She didn't want to. Every instinct in her body wanted to stay, to fight, to protect her pack, temporary though it might be.
And if just one thing had been different, she might have.
Choking on a sound between a sob and a growl, she pressed one hand to her lower belly and bent until her head rested on the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I...the baby..."
"Thrax, come on!" Hanako grabbed for his arm, trying and failing to haul him back with her. The Countess's men were closing in.
Desperate, the kitsune once more summoned her fire, hotter and brighter, using every scrap of power she had to blaze a barrier into existence between them and the enemy. The flames surged up up up--then died.
When they faded, they revealed nothing but empty ground.
Because, of course, the fire itself had been the illusion--or part of it. It took everything Hana had to simultaneously throw off the perception of heat and light while making herself and Thrax invisible. Grabbing his empty hand, she just started to run, not even paying attention to which direction they were going, panting as she struggled to keep the magic in place.
She staggered as they got further into the trees, twisting roots snagging at her feet. Her grip on Thrax's hand broke--but she was so intent on keeping the illusion in place that it lingered, just long enough that when she reached, she couldn't find him.
