POV: Ember
Victoria's hand reached for my newborn daughter.
"No!" I screamed, pulling all my power from deep inside my chest.
A wall of silver light shot up between Victoria and my babies. But the effort left me dizzy and weak. I could feel my energy draining fast.
"Impressive," Victoria said, touching the new barrier with her crystal dagger. "But how long can you keep this up?"
Not long. I was already shaking from the effort of protecting four babies at once.
"Ember," Ash whispered. "You're bleeding again."
He was right. Giving birth and then using so much power was tearing my body apart.
"I'm okay," I lied.
"No, you're not. You need to stop before you kill yourself."
"I can't stop. If I let the barrier down, she'll take them."
Through the broken windows, I could see Cade still fighting rogues in the yard. But there were too many of them. He was bleeding from multiple wounds and moving slower.
"He needs help," I said.
"So do you," Ash replied.
