CHAPTER

TEREZA

Her Arctic Wolf was struggling. Sani glowed and vibrated with the power running through him and spilling from him, but he wasn’t sending it to her or any of the other witches. His skin burned where she held his hands, despite all the winter magic she was using to cool him. His nose was bleeding. His irises were swallowed by his dilated pupils, and his body trembled. She wanted to wipe the blood away, but his hands felt fused to hers. He wasn’t letting go of her or the magic any time soon.
The Pricolici in her surged forward, eager to taste more than the scraps energies escaping Sani’s hold. It was more than wanting to feel the magic. It was a soul deep need to belong. To be part of a larger whole. To be part of a pack. Regret filled Tereza. A Pricolici soul wasn’t meant to be trapped in a fairy who avoided contact with others. Pricolici needed bonds. Her father had been Alpha. The part of him she’d inherited knew what to do with pack bonds. If she let her Procilici heritage take over, could she return to being herself? Would Sani still love her if she wasn’t his Winter Fairy anymore?
Tereza swallowed. She couldn’t let that be important right now. She loved Sani enough to save him — even if it cost her everything.
“Sani?” He didn’t acknowledge her. Tereza sent her magic toward him. If she could just connect a little bit… The pack magic resisted, swatting away her attempt to join. Letting Sani past her defenses didn’t mean she’d opened herself to everyone. Living in hiding her whole life, and especially after what happened to Jenny, Tereza’s level of trust was almost non-existent. To be accepted, the bond had to work both ways. If she wanted to guide the pack magic, she had to make herself more vulnerable than she’d ever been.
Sani. I trust you. I trust your pack. Let me in so I can help. Could he hear her? He’d opened his eyes, but was he seeing her? Tereza let her defenses fall, inviting Sani and everyone bonded to him and his magic in. Some part of Sani reached through the tempest of magic swirling through the thousands of pack bonds, and she felt it. The bond between them. Acceptance. Trust. Love.
All the power Sani was channeling swept into Tereza, submerging her in a tsunami magic. She had thought she was prepared since she knew what to do. She wasn’t. Tereza floundered, feeling like she was trying to swim to the surface of a wave that built ever higher. Currents within the magic pulled and pushed, buffeting her helplessly through its depths. A downward surge sent the surface farther from reach.
Tereza panicked like she was in the deepest ocean. She’d opened herself to the magic, and it was swallowing her whole. Sani! Her thoughts were full of conflicting emotions. Happiness she’d met him. Regret they’d only had one day. Fear and sorrow that was failing him when he needed her most.
Magic pressed in on her from all sides, trapping and constricting. Tereza couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. She was losing herself. Being taken apart bit by bit and absorbed. Maybe this was a sacrifice she had to make. Maybe if she became part of the magic, it would help somehow. Maybe then the Procilici could do what was necessary. Tereza gathered herself around her love for Sani…and surrendered.
A presence found her in the maelstrom, extending a lifeline and forming a protective bubble. Warmth and safety cocooned her. Sani. He’d found her. Tereza wrapped her entire self around and into Sani.
He gathered all the pieces of herself swimming in the void, and she did the same for him. She could easily see the parts that were Sani. They glowed with a comforting aura that felt alternately smooth and furry when her spectral hands touched them. Her man and her wolf. The fragments each of them gathered entered their bubble and pooled together.
They became one. One heart. One mind. One soul. And in that moment, one magic. A mingling this profound meant neither of them would be the same as they were before. There was no going back, but she didn’t want to, and neither did Sani. Out of their mixed essences, two spectral bodied formed.
Tereza gazed into familiar blue eyes. “You found me.”
Sani gave her a brilliant smile that made her heart flip-flop. “You found me first. I love you, my Winter Fairy.”
“I love you, my Arctic Wolf.”
“How do you feel about stopping that volcano?”
Tereza held out her ghostly hands. “I know what to do.”
Sani interlinked their fingers. “I trust you.”
Their separate aspects blended seamlessly.
With the power of that bond, the Procilici took over. Thousands of magics — old magics and new — flowed into her. Images flicked through her mind. A brief visual of every life the magic had touched over thousands of years. Leaders. The ones who needed Sanctuary. Warriors and those who willingly gave of themselves to protect the land and the special magic that had always existed in Sanctuary. All of them touched her, touched the Pricolici in her, and added their power to hers.
Tereza opened her eyes in the real world. Sani held her so tight there was no space between them. Her stomach roiled. Her blood burned and flowed sluggishly. Her lungs felt squished and full of poison. Each joint ached like every bone was about to dislocate simultaneously. These weren’t her symptoms though. This closely bonded to the pack magic, she was manifesting what the earth felt. Black smoke poured from the volcano. The earth trembled and growled in anguish. The land wanted to be rid of foul magic, and the most expedient way was to vomit it out in the form of a volcanic explosion. She and the witches needed to give the volcano something to settle its stomach. Her throat was too raw to speak. She hoped all the witches were ready because there was no time for explanations or finesse.
