Lily POV
It wasn't the smell of dark magic or the sight of the changed wood that hit me first. Like a knife through my heart, Caleb's scream of pain echoed through our mate bond.
"CALEB!" I yelled and ran faster than I ever had before.
As I ran through the twisted trees, my feet barely hit the ground. Whenever he moved, it hurt both of us; his pain was my pain and his fear was my fear. The mate tie that usually brought us comfort now felt like it was tearing me apart from the inside.
I walked right into the Sacred Grove and stopped. This wasn't the peaceful spot where Elder Iris taught me about plants. The old trees were dying and turning black. Their branches stuck out like ghost fingers. The ground was cracked and leaking some kind of dark liquid that made my stomach turn.
