Chapter 54 · Rayne, get him clear. Now

I pulled away.

"Rayne, get him clear. Now."

The red line beneath the pup's chest split into three bright points.

Rayne moved.

He crossed the yard in two strides, scooped the pup from the dirt, and turned his body over the child just as the charge began to whine.

Cole laughed.

"Too late!"

I drove the command blade into the broken mark at my throat.

Pain tore through me.

The blade punched through skin and old magic, stopping against bone. I screamed and grabbed the hilt with both hands.

"Sera!" Rayne shouted.

The oath came alive.

Black cords burst from my neck and whipped across the yard. One wrapped around my wrist. Another snapped toward Rayne and the pup.

Rayne twisted, shielding the child with his back.

"Cut the core!" he yelled.

"Where?"

"Follow the pull!"

"That's not helpful!"

"You wanted equal power. Use yours!"

The cord around my wrist yanked hard.

My body lurched toward Cole.

He grinned through the blood on his teeth. "Come home, little wolf."

"Go to hell."

I dug my boots into the dirt and pulled the blade sideways.

The old mark cracked.

Not enough.

The charge shrieked under Rayne's arm.