Tereza visualized the pack magic and sent it careening through the circle. She heard a few startled gasps and mentally apologized, but these were powerful magic wielders. A moment after the initial shock, each of them had control of themselves. Tereza hadn’t known the names of each coven member before, but she did now.
A Pohjola Maiden…Weaver, sent her magic into the growing power, binding Tereza to Sani, then the pair of them to the rest of the coven in an intricate web that linked each of them to every other. It didn’t dilute the magic, but gave it pathways to travel, making it more stable. Weaver’s web connected everyone. So many strands. How long could she hold it?
The red-haired woman…Riley, opened her mouth and a beautiful lullaby filled the air. Tereza had never heard a banshee sing, nor did she understand the words, but the beautiful song carried a soothing balm into the atmosphere. Empowered with pack magic, the Banshee infused the land with tranquility. Some of Tereza’s physical discomforts eased. Even the volcano paused its grumbling to listen to the Banshee’s song.
Riley sang louder, her voice soaring into the sky. Magic from the two Druids joined hers, awakening hundreds of dormant trees. Trunks and bare branches thickened and lengthened. New limbs sprouted, then vanished, covered by leaves, flowers, and fruit. Evergreens grew taller and wider.
The Pohjola Maiden called Shadow sent magic into her namesake, spreading the energy into thousands of places at the same time. This magic was strange, and gave the darkness depth. Like if Tereza wasn’t careful, they’d swallow her into an abyss.
Nature, another Pohjola Maiden, channeled magic into the ground. It softened and warmed for new roots expanding to support the newly giant trees around them. Hibernating animals absorbed energy, restoring lost body mass, and newborns grew.
Xyli’s magic went into plants. Stems pushed upward into the sun. Flowers bloomed, turning the meadow from a white blanket into a multi-hued carpet. Berries appeared on bushes as vines lengthened and fern fronds unfurled.
Weather, joined her sisters, and sent magic into the air. Winds swept smoke and ash into small spinning funnels that vanished into the volcano. Her magic combined with Riley’s, carrying the Banshee’s song higher into the sky.
Winter, the final Pohjola Maiden, sent the temperature plummeting. Snowstorms burst from each shadow until a thousand blizzards raced uphill, freezing lava and encouraging the volcano to slip back into slumber.
Baba Yaga’s magic was the most powerful. She created wolves. Enormous animals the size of horses in the image of the golden wolf at her side. They began as faint shimmers, but bolstered by the pack magic, quickly grew solid. The golden wolf barked in a series of sharp yips punctuated with snarls and a couple of growls. The huge creatures howled and raced into the forest. Being within the magic allowed Tereza to see through the eyes of the wolves. Trees flew past in a blur as the predators hunted with purpose. Supernaturally fast, they covered miles of territory in moments. Their destination was a cave warded with magic. The protective spells exploded as the more powerful wolves thundered straight past them and entered the cave. Shouts and growls resounded.
Tereza caught a glimpse of white-haited. White-eyed men. Mages. They had to be the source of the corrupted magic. She didn’t want to see any more and brought herself back to her physical body. “It’s working,” Tereza murmured. “We’re driving the sick magic back. Keep going.”
The volcano calmed, soothed back to sleep by their combined magic, the healed land, and the lullaby Riley sang.
But the magic kept flowing. Shared among all of them, and supplemented by each coven members individual power, the energy had grown.
The Pricolici absorbed magic, and when the wild soul was sated, funneled excess energy back through the pack link.
Sani stiffened. “Whoa. What the —”
Tereza squeezed Sani’s hands in reassurance. She sensed the intent but couldn’t form words. The Pricolici thought of this pack as its pack. magic healed those sick or injured. Infertile people, land, and creatures became fertile. The Pricolici howled in her mind as it sent power through the bond to the farthest reaches of the territory, up to thousands of miles away to reinforce to borders and bolster protection wards.
Even that wasn’t enough. “There’s still too much magic left.”
“I can’t turn it off,” Sani squeezed Tereza’s hands.
“I can help.” Xyli stared at a point over Tereza’s head. A circular vortex opened. “That leads to a barren world with no magic. Send extra power there.”
Before Tereza could do anything, the magic lashed out. A thick tentacle whipped out and struck Koschei in the chest. The force of the strike lifted him off his feet and threw him backwards. He slammed into a tree trunk and fell to the ground in a heap.
