Tendrils and roots snaked around my arms and ankles as I lumbered up the
slanted shaft, but I tore through. She was in my arms, and no force could stop
me.
At last, I burst forth into the dim cavern with the pond. “Jaxson!” Sam
shouted from below a tree. “Time to go!”
“Have you finished? Are they all free?” I braced myself as another
earthquake shuddered the cave.
“Yes!” Sam yelled. “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”
With Savannah unconscious, I charged toward the exit as the chamber
quaked and roots began to writhe along the walls.
Sam pointed to the grimoire floating above the pond. “The book!”
“No time, leave it!” I shouted over my shoulder. The only thing that
mattered was getting Savannah and Sam out of there.
We ran through the trembling tunnels as the roar of falling rubble echoed
up the passageway from behind.
I ran with all the strength I had.
Neve found us in the first chamber of sleepers. “This cave won’t last
long. I’ll planes-walk us out of here!”
“No! The shift will kill Savannah. She’s too wounded. I need to heal her.
Get Sam out!”
“We’re not leaving you!” Sam shouted. “The entrance isn’t far!”
We ran together through the crumbling paths as stone and sand rained
down around us. Neve summoned a whirlwind ahead, keeping the debris off
our heads and out of our way.
At last, I saw the glimmer of daylight. I charged headlong out of the
quaking tunnel and down the pebble-covered beach.
The tunnel roared as the sound of collapsing earth followed me out.
I dropped to my knees in the ocean and laid Savannah’s body in the
shallows. Plumes of red clouded the water. She had so many wounds—cuts,
lacerations, fang marks. She was a new wolf, and her healing powers weren’t