“You’re not the only one, Lilly,” Crina spoke up. “I can’t get my mind around it either.”
Lilly backed up until she was against the cliff wall and sunk to the ground. Elle sat down next to her and the others found seats as well.
“I guess we wait,” Thalion said.
Lorelle appeared suddenly, just at the edge. Peri’s eyes landed on her and, in a second, she was standing less than a foot from her sister.
“Why are you doing this Lorelle?” she asked. “When did you become so cruel?”
“I’ve told you my reasons and I won’t justify myself to you any longer.” Lorelle tried to side step her sister but Peri reached out her hand and slammed it into Lorelle’s chest. The fae flew back into the cliff wall just to the left of where Elle and Lilly sat.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right here?” Peri snarled into her sister’s face.
“Because I will kill every single being on this cliff.”
“THERE IS NO CLIFF!” Peri screamed.
“Then tell one of them to walk off the side,” Lorelle taunted. “If there is no cliff, then they will just be walking into the forest.”
Skender stood and made his way over to the edge.
“Skender don’t,” Peri ordered.
“I have no mate, Perizada. If I perish, it will be no great loss,” he told her simply.
“Every single one of you is of great importance, Skender. Mateless or not, you are no less valuable. Do not take another step.”
“Skender, do not,” Vasile’s eyes glowed as he gave the command. Skender stepped back, unable to disobey his Alpha’s orders.
“If you are quite finished, Perizada, I came to tell you something rather important.” Lorelle gave her sister a pointed look.
Peri slammed her sister into the wall one more time before releasing her. “Deliver your news and then go.”
“You might not want to wait too long for this whole it isn’t really a cliff bit. Jen has gone into labor and I’m not real sure just how long until the baby is born.” She turned her eyes on Decebel. “I would think you would want to see your child before she’s taken.”
Decebel began to lunge for the fae but was stopped by Alston’s magic. The fae held out his arm holding the enraged Alpha in place.
“I’ll kill you for this, Lorelle. I don’t care how long it takes; I will rip your head from you neck and feed it to the wolves.” Peri’s body shook with her fury and the air around her grew electric.
Lorelle gave her sister one last look before she vanished.
The group was silent as they took in the news Lorelle had delivered. No one moved, as if by doing so they would somehow seal their fate.
Decebel’s mind was working overtime and his wolf was raging inside of him, fighting to get free, and needing to get to Jennifer. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to be with her when she went into labor. He was supposed to hold her hand and support her. Yet he was here, stuck on a cliff that wasn’t a cliff. And the moment his baby girl was born, his life would be over and he would never have the chance to touch either of his girls again.
Decebel felt the ground beneath his feet begin to shift and rumble. He quickly drew himself from his thoughts and looked around to see if everyone else was feeling the same thing. Sure enough, they were all looking at the ground curiously and attempting to balance themselves as it shook beneath them.
“Awe crap,” Peri huffed. “He’s going to bring down the cliff that doesn’t even bloody hell exist except in our minds.”
Lilly gripped the rock wall trying to balance herself as the trembling grew stronger. “He’s going to bring this thing down and kill us all unless Elle or I give in.”
“NO!” Cypher thundered. “Neither of you is sacrificing yourself. I’ve had enough death for one day. We are getting out of this, all of us.” He looked over at Peri who had her arms out as she tried to balance herself. “Whatever it is that makes you so powerful that the wolves tremble before you, now would be the time to whip it out.”
Peri raised an eyebrow at him. “Damn I wish Jen was here to take that one; she would totally run with it. Whip it out, that’s classic.” She shook her head with a smirk still plastered on her lips and then looked over to Alston. “This is going to take blood magic,” she told him.
His face was solemn as he answered. “It will be overlooked this one time, for this one instance. There is no other option that I can see, unless we allow one of the females to give her life.”
“Not an option,” Peri said firmly. She pulled a dagger from seemingly nowhere and then looked at Cypher. “My blood is powerful, and to shed it willingly for a sacrifice is honorable, but it is also something that the fae never do lightly. I do not know if it will work, and if it does, I do not know what the consequences will be, but I have to try.”
Cypher and the others stared at Peri, waiting for her to continue.
She took the blade and ran it along her palm, slashing deep into her flesh. The blood welled up from the wound and began to drip to the ground. With the earth around them attempting to crumble beneath them, Peri knelt down and touched the ground with the slashed palm and pressed it to the dirt. She closed her eyes and called on the magic that lived inside her as she spoke. “Ancient power that flows through my veins, I willingly shed my blood to spare the life required by the black magic that fills this place. Let my blood cleanse this place and open our eyes to the truth behind the lies. Break the binding, rip through the ties, and cast out the evil that has taken root.”
The ground continued to tremble and the wind began to whip around them. Peri’s hair was like a wild mane dancing around her as she let her blood flow into the dirt. She willed it to delve deep into the earth and to seek out the black magic that held their minds captive.
“Peri, it’s still a cliff,” Adam yelled through the roar of the storm brewing in the air. Dark clouds gathered above them and lightning flashed across the sky.
Peri heard the rumble of laughter that began to grow louder as the storm grew more and more vicious. “You cannot win, Perizada,” the voice that was Reyaz told her. “The magic calls for a sacrifice and it will demand the price be paid.”
Peri’s eyes narrowed. She felt her wrath building and willed even more blood to flow from her vein. She would not lose another to this evil, twisted warlock. She refused to accept defeat, refused to believe that she, as old and powerful as she was, could not break the spell. Her body began to shake with the effort to stay upright, her vision began to blur and she felt weak from blood loss, but she would not give in.