“Pamela, you are a badass,” I hollered over to her.

She grinned but kept her eyes closed. “I learned from the best.”

Lark shimmied closer to me and whispered into my ear. “I can stop the Sylph, but I need to be on the ground.”

“Blaz, you heard the Destroyer. Time to land.”

He tucked his wings and dropped like the ten-ton lizard he was. Behind us came the sharp whistle of wind screaming through the Harpies’ feathers as they coursed behind the dragon. I leaned over and peered around Blaz’s head to see the spot he’d picked to land.

“Blaz, tell me you’re joking. Please tell me that isn’t Mt. Hood.”

The quickest path was to stay north and avoid the higher ranges, then come down the coast line.

Mt. Hood. The sight of the volcano I’d caused to erupt; the place where I’d gained the ogres as allies, then lost them when I confronted their leader, Sas.

The place I’d been when Dox had been killed at my farm. My heart clenched.

So be it.

CHAPTER 13

PAMELA

THE MAGIC RUSHED through my veins, more heady even than the cup of wine I’d drank at winter solstice with Rylee. Around me, I could feel the world and every element within it, as though they were a part of me, and with a bare whisper of a thought I could ask them to do my bidding.

That had been the key to unlocking my power, truly unlocking it. Not to demand the magic do my bidding, but to ask it. To make it my partner in all I wished.

What no one had ever told me before was that the magic I carried was a living thing, a creature no different than Blaz, Eve, or even me.

And it was a bit temperamental and didn’t like to be shoved around.

Weaving the power through me, I kept the clouds and lightning at bay, redirecting the storm, sending it southeast, away from us.

Something pushed it back, though; another force of magic from what it felt like, though the sensation was there and then gone in a flash.

Alex’s hands tightened on me and pulled me down. “Sit, we’re landing.”

My eyes popped open. “Why did we stop?” All around us was black rock and above us was a mountain with the top blown off. I put a hand to my mouth as I slowly turned to take it in. The charcoal forest, the strange landscape, the mountain, and the crystal clear lake in the distance—this was the place Rylee had been, where she’d made the volcano explode.

Which meant there were ogres nearby; ogres that didn’t like us and were probably still being manipulated by Orion.

“Oh shit,” I whispered.

Alex squeezed my arms, and then quickly let go so he could slide off Eve’s back.

“Don’t freak out yet. Maybe it’s not all that bad.” He pointed at Rylee and Lark, who had their heads bent together. Marco hopped beside us, doing his best to keep Berget and Liam from bouncing on the ground as he landed.

I rolled my eyes. “Alex, this is Rylee we’re talking about. How can you say not to freak out?”

Laughing, he winked up at me. “Because I would like to believe we’re all getting out of this alive. We’ll look back on this someday and tell amazing stories.” He paused and turned his head, sniffing loudly. “Do you smell that?’

I swallowed hard. “Please tell me it isn’t ogres.”

He spun around and looked at me. “How did you know?”

“Call it a bad feeling.” I jumped off Eve’s back and ran to Rylee, fighting the urge to panic. Ogres were tough, and while my magic was strong, we hadn’t been able to fend off the human mob without Rylee getting stuck with a demon. What would happen if it were an ogre mob that came at us?

Blaz’s voice whispered across to me. Easy, Pamela. You are broadcasting your panic.

I took a slow breath, let it out, and made myself stop hurrying. “Thank you.”

You’re welcome.

I stopped beside Lark and Rylee. The tall elemental made me feel very small, but her eyes and face were kind. She noticed me first. “What is it, witch?”

“Ogres are coming.”

Rylee’s jaw tightened. “Better to kill them now than face them later. Seriously, I thought I was done with these assholes.”

Lark put a hand on my shoulder. “There is a Sylph coming. They were manipulating the weather around us and are drawing closer. Rylee tells me you took down a Sylph when they tried to stop you from taking me out of the oubliette. Is that right?”

My mouth dried up at the thought of a Sylph and what they could do. I’d been on the receiving end of their power; it was more terrifying than facing Orion as he used Milly’s body.

“Yes, that’s right,” I managed to say.

“Then you, Peta, and I will tackle the Sylph. Rylee and the others will deal with the ogres, yes?” Lark said.

I caught Rylee’s eye and she gave me a nod. “Go, clean his clock. Another thirty minutes, and Berget and Faris will be able to help us with the ogres.”

Thirty minutes. Did she think it would take that long to deal with the two factions coming at us?

Probably not. But to be safe, perhaps you should stick the vampires farther back from the field of battle.

Blaz’s words must have gone to everyone, because Marco flew into the air, his beak moving as he relayed what was going on to Berget and Faris.

Lark led me away from the others. Peta trotted ahead of us, shifting once more into her leopard form. She sniffed the air and then flicked her head to the north, toward the mountain.

“Where are we going?”