EMRYS

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS."

Emrys ignored Mystia's words, though the speedy patter of her footsteps was hard to miss. It was no surprise when she yanked him backward before he could push through the kitchen door.

"Do you recall the kind of power it takes to break through the Barrier?" Mystia held an iron grip on his weakened wrist. "You're in no shape to even attempt—"

"Bobbi is in danger because of me. I never should have left her behind."

"Emrys." Mystia placed her other hand on his arm when he tried to turn away. "I know you care for this woman. But is it worth your life to save someone whose intestines are likely smattered across the walls by now?"

Emrys squared his jaw, but found himself at a loss for words. She was right. Still, he couldn't bring himself to face her—to face the truth.

Instead, his gaze wandered over her shoulder. Eva lingered by the kitchen island, tears snaking down her cheeks and fingers tugging at her sweatshirt's strings until the hood had completely bunched around her neck.

"We can't leave her." Eva's voice was no more than a whisper.

Mystia ignored her. "This is suicide."

"I'm going." Emrys brushed her hands away and shoved through the kitchen doors. The humming inside his ears increased with the pressure in his head.

Leaving Bobbi behind wasn't an option. No matter how small the chance of her survival was, if he didn't try to save her, the guilt would kill him faster than his curse ever could—a thought he ensured was projected loud and clear to any eavesdropping half-goblins. Hopefully, it would keep her from following him.

It did not.

The light yet angry footsteps scuttled closer, following in cold, bitter strides. At least she wasn't trying to stop him.

Silence followed the pair as they made their way out of the Sanctum. Not a glance passed between them until they were securely through the back door and made their way through the treeline behind the tavern.

When Emrys looked down at Mystia, her eyes focused on the path ahead, never missing a step even without the morning sun to guide her. His own vision, however, had clouded, succumbing to the Darkness above. A world once washed in vivid black and white had faded to an abyss of tricks and shadow. He stumbled over small objects in their way that he should have seen from yards off.

While he wanted to blame it on sleep deprivation and a stress-wound mind, he knew better. One by one, his powers were being stripped away, taunting him with their former luxury.

The pitch-blackness would make for excellent cover, but Emrys had never wished for the Guild's radiant magic more. He rubbed his arms against the bitter air, longing for the jacket he hadn't grabbed while storming out of the Sanctum.

"A bit chilly, love?"

Emrys didn't have to look at Mystia to know she was grinning. "Why did you come? Unless you want to see Bobbi's guts on the wall."

"If there's even a chance this woman is alive, you won't let this rest."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"You're no good to her if you die trying to shatter the Barrier, are you?"

Emrys shut his mouth. She was right... again. While he'd had days to rest since the incident at Faeran's, his body had taken a toll. The weakness, while subdued, rested beneath the surface, waiting for the moment he expelled a sliver of magic. Even if he did find the strength to shatter the Barrier, he had no idea what would become of him.

Or if there would be anything left at all.

"Consider me your secret weapon." Mystia patted the satchel she must've snatched upon their exit. "We'll get to Earth together."

The devilish glint in her eyes left him equally impressed and terrified. "You brought explosives."

"I always bring explosives."

The sudden rumbling of the forest floor made Emrys pause in his tracks, too distracted to hear her sarcastic retort. Leaves rustled in the distance, bouncing off the surrounding wood until he couldn't distinguish which direction the sound emanated from.

"Something isn't right," he muttered.

Laughter broke through the noise, almost more disconcerting than the sporadic tremors. A light pat on his bicep brought his attention back to his friend, who bit back a smile.

"It's Sylvan, dear." Mystia didn't bother to keep her voice down, drawing it into a sing-song tone instead. "She's bringing her nightly patrol closer to the Guardian tonight. Don't need you breaking a nail if our Corrupted friends make an appearance."

Feigning offense, Emrys stared after her as she practically skipped down the path.

Minutes passed like hours until they reached the Guardian's Dell. An eerie silence marred their approach, with only crunching dead leaves beneath their feet to keep them company—until they crossed the stream encircling the dell.

