Chapter Seventeen

The grass is lit with flames, the trees ablaze with embers. Everywhere Kai looks there is smoke and flames and no sign of Serenia. He can’t smell through the thick smog gathering in his nose and blinding his sight, the ground quickly turning to crumbled ash making it harder to detect movement or sound.

But she is there, he can feel her. She is close and injured, he knows it through the mate bond, he felt it the moment it occurred but turned around to see nothing, the forest partially gone as is.

Niklas! Kai calls out but there is no response. What the hell is happening? How is there another ambush? We took a different path!

Gunnar, where are you? Still no response. Damn!

Kai continues to push through the growing fire and fallen trees to find Serenia, just barely making her out along the edge of the small pool of water that is now rapidly turning red. Fear courses through him as he tears toward her, only for another barrage of lit ar