Ibit down on his hand hard.
Hehissed and pushed me away. “Learningtricks from that bitch now, huh?”
Iran over toSpinner, who lay still against the side of the tent.Howdid magic spiders breathe?WhenItouched him, he opened his eyes and gave a sad chitter.
Luxosstalked towards me, andIdidn’t think before grabbing the flaming hot iron out of the coals.
Hegritted his teeth. “Thisis your last chance to come quietly.Iwon’t be leaving without you again.”
Ibrandished the iron as ifIhad any idea whatIwas doing. “Itold you;I’mnot going back.”WhenIfirst said that, it was to convince myself.Butwith each passing day of peace and autonomy, the conviction became stronger, like a woundIfinally stopped reopening over and over again.
Theman snarled.Theflap of the tent opened again.Avlynstepped through, their hand on their weapon the instant they spottedLuxos.
“Fuckinghells,Pallas, let’s go.”Hesaid, hand extended.
“No!”
“Itseems the lady isn’t interested,ShadowWalker.”Avlynheld their sword towardsLuxos, but didn’t move.Angerflashed inLuxos’ eyes, andAvlynsmirked. “Oh, was that a secret?”
Ablood-curdling scream sounded across the camp, makingAvlyn’ssmirk turn into a snarl. “Whatthe hell did you do?”
“Oh, not me,Commander.Atleast, not yet.Yourlittle princess has been playing with forces that should be left alone and has awoken some things best left sleeping.Don’tworry.Meand mine will join the fun shortly.”Luxosgave a dramatic bow and disappeared into the shadows.
“Fuck!Pallas, come with me.”Ilooked down atSpinner, who gave me a reassuring chirp beforeIset him on the pallet and followedAvlyn.Anotherscream came from the ocean.
“Gods-fuckin-damnit.”Avlyngrabbed my hand and waved their sword towards their troops.Wesprinted to the beach, and slowly, the torches illuminated our surroundings.AllIcould see was the churning of waves in the darkness.Theircrashing drowned out any sound as their white caps blotched orange from the reflection of the torches.
That’swhenIsaw it, a head popping out of the waves before being pulled back under.Mymind immediately went to theLeviathanand its tentacles.IgrabbedAvlyn’sarm to stop them as they waded into the surf.
“It’stoo late.”Iwasn’t wrong; the head did not resurface again.Avlynstruggled against my grip for a moment but gave in with a loud, aggravated snarl.
“LETGO!”Jun’svoice rang over the cove, andIheard the clank of numerous swords and weapons dropping to the ground at his command.Avlynsprinted towards his voice.
Ourtorchlight broke overJun, and another soldier, pulling a strugglingToriout of the waves.Shewas soaking wet, but to my surprise, she seemed to be strugglingagainstJun.
“Letme go.Heneeds me.Heneeds me!”Shewas kicking her legs as the two men tried to drag her.
Theorcess swooped in and tugged the princess up. “It’snot real.It’snot real!”
ToriheldRaula’sgaze for a moment, and her face softened when she was pulled back under the waves.
Raula,Jun, andNokigrabbed her.Torirose out of the water and screamed as she was stretched like a rope in some twisted game of tug-of-war.Iran to help but stopped dead in my tracks when out of the water rose a horse-like creature.Itwas all wrong with a dark, shaggy mane, glowing red eyes, and sharp,vicious teeth that were sunk intoTori’scalf.Bloodran down her leg and mixed with the salt water.
Avlyndidn’t hesitate to raise their sword.Itlodged into the side of the horse thing, who barely seemed to notice.Avlynstruggled to pull their sword out as the creature took steady steps back into the sea, pulling everyone with them.Icouldn’t just stand there.Icould tug onTori, but any more force, and her leg might just rip off.
ThinkPallas, what would she do?Somethingstupid.Sothat’s whatIdid.Igrabbed the biggest rockIcould from the surf and launched it at the side of the creature’s head.
Thecreature lurched backward, andJunslipped, letting go ofTorias everyone else was pulled forward again.Igrabbed him, helping him up.Inthe torchlight, his eyes glowed with somethingIhad never seen in him before.Anger.
Hestood up tall and grabbedToriagain before staring down the creature.Myworld stood still asIfelt him concentrate his power, focusing it.Hethen shouted so loud my ears nearly gave out. “BURN!”
Chapter 29
Tori
Myleg felt like it was about to split, and allIcould think about was the image of this ugly thing swimming away with my foot in its mouth as some grizzly prize.Theharder everyone tugged, the moreIfelt the tendons and sinew of my leg give way under those razor-sharp teeth.Butthen, through the pain,Ifelt something soft.
Withouta single word or look,IunderstoodJun’srequest.Ipulled up a tiny thread of magic for him.Itwas allIcould manage with my mind so stretched with pain, but it was enough.
