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Ouch…I knew my father would have enemies and that I’d be judged for the blood in my veins, but I thought after knowing about my upbringing, Loric and his friends would show some sympathy.
“What about the debt?” I stalk after him, jaw set. “Loric’s life debt is only paid if I’m safe and out of Solaria. If I die, he’ll still owe Asmodeus.” For someone with an injury, he certainly can walk fast. It’s hard to keep up with my ankle throbbing every time my foot meets the ground.
Brenn halts, but as he turns to face me, there’s not a shred of emotion across his pixie-like features. His upturned nose is snubbed high, and his lilac eyes cold. “I’d be doing Loric a favor. Asmodeus wouldn’t know you died, not with his memories of you wiped. So, go ahead, princess. Do as you please. Meanwhile, I’m going to make sure Mira doesn’t lose any more fingers.”
“That’s it then? I thought Loric was your leader. How will he feel about you leaving me to die?” I take another step forward, feeling the tall grass snag the hem of my dress. With a tug, I yank it free and meet Brenn’s unyielding stare.
“He’s my alpha, and honestly, it’s a risk I’ll take.” Brenn steps through the tree line and I stiffen, halting mid-step. Going into the woods could be like opening Pandora’s box.
Who knows what will happen… I have a head start at least if I stay in the clearing, but anyone could walk out the pub door and decide I’m theirs. My magic gave me the upper hand against the king, but that’s only because he allowed me to touch him. I’m notsure I’m willing to bet that I could beat any of those barflies on the offensive. Gael won’t come to my aid, he's proven that much. And Brenn might very well let whatever creatures lurk within the trees swallow me whole. No matter what I choose, I’m on my own.
At least Loric is in the woods…somewhere. At the moment, he’s the only person invested in protecting me, even if the job was forced upon him.
I step beneath the tree canopy, letting the darkness of the woods descend around me. My heart races as I follow Brenn deeper into the treacherous woods, his long strides eating up the ground, taking with them any glimmer of hope he might have a change of heart.
It’s not a shock that he can’t see past my last name. A Midiciousisa Midicious. Royalty. Even if I was treated like being born was a crime, to the people of the outer realm—the rebels—I’m the enemy. I’m the legacy of the very person they despise wholeheartedly, of the person who committed genocide against the dragons, who murdered anyone who refused to bow at his feet.
I’m the daughter of a monster.
My father’s list of crimes could stretch around the realm and back, but he did those things. Not me. I was born and locked away. I had no part of them. Hell, I saw him once a year so he could torture me and test my limits. That’s not my fault. I’m a victim as much as the next person, but his sins along with the blood he’s spilled will forever stain my hands because we share a name.
It’s not right.
Tipping my head back, I stare at the leaves above me. As the hell flame’s light fades, the leaves begin to glow like shimmering crystals. I don't want to die out here. Not now, not like this.There are too many things I’ve dreamed of doing once I made it out of that cell. I won’t give up on them now.
My teeth chatter as we trudge forward, the air chilling more the farther we travel into the forest. I grit them together to keep them from trembling. Brenn’s form is barely visible, shrouded in the dark. If it weren’t for his white hair, he’d be gone.
“Will you slow down,” I hiss, trying to stumble faster.
"It's called natural selection. You either keep up and survive or you don't," says the man with an iron hinge on his leg. Foolishly, I assumed if anyone could fathom what walking on an injured ankle was like, it'd be him. However, I couldn't have been more wrong.
I want to retort, but the words die in my throat when the sound of a visceral growl hits my ears. They're close... Squinting, I can't make out more than the occasional flint of light bouncing off a sharpened blade. A sword or a dagger maybe? As I step closer to where Brenn has halted in the thicket of brush, he lifts his hands, palms to the sky. His teeth grit as he slowly draws them apart. The trees seem to move along with him, leaning and groaning as the canopy opens up, allowing the faint light to cast down on the group. It's like he's bending them with his mind, with magic.
My breath catches, suspended in a moment too surreal to be true. The creatures before us prowl around Loric and his friends, outnumbering them eight to five. Their movements are made up of lethal grace, a living paradox of elegance that belies their monstrous forms. Horns twist like castle spires, bending back around the sides of their heads, and another, only a few inches long, juts out from the tip of their noses. Instead of coiling, it’s straight and the point is sharp enough to impale prey. Their lips roll back into a menacing snarl, revealing rows of blade-like teeth, bloodied along with patches of their gray and white striped fur.
For creatures that could kill with a single bite, their bodies are majestic, lion-like except for the enormous fluffy tails that swish behind them. They creep closer, crawling low to the ground. Their large, yellow eyes pierce the dusk, and they don’t miss anything, not the shifting of Loric’s hand as he palms the dagger at his hip, not Jesper slowly adjusting his footing, and definitely not the crimson blood dripping from Mira’s hand.
They see it all, hyper fixed on their prey as they calculate their next move, but if they see Brenn and I, they don’t perceive us as a threat.
The first creature lunges, mouth open. Its teeth gleam, aiming for Mira’s throat, but she brings her sword up, just not fast enough. The beast’s weight slams into her and pins her to the ground. Arms locked, she fights to keep its snapping jaws away from her face, her sword sideways, creating a barrier.
“Mira!” Brenn yells, taking a single step forward as if he planned to run to her rescue, but thought better of it.
"I’m… I’mFine," Mira grits, her voice strained with pain and defiance.
The creature's tail, a plume of fluffiness, swishes with an innocence that contradicts the deadly spectacle unfolding before me. It’s like watching a domesticated feline toy with a mouse, except this creature is a hundred times bigger.
Mira’s grimace morphs into a stoic mask as she dares a glance at her hand. Her palm pressed in a death grip against the flat part of her sword, one missing a thumb.
"It’ll grow back," she says, seemingly assuring herself more than us.
“Says you!” Brenn says, his jaw tight. I can’t tell if he’s fearful of losing her, or her fingers more.
I stand frozen, a spectator caught between the terror of the unknown and the mesmerizing beauty of a creature from my stories. At least my books got something right. I never thoughtI'd get the chance to see one in real life, and they're exactly as I pictured.
Mira manages to squeeze a boot between the creature’s enormous body and sends it careening backward. It hits the ground and immediately scrambles to its feet.
The never cat rushes toward her and she kicks out, spinning so her boot collides with its face. The others are each battling their own creature, or like Loric, are trying to handle two at a time. Though he seems to be holding his own, it’s almost like he’s baiting them in equal measure.
