“Go,” Torin ordered, voice low and fierce. “Get her out. Now.”
The wolf didn’t need to be told twice.
He surged upward, powerful legs launching us up the steep incline in impossible bounds. I clung to him, breath ripped out of me as branches whipped past and mud spattered my clothes. Glancing back, I watched as Torin clambered upward with Zara in his arms, taking the same shifting path the trees offered him—a path that revealed itself with each of his steps. The forestwaslaying down stones for its king.Amazing.
Above the gully rim, the world had become a battleground.
The entire Order of Caledonia stood arrayed in a defensive crescent.
Sophie was at the front, her dirk gleaming as she held it in front of her, her stance steady despite the shaking earth. Lachlan was beside her, shield up, eyes murderous. Lia muttered underher breath, the air around her humming with heat. Shona’s hands were outstretched, a garden staff raised to the air, vines crawling at her command. Orla lifted a hammer made of glowing ember-metal, her eyes sharp. Willow raised glowing sheers. Kaia had a chisel in her hand and an angry look on her face.
Other men flanked them—Finlay, Thane, Ramsay, Munroe—all wide-eyed but resolute.
Familiars filled the rest of the space. The gnomes brandished tiny pickaxes. Gloam paced, tail puffed. Brice hovered at Lia’s leg, ready to help. The crow perched atop Kaia’s shoulder, feathers glowing faintly blue. A cat wound itself between Willow’s legs, its hackles raised. Bracken raced next to Luch, never leaving my side.
And Clyde floated above them all, bellowing.
The wolf bounded to the edge of the line and stopped, lowering himself so I could slide off. My legs shook violently when my feet hit the ground. Turning, I took a step back toward the gully and Torin emerged seconds later, leaping over the rim with Zara in his arms. Agnes rushed to help, guiding him toward Faelan.
But everyone else stared at the loch.
It was impossible not to.
Because the dragon-like creature was still rising.
Its massive head reared higher, plates shining as water streamed down in sheets. Its roar rolled across the shore, rattling stones and making my bones feel hollow.
“Oh,” Lia whispered. “Oh, that’s not just a beast.”
“No,” Sophie breathed, eyes narrowed. “It’s a guardian.”
The water surged again.
The Kelpies threw back their heads and screamed, their voices a chorus of fury and triumph.
The enormous creature lashed its tail, sending a tidal wave surging toward the shore.
“Lock in, ladies!” Sophie shouted, lifting her dirk high.
The Order responded as one.
Shona’s vines shot forward like spears. Willow’s chanting grew louder. Lia flung a handful of herbs into the wind, flames roaring to life along the ground in a protective arc. Orla slammed her hammer down, sending ripples of molten magick through the earth. Faelan’s hands were already around my sister’s leg, her eyes closed as she went deep inside herself.
Agnes stood, frozen, her hands raised in front of her, and her thread flared in my vision again, brilliant and commanding.
The Order’s combined magick met the tidal wave head-on.
Light collided with water.
And the world exploded into sound and energy.
The tidal wave broke against the magickal shield, spraying harmlessly into steam. The Kelpies shrieked in outrage as invisible forces shoved them backward, hooves skidding on churning water. The dragon-like creature roared again, the sound echoing off the cliffs—but then its massive head jerked sideways, as if something ancient and unseen had tugged on its reins.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Three.