribs cracking under the force of it.

“No!” Avery screamed.

The rest of the forest army was already tearing into Squad Three.

Charlotte screamed. Nick yelled. Dee took a hit to the leg.

The forest descended on us.

Terry managed to fend off another tree, slashing and fighting every single one that came at her, but then a branch shot out, encircling her ankle. She went down in a howl of fury.

My wolf pushed off from the ground, loping again toward the elf lord despite the pain that cleaved my chest. I struggled to breathe, knowing my broken ribs had punctured a lung.

I just needed to get to the lord—to stop him before we all ended.

“Wyatt,” Avery called to me. She was on her feet again, but she looked so pale.

I struck at the lord, fangs flashing.

But he was ready this time. He grasped my scruff between his hands. My wolf snarled and fought, claws extending into deadly weapons. They thrashed at the elf lord’s abdomen, tearing it open.

But Lord Godasara continued to stand, his skin sewing closed in seconds. His hold around my wolf’s neck tightened. He squeezed harder, crushing my wolf’s windpipe.

Behind the elf, the trees advanced on Avery, going for her and pinning her down again. Her eyes were still on me. Terror filled her gaze, and then it flashed violet.

I attempted to snarl again trying to break free, but no air could move through my windpipe, and I knew we were too late.

A mournful whine vibrated in my chest and something shattered inside me when a tree picked Avery up like a ragdoll.

I knew we weren’t going to survive.

We had failed, and the realm was lost.