ARIA POV
I dove to the ground as blue fire burst over my head. The heat singed my hair as I rolled behind a rock, heart pounding in my chest.
"Aria!" Lucien's voice crackled through the mind-link. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," I answered, though my lungs burned from running. "Status report!"
Around me, the world was changing. Humans miles away were screaming as the tablet's power reached them, causing painful half-shifts on those with even a drop of werewolf blood. I could feel their pain through the strange connection the ritual had made.
"The northern team is in position," Kael reported. "Jaxon has the children safely away from the battle zone."
I peeked around the rock. Elira stood at the mouth of the holy cave, her monstrous form glowing against the dawn sky. The tablet hummed in her hands, sending waves of power across the land.
"It's now or never," I told my friends. "Remember the plan."
