No—the trees were moving forhim.
Branches twisted aside, trunks tilted—curved—as if bending in a bow of recognition. Roots pulled back from the earth and vines untangled themselves from jutting stone. The thick green tangle that had hemmed us in moments ago now opened in a precise, spiraling path like a living staircase.
“Go on, lad!” Lachlan shouted after Torin.
It was impossible not to stare.
Torin descended the steep slope as if gravity had taken one look at him and decided it wasn’t worth the argument. He moved quickly, his boots finding hold after hold with impossible precision. Determination made his face steely.
For a man who claimed not to be magickal, he looked like the forest’s chosen son.
Torin reached us and immediately crouched by my sister. His eyes flicked to her leg and tightened.
“This’ll hurt,” he warned.
“Everything already fecking hurts,” Zara gritted.
He slid one arm under her bum—carefully avoiding her legs the best he could—and braced the other behind her back. With a strength that made Zara gasp and bite her lip, he scooped her into his chest as if she weighed nothing at all. Lia and Shona’s stabilization spell seemed to be working. For now.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you.” His eyes flew to mine, understanding passing between us. He knew.
I’d always choose for my sister to get out first in times of trouble. Just like she’d do for me, if the situation was reversed.
“I’m coming back for you,” Torin promised, his words cutting through me.
I didn’t say what was in my head.If there was time.
A deep, rumbling growl echoed down the slope behind him.
A wolf sprang neatly down the side of the gully as though the precarious cliffs were mere child’s play for him. Luch, Faelan’s partner, had arrived. I’d been told, in secret, from Zara, of his true identity. At the time, I couldn’t quite bring myself to believe it. But here he was.
A wulver.
Taking in the sight of him, in wolf form, took my breath away.
He stood above me now, hackles raised, golden eyes blazing like torches. He descended fast, then stopped in front of me, massive body turned broadside.
“Luch?” I whispered.
He didn’t growl. He didn’t bare teeth. He simply looked at me—long, direct—and then nudged his shoulder into my side.
Hard.
I gasped. He nudged again. Insistent.
“Oh,” I breathed. “You want me to?—”
Another nudge, more forceful.
“…ride you?”
A snort of hot wolf breath hit my face.
“Right. Yes. That’s a yes.”
I scrambled awkwardly up, my stomach pressed against his backside and my arms looped around his neck. My fingers sank into his thick fur and I felt his muscles coil beneath me.
Behind us, the Kelpies screamed—closer now. A wave crashed against the rocks, spraying icy mist.