The shadows of the woods race toward me, like tiny animals scattering to my body. I remember the circle I created around me when I met Ren, and I know I need more. A larger circle, a larger space. So, I keep pumping the power through me, letting it flow like a long-held-back dam about to burst. It draws strength from me, making my knees quiver, but I keep reaching out to the surrounding darkness.
As with the burst of a sigh, light hits us, so stark and so freaking bright I slam my eyelids shut. Donatello’s scream is heart-breaking, and he pulls back from me, letting me fall like a potato sack to the ground. The impact empties my lungs in an oof, and all hell breaks loose around me.
I turn to my side and force my eyes open. This is not the time to relax. Donatello let me go, but he can be ready for a second attack. When I open my eyes, though, I notice my magic was much more useful than I expected. The shreds of sunlight escaping through the clouds pinpoint to this place, and the absence of shadows creates a circle of light around me, so wide it bathes not only Donatello and me, but Ren, Apollo, and the three vampires attacking them. The four vampires now lay on the ground, crawling away from the sun as they cover their faces, hisses and painful grunts reaching my ears.
My gaze snaps up to Apollo and Ren. Both stare at me with a mix of confusion and utter amazement. I can’t help but smile at them.
“That was incredible,” Ren mouths, getting to his feet and hastening toward me. He cranes his neck back to look up at the sky. “And it’s raining. That’s impressive.” And he looks back down at me, a huge smile on his face.
I smile back. “We could stay here for all I know. Remember when we met? I was sitting in a circle of sunlight too, and even as we left, the shadows didn’t go back in immediately.” I jut my chin at the vampires. “We could tie them up or something.”
Apollo doesn’t seem so into the idea as I glance up at him. With an arched brow, he watches me, studying my face like he’s seeing something new. As if we hadn’t spent the past days in close quarters. Finally, he snaps his gaze over his shoulder at the vampires.
“They’ll be back to their feet in no time, and they heal pretty fast too.” He touches my shoulder, but it’s strange. Wouldn’t he usually grab me by the hand or something? This is almost professional. Cold. “We should escape while there’s time.”
“But where?” I ask him, without leaving the sunlight. “We don’t even have the car anymore.”
“Wherever we go,” Ren says as his hand closes around mine, “we have to go now.”
Exhaustion seeps into me, and my knees buckle. Cold blows across the forest, making me shiver. I look up, and the sunlight is going away, dimming, the shadows returning. What’s happening? Fuck, why now of all times?
The vampires get to their feet. Donatello’s face is an angry red, and he bares his teeth at me with a smirk that makes my heart race. I can only ask myself why. Why did he do this? Was it all a lie? The caresses, the affection, everything?
My heart hurts, but there’s no time to soak in the pain.
Ren sets off in a sprint, tugging me along. I get rid of his hold because, fuck, who can run holding someone else’s hand? I slip on the undergrowth but keep my balance, following Ren’s back as Apollo keeps the rear. We jump over a set of overgrown roots, the pumping sound of footfalls steady behind us. My heart jumps to my throat.
We won’t make it. I’m too slow. If it were only Ren and Apollo, they would be fine, but I’m slowing them down. If there was time for Ren to shift, I’d happily jump on his back to catch a ride.
The trees thin, and a fucking cliff rises ahead.
“Fuck!” Apollo snarls, and we slow down, skidding to a halt at the edge. It gives into a river, softly rolling below, and here the sun has pierced through the clouds, bathing the river with glinting light.
We search over our shoulders. “They’re almost here,” Ren breathes.
I curl my fingers around each of their wrists. Both look at me. “Let’s jump,” I say.
“You sure?” Ren asks, but Apollo doesn’t even think twice. He jumps off the cliff, and I’m dragged along by the grip I have on his wrist.
The three of us plummet into cold water, and I sink. The icy river surrounding me soaks into my bones, and air escapes me with a shudder. Motherfucker, is this the freaking Arctic? The river is deeper than I expected, which is much better. I swing my arms around me and swim to the surface.
Donatello and the other three stare at us from the edge of the cliff. They make no move to jump. Their mouths move, possibly discussing their next steps. Donatello just stares, gaze pinpointed at me.
My heart is so heavy I’m afraid I’ll sink and drown, but I keep afloat, hair stuck to my face, limbs tired as shit. The river takes us down in its current, and we allow it. Ren swims closer, pushing the hair off my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb.
The betrayal hurts. It hurts as much as the suspicion on Apollo’s face.
CHAPTER30
CASSANDRA
We make our way to the other margin, my body too tired to stand. I crawl onto the bank, and flop on my back, catching my breath. My fingers tremble, and I don’t think I could run a quarter of a mile if Freddy Krueger was after me.
Ren kneels next to me, his warm hands on my skin. He touches my face, my neck, my hands, then stops with his palm to my stomach. “You look terrible,” he says with that shit-eating grin of his.
I chuckle, then shake my head. “Thanks. That’s exactly how I feel.”
“You went all out up there, didn’t you?” he asks, leaning closer and pinching my earlobe between his fingers. “That was amazing. I didn’t know you could control the sun and shit. Maybe you’re a weather mage.”