Destroyer (The Elemental Series #7)(32)

I looked at Raven, his head bowed, and knew he was going to do something when I saw the twitch in his cheek. He didn’t even lift his hand, but with Talan’s back to us, the Spirit Walker never saw it coming.

Fire sprang up around Talan, a wall of heat so large it filled the room from floor to ceiling, forcing him to the far side.

Would it be enough?

I could fling up my own hand to protect my face, the hold on my body gone. Apparently, fire was a weakness for Talan. And I was grateful for it because his distraction stole away his hold on me, and my connection to my own powers flooded through me.

Raven grabbed my other hand and pulled. “We have to go now!”

“Peta!”

She was there in a flash and before I could process that Raven was rescuing me, we were running full tilt through the tunnels, down and down, the rock growing more and more slick with each step and the light growing dimmer. “Raven, are you sure you can get us out?”

“Absolutely. I just need us to get out of the main section.” But there was a hesitation in his voice that made me wonder.

“Why?”

“Talan blocked the ability to Ride Spirit directly out of his home, same as the elemental families.”

I kept my mouth shut after that.

“Peta, stick close,” Raven said. “When we hit the stable, I can take all three of us because you are connected to Lark through your familiar bond, but not the horse.”

My heart sank as we rounded a final corner and I saw Shazer dozing with his head hanging over a stall door. His wings fluttered in his sleep, shivering as he dreamed whatever it was a Pegasus would dream. Maybe he dreamed of his past. “We can’t leave him,” I said.

Shazer’s head never even came up.

“He’s under a heavy sleep spell, so you can’t ride him out anyway,” Raven said.

I didn’t even think about what I was doing. I just ran forward and put my hands on Shazer’s neck. Whatever the connection between him and me, it was strong. Carefully, I felt along the edges of his mind and found the spell holding him under its thrall. The same way I’d pulled apart my own false memory of Talan’s kiss, I used my muscle memory of Shazer being awake, sassy, and vibrant to shatter the sleep spell. He came to with a snort, his head jerking up so fast, he hit the top of the stall door.

“What the fuck is going on?” he yelped as he shook his head.

“Explain later, leaving now.” I yanked the stall door open and he plunged out, giving a little kick with his back legs. I leapt up and Peta was right with me, settling down in front of me in her housecat form. It was my turn to hold a hand out to Raven. “You coming?”

He took my hand and I hauled him up. “Run straight at the wall, there.” Raven pointed at the solid rock wall in front of us.

I shook my head. “And use the power of the earth to open it?”

“No, the wall is not real, just another illusion. And if you use your connection to the earth, it will become solid. Now go!” He drummed his heels against Shazer’s sides and the Pegasus leapt forward.

“Asshole,” he snapped back as he sprinted toward the wall. “You’d better be right about this.”

I clung to Shazer’s mane, tangling the long white threads through my fingers as Shazer sprinted. Ten strides from the wall, Talan burst into the room.

If he used Spirit, we were done.

I twisted in my seat, called up the earth under Talan and let my power course through the rock and stone without holding back. Freedom and relief I’d not felt in being able to use my own abilities in ages rushed along with it. Not since I’d first gained control over my abilities had I felt as helpless as Talan had left me, blocked as completely as if I was once more just a Planter girl.

Helpless no more, the room erupted with all the strength I could shove into it. Shattered stone sliced through the air like deadly daggers that would kill if they hit the right organs.

I didn’t want to kill him. Not really.

The explosion was enough to give us the split-second distraction we needed to make our escape happen.

Shazer grunted as he plunged through the wall and the room around us shimmered, faded and was gone. We went from running to falling through space in a single stride of Shazer’s long legs.

“Shit!” The Pegasus spat the word out as the waterfall slammed into us. Peta’s claws dug into my inner thighs and Raven’s arms wrapped tightly around me as we fell with the water and the Pegasus. We’d leapt into a massive waterfall that was pulling us down… but how far? Under me, Shazer fought to get us out of the rushing water, his wings beating hard against the pounding force as every muscle in him worked to save us.

I tucked my head and gave him all my energy, everything I had. A burst of power rolled between us on the connection that bound us and he let out a whinny as we exploded from the water. Only inches from the rocky pool, his hooves skimmed the surface as he pulled up, gaining height and distance quickly. Shaking, I turned to look back. The waterfall was at least two hundred feet high and there was no sign of Talan.

I let out a breath I barely registered that I’d been holding. “As far as we can, as fast as we can, Shazer.”

“You got it. But only if you tell me what happened. One second, I was landing us on the top of that waterfall back there and thought we were taking that asshole on. Next thing I know, you’re waking me up and I’m bashing my head on that fucking stall.” He swung his head back so he could give me the stink eye. “What gives?”