Tereza’s first instinct was to run to him and check his injuries.
“Stay,” Baba Yaga commanded. “Do not break the circle or the magic will go wild and there’s no knowing what will happen. We must disperse the energy.”
The witch no longer looked young. Her face was creased with lines of weariness and her shoulders slumped. In fact, everyone looked exhausted. Three of the Pohjola Maidens were on their knees. Riley’s voice had quited to a soft hum and she leaned heavily against one of the Druids. The two men weren’t faring much better. Sweat had soaked their shirts. Their long hair was wildly disheveled. They stood with their feet braced wide apart. Xyli wore a glamour, so she looked immaculate, but her eyes were closed like she was asleep on her feet. The wolf yawned.
They needed to finish quickly or someone would fall from sheer exhaustion and break the circle. Tereza raised her eyes to the portal and coaxed the magic upward, into a new world.
Sani yelped and staggered a step. “Mika didn’t like that. He took back the pack magic.”
The power flowing between them was greatly reduced,ceasing the strain on all of them. A wave of exhaustion tried to drag Tereza into sleep.
Xyli closed the portal with a few murmured words, and glanced around. “I know we’re all tired, but we shouldn’t leave this place unprotected. Summer in the middle of winter will attract too much attention. I can direct the extra magic into a time ward. It will keep most people out until winter is over.”
Happy to let someone else take charge, Tereza leaned into Sani, taking comfort in his solid body while the others worked. Within her, the Pricolici receded, Sadness and loneliness permeated her.
“Okay.” Xyli’s voice roused Tereza. “I’m done. We can let go.”
Tereza collapsed. Like dominoes, each of the others hit the ground with varying amounts of grace.
Sani fell alongside her. He pulled his phone from his pocket. “Mika.” Sani paused, held the phone away from his ear, then yelled, “Because I’ve had enough people in my head today. I want to talk instead. Everything is okay.” He paused again. “What happened?” Sani glanced at everyone. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Just trust me. The volcano won’t erupt. Stop the evacuation and stand down.” Sani let his arm fall to the ground.
An irritated make voice muttered curses in Rus as Koschei rose to his feet and marched across the clearing. He knelt beside Baba Yaga. “Are you all right?”
“Seems like we should be asking you that,” Sani muttered.”I thought you were dead.”
“Ha!” Koschei thumped his chest. “I am Deathless.” He lifted Baba Yaga into his arms. “I recommend not lingering. This will have attracted attention and none of you are in any condition to fight or be interrogated.”
“My horsemen will patrol the area and keep it safe,” Baba Yaga inclined her head toward her chicken-legged cottage. Three horsemen emerged from behind the structure — one in white armor, one in red, and one in black to match their horses.
Xyli and the golden wolf trailed after Koschei as he carried Baba Yaga toward her house.
“Mjesec,” Viktoria called. “Wait.”
Mjesec turned sad golden wolf eyes on Viktoria, but didn’t wait. She loped into the cottage. The door slammed. Shutters closed over windows. The cottage shook as it rose onto its chicken legs, turned, and marched into the trees.
“Don’t see that every day,” Sani murmured.
“Let’s not do this again any time soon.” Jakub held a sleepy Riley close, then he, Riley and Blake vanished.
A horse thundered into the clearing. A tall man leaned down from the saddle, caught Nature by the waist in one arm, and liftied her in front of him. The horse charged inti the forest.
Sani growled and attempted to get to his feet.
Weather shrugged. “Don’t bother. He kidnaps her all the time.’
The sisters were always getting kidnapped by someone. That was how Tereza met Winter so long ago, when a Pricolici brought her to Dacia.
“We should all get to a place we can rest.” Viktoria sat up, braced by Jael. She held her arms out, and her sisters dragged themselves closer to place their hands on her. They disappeared with a silver flash, leaving Sani and Tereza alone.
“Come on, Winter Fairy. Let’s go home.”
Tereza groaned, happy to burrow into the ground right where she was. “Here is fine with me. I’m too tired to fly.”
Sani rolled onto his stomach. “Climb on my back.”
“Oh, good idea.” Tereza sighed as she draped herself over him. “You make an excellent pillow.”
He rocked until he was on his hands and knees. Tereza locked her arms and legs around him as he shifted to his white wolf form. His thick fur was soft. She tangled her fingers in his ruff and held on while he loped to the snowmobile. There, he gathered the remains of their picnic and packed it away in the storage compartments.
The most direct route to the cabin they’d visited that morning was a short ride. Sani carried her up the steps, through the living room and placed her on the comfy bed. He crawled in beside her and pulled blankets on top of them.
Tereza didn’t have the energy to thank him. She closed her eyes and finally let sleep take her.