My pulse races as the male drags himself upright, fumbling for his sword on his rise.
Pan tries to scramble to his feet, but he’s not fast enough, and I see this all play out in my mind seconds before it unfolds in reality before my eyes.
With a ferocious smile, the male swings his sword over his head.
“No!” I scream as a surge of horror and fear and anger erupts inside my chest, the need to stop this from happening bursting from deep within. I throw my hand up as if the simple act might stop Pan’s slaughter.
The next few heartbeats happen with painstakingly slow and precise clarity.
One beat … the male sails backward through the air as if hit with a mighty, invisible force and slams into the alcove. Somehow, I can feel every bone in his body snap as if beneath the weight of my boot.
Another beat … a second surge of power rises, and the forest floor rumbles, the trees swaying.
A third beat … a mighty crack sounds and the stone enclave crumbles, boulders crashing down over the male, the fire, the entire area.
My mouth hangs at the destruction that now hides in darkness. Only a faint glow from the buried fire remains.
“Pan?” I wait. “Pan?”
Silence answers.
Oh my God. “Pan!” My voice splinters over his name, as I realize what must have happened.
I only wanted to save him.
“Romeria!” Zander’s voice echoes through the forest.
“Here!” I call out, hot tears flowing down my cheeks.
Footfalls pound and branches snap, and then suddenly Zander is there, dropping to his knees when he reaches me. His palms cup my face. “You are hurt.”
I don’t care about myself right now. “Can you please help Pan? Or find him? You need to—”
“Okay, shh.” He brushes the tears from my cheeks. “Where is he?”
“It all came down,” I stammer. “And I think he’s buried in there.”
Zander ignites a nearby tree using the embers, providing a glow over the area. “Fates,” he whispers as we take in the pile of rubble together. “I do not think anyone would have survived that, especially not a mortal.”
“He should have run.” A sob tears from my chest. “I told him to run, but he wouldn’t leave me.”
“Then it was destiny to bring him with us, and he was far braver than he seemed.” Zander’s bloodstained fingers are gentle as he strokes a hair from my forehead. “How did this happen?”
“I don’t know.” But I do. I did that.
When Zander meets my eyes, I see that he knows too.
“They took my ring, and then the man was going to kill Pan, and … I stopped him.” My emotions spiraled, and I somehow pulled down an entire cave with my caster affinities, just like Gesine said could happen. Now, an empty calm replaces the constant buzzing, as if whatever power was waiting idly has fizzled with the destruction.
Zander’s eyes lock on the trees, his hand going for his sword.
A second later, Jarek and Loth appear.
“We heard the screams and ran as fast as we could, Your Highness.” Jarek’s breathing is a touch ragged. His eyes widen as he takes in the mound of debris. “Where are the others?”
“With the wagon, a league southwest of here. They were under attack when we came upon them.”
Jarek’s shoulders sink. With relief, I realize. He was afraid they were buried in that stone too.