Inhuman screeches filled the air, and another tremor shook the ground with such force that it nearly knocked them off their feet. Mystia grabbed Emrys' arm to keep him steady, but her grip was anything but sure. Her eyes had gone feral with knowing; her fingers squeezed into his flesh with every far-off groan of bark and leaf.

The Corrupted had found Sylvan.

"We need to hurry." Mystia dropped to the ground and ripped off her cross-body satchel. "They're likely distracting her."

Distracting or dismembering, Emrys wasn't sure—and, judging by the way her jaw clenched, Mystia wasn't, either.

Emrys scanned the edge of the woods while she rifled through supplies. A dark shape raced across the perimeter, too fast for any average creature. Another darted only feet from it, followed by another, and another, until they overtook the treeline in a shadowed army.

Goosebumps danced across his skin. It wasn't a normal pack of Corrupted.

It was an ambush.

Emrys turned to give Mystia the signal, only to find her already on her feet. A small fob rested in her hand—one with an emerald button that protruded from the top.

"If you can find enough power to reveal the Barrier," she said, "I may be able to crack it open enough for us to slip through... but we'll need protection." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she backed toward the tree, footfalls silent against the squishy moss. "Your wings are still intact, correct?"

Emrys nodded.

Satisfied, Mystia turned to the tree and opened her palm to reveal black stones the size of rice grains. While she made quick work of scattering the tiny explosives around the trunk, Emrys' vision grazed the clearing's edge once more.

Corrupted drew closer in numbers that made his stomach writhe. Now approaching the bushes at the edge of the dell, their forms were more visible. The beasts had once been various creatures, now twisted so far beyond recognition that their silhouettes appeared as entirely new species, mixing human with animal in horrifying abominations.

"They shouldn't be able to cross the stream." Mystia approached from behind, eyeing the monstrosities for herself. Their grotesque appearances and the strong odor of decay forced her neutral expression to scrunch with disgust.

"'Shouldn't' is the key word here," Emrys mumbled.

"The Guardian won't allow—"

"You weren't here the night I left for Earth," he said. "There were dozens of them. They overpowered the Guardian and nearly followed me through."

"That's impossible."

As the words fell from her lips, the army of shadowed creatures stalked the stream's bank. Their movements were slow and precise, gazes filled with merciless hunger, as if they'd been waiting centuries for the opportunity. The still waters of the Guardian's dell grew restless, thrashing in the angriest waves its two-foot wide span could muster.

"They knew we were coming." Mystia's fingers twitched against the fob.

Swallowing hard, she turned to face Emrys. She pressed herself against his chest and held onto his shoulders.

Emrys took her cue, wrapped his arms around her, and closed his eyes. It took more strength than it should've for his wings to form, gliding through the slits she had enchanted into his clothing. An ashen cocoon shielded them, worsening the dull ache in his back. His teeth gritted in a stifled scream. Sweat trailed down his neck, and the pressure built in his head until the only sound he could hear was the boiling of his own blood.

The Barrier's aura pulsed around him. Aqua and cerulean danced across his vision, and at their center rested the wise, friendly face of the Guardian, immortalized within the tree's trunk. The colors swirled around the tree, flitting about in playful flounces. They enraptured him, intertwining with his soul while their hues intensified in shades so bright they would've blinded any weaker creature.

"Now."

A sharp click sliced the magical hum. As the Barrier silenced itself, colors swirling violently in anticipation of the explosion that would split its core, the first web crept across its glow. Slimy, stringy tendrils snatched the light within its grasp, snuffing it out inch by inch.

Before Emrys could comprehend what had happened, explosives fired in blinding bursts, overpowering the Darkness that threatened to drown his vision. His body became weightless, soul slipping beyond the material plane he'd been grounded in, and the world fell into light. A gentle pull led him to the Barrier's heart.

Beyond the overwhelming surge of power, and the nudging of his soul toward the Earthen world beyond, panic overwhelmed his mind.

Darkness had never been allowed in the Barrier's vicinity. If it remained for too long, feeding off raw, unlimited magic... he didn't want to fathom the destruction that would follow. Somehow, some way, Darkness had slipped past the Guardian's defense without a peep from the ancient being.

Deep in his heart, he knew what had become of the wise defender: a fate worse than death.

The Guardian had succumbed to Corruption.

__________