Charmed By The Fox's Heart: Superhero Reverse Harem Romance (Cosmic Guardians Book 1), стр. 55
Her eyelids flutter and open. “What’s wrong, Cael?”
“Someone is coming. We have to go. Now.”
I look over at Astra curled up on the other side of Kyra. “Astra?”
Her blue eyes open and she instantly tenses. “Someone is coming,” she whispers, and I nod.
Quietly, we slip into the darkness. With Lynx still joined to me, my night vision is acute, and I’m able to make out our path across the rocks and the desert sand.
My heart hammers as the voices grow louder, and I know Astra can hear them as well.
She looks to Kyra. “I’m going to join with you. We will be stronger together if we must fight.” She jumps into Kyra’s arms, then disappears. Kyra’s blue eyes glow for a moment, then swirl with the green color of Astra’s.
A loud boom behind me draws my attention, and I turn to see a ball of flame heading straight for us. Lightning fast, I grab Kyra and pull her out of the way, throwing myself over her and shielding her body as the fiery sphere crashes beside us.
“What is—” I start to ask, but Lynx whispers in my head.
“It is a Guardian of Destruction, and like you, he wields the element of fire.”
I turn and conjure a ball of flame in my palms, concentrating my power and making it grow. My arms shake and electricity sparks across the tips of my fingers as I struggle to contain it.
Training all my senses toward the desert, I search for the location of the ones who mean us harm. Finding them, I push my hands out and send the fiery sphere flying toward our attackers.
The light arcs through the darkness as it flies out over the desert. My jaw drops as it illuminates our enemies. At least a dozen dark mages surround the Guardian of Destruction as he wields the power of fire in his hands, readying to attack us again.
“What do we do?” I ask Lynx.
“You must run! Until you have the gemstone, you cannot defeat them. There are too many.”
Kyra turns to me. “I think I can—” she starts but stops, and I realize Astra must be speaking in her mind too. She looks at me, her eyes wide with panic. “Astra says we have to keep moving. We cannot defeat them without the gem. We need it to increase our powers.”
Chapter 36
Kyra
As we race across the desert, Cael launches several fire attacks back at our pursuers, and they do the same. I can tell he’s exhausted and I don’t know how much longer he can keep it up. I want to help, but he and Astra and Lynx insist I must save my strength for when we reach the castle, where we will find the gemstone.
The Great Serpent awaits me there and I’ll need all my powers to fight him and retrieve the magic stone.
A reflection catches my eye in the distance and I reach for Astra in my mind. “Is that where we have to go?”
“Yes,” she replies. “That is the castle.”
Cael stumbles as he throws back another flame, barely managing to catch himself before he falls. He turns to me and it is easy to read the exhaustion in his features. His gaze moves to the palace looming in the distance as he pants heavily. “We’re almost there.”
My heart hammers as I look to the castle. Its dark towers spiraling up toward the night sky like a sinister figure reaching for the moonlight above. Everything inside me screams that we should turn back, but I know we cannot. We don’t have a choice. The gemstone is in there. I’m certain of it.
When we reach the front courtyard, I turn to Cael. I take his hand in my own and we lift our arms, summoning magic to create a protective barrier. Both of us are tired and I know the spell will not hold for long. We just need it to remain in place long enough to keep our attackers outside while we retrieve the gemstone within.
As the soft glow of the enchantment rises around us, sealing us in, a small shudder runs through me. Even though I know the spell does not work to trap us inside, I cannot help but feel that way anyhow as I turn my gaze back toward the darkened palace.
A cool breeze rushes across the sands, chilling me to my very bones as I look to the entrance.
The massive metal doors are open like a dark gaping maw, as if ready to swallow us the moment we step inside. I take Cael’s hand in mine and squeeze it gently. “Stay here. Keep the mages and the dark Guardian away while I—”
He shakes his head. “You aren’t going in there alone, Kyra.”
He stares down at me with a determined gaze and I know there is no point in arguing this. The only thing I can do is go in first and hope that I can shield him if we’re attacked.
Panic tightens my chest as another ball of flame races toward us, slamming into the barrier we’ve created around the castle.
We turn back toward the doors. With danger behind us and the unknown inside, our choices aren’t many. We need the gemstone if we’re going to make it out of here alive. Our powers alone are not strong enough without it.
Images of the destruction and ruin Willow showed us, surface in my mind. Death and devastation await both this world and the one we came from if we do not stop the God of Destruction from having his way.
I look to Cael, and in his eyes I find the same resolve that I feel deep in my soul. This is why we were reborn. We are here because we have to save two worlds and we cannot fail in this quest.
Chapter 37
Kyra
Still holding Cael’s hand in my own, we step inside the entryway. Time slows and then stands still as a low buzzing hum fills