Caelan screamed and sucked Tula’s power back into his body. Intense pain ripped across his mind, nearly knocking his knees out beneath him. He held on as the power snapped and crackled, trying to escape. He needed to stuff it down, but it was a hungry thing in his chest. So many centuries locked away from the world. Amara never let her out, never allowed her to feast on the hundreds of people who crossed her path every day.
But Tula was out in the vast world at last, and they would kneel before her even if she had to break all of their legs and possess their minds to do it.
An enormous black void was opening up inside of Caelan, trying to swallow him completely. Tula’s power wanted ultimate control, and she didn’t care who would be destroyed in the process. Of course, she was the Goddess of Life; she could fix anything she broke—if it suited her purposes.
Movement caught Caelan’s attention, dragging him from the battle in his mind. Drayce had risen from where he’d kneeled beside Rayne and was slowly approaching, one hand stretched out toward him as if he were a wild animal.
Cael could feel Tula’s grin, and he panicked. He’d barely avoided hurting Rayne with her powers. There was no chance he’d be able to stop her a second time if she made a move against his best friend.
“No! Stay away from me!” Caelan darted around Drayce, narrowly dodging his hand as he ran out of the camp.
He had to escape. It was the only way to save them both from him.
Tula’s power was still lashing at him, looking for an outlet, needing to touch the world that surrounded him. Caelan threw both arms out in front of him as he ran down the rocky slope, pushing the energy out of himself and into the earth under his feet.
Ahead of him, dirt and rocks became carpeted in a thick, lush green grass. Plants sprouted and twisted about him in the blink of an eye. Trees as wide as cars burst from the ground, shooting to the sky. Limbs reached out and shook, becoming covered in glossy leaves.
The farther he moved from Drayce and Rayne, the larger the forest grew on the side of the mountain. It closed in around him, blotting out the last of the sunlight so that he was embraced by the darkness. There was no sound of birds or animals moving through his forest. Just the crack of branches and the brush of leaves as he pushed deeper and deeper into this new world he’d created.
He wanted to get lost here. He wanted to disappear from the world. If Drayce and Rayne never found him, he could never hurt them.
At last, Tula’s wild powers waned, and his legs gave out beneath him. He collapsed on the soft grass, fronds from a feathery fern brushing his cheek. His labored breaths were even hushed in the dense greenery, as if it were all trying to help him hide from the world. Lying on his back, he blinked away tears, watching the trees grow larger, blocking out the last bits of blue so that he was enclosed in a world of black silence.
He closed his eyes, sending a streak of hot tears down his temples.
What am I becoming?
ELEVEN
Drayce Ladon
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Drayce lifted his head from where he’d covered Rayne with his own body to find that an entire forest had grown up around them. Yurts were either shredded or covered in vines now. The bodies of their kidnappers were lost to the new plants. The wagons and horses had disappeared.
By luck or just Caelan’s will, the trees had burst through the ground in a perfect circle surrounding him, Rayne, and the campfire. They were perfectly protected from the elements. It was hard to remember they were on the side of a mountain in Zastrad. This all looked more like the Ordas, which was a chilling thought in itself.
The big problem now was that he couldn’t see Caelan at all. He needed to go after his friend and king, but he didn’t want to leave Rayne alone and defenseless.
Straightening, Drayce patted Rayne on the cheek. “Come on, Rayne. Really gotta wake up now. Shit is blowing up and I need you.”
Rayne’s eyelids fluttered and he drew in a ragged breath. Drayce pulled his hand back, praying for the advisor to surface at last. He didn’t know what the hell was happening with Caelan, but he was ready to point fingers at those damn gods.
“What? What’s…what’s happening?” Rayne demanded. Each word came out slow and rough as if he were still trying to crawl to the surface of consciousness again.
Guilt gnawed on Drayce. The man needed more rest after surviving such a blow to the head. Even after being healed by Caelan, it was obvious he was struggling to pull his thoughts together, but he couldn’t afford to give it to Rayne right now.