The creature bursts from the shadows with terrifying speed.
It is roughly the size of a large dog, but that is where any resemblance to normal animals ends. Its body is gaunt, ribs visible beneath mangy fur that might have once been gray but is now a sickly yellowish color. Its eyes glow red in the firelight, reflecting like a predator's but with an intelligence that isunsettling. The teeth in its open mouth are far too large for its skull, overlapping and jagged, designed to rend and tear.
Solace shifts instantly, her human form giving way to her wolf. She moves to intercept the creature, positioning herself between me and the threat. I stand behind her with my mother's dagger drawn, watching the creature circle us, terror flooding through my chest. I knew that the Shadowlands would be dangerous but experiencing something like this is an entirely different thing to wrap my head around.
Neighs ring in my ear behind me, my horse no doubt startled but safe as I twist around to look at him. When I face forward, the creature lunges at Solace with terrifying speed. She meets it head-on, catching it with her jaws and throwing it sideways. The thing hits the ground hard but recovers instantly, scrambling back to its feet. Solace circles with it, keeping herself between the threat and me.
It snaps at her several times, trying to find an opening. She dodges and counters, teeth flashing back at it, a low growl rumbling through her chest as the creature tries and fails to truly engage. They clash again, a tangle of fur and claws and snarls, Solace forcing the creature back toward the edge of the camp we constructed.
Just as I think it’s going to slink back into the darkness, it darts toward Solace again. When she moves to block, the creature pivots and launches itself at me.
I barely have time to bring my dagger up before it is on me, teeth snapping inches from my throat. I feel the hot blast of its putrid breath, see the madness in those glowing red eyes. Then I drive the dagger up and into its throat with all the strength I possess, adrenaline racing through me.
The blade sinks deep into its flesh, the creature convulsing just before its ripped off of me. I can’t even focus on Solace’s destruction, my hands still firmly wrapped around the hilt ofmy mother’s blade, black blood coating my hands and dripping down my arms. For several moments, I just stand there, trying to come to terms with what just happened.
I stabbed something. I actually stabbed something.
The adrenaline begins to drain away, leaving me shaky and cold, my hands trembling as I fight to hold onto my dagger. Solace returns to me, her firm hands squeezing my shoulder to bring me back to reality. "Kaia. Look at me."
I look up into her dark eyes and see concern and pride warring in her expression. "I stabbed it."
"You did. You saved both our lives. That thing would have torn us apart if you had not acted." She takes the dagger from my suddenly numb fingers and sets it aside before pulling me into her arms. "You were incredible. Fierce and fast and so brave."
I bury my face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her familiar scent. My entire body is trembling now, the aftermath of violence and fear catching up to me. "I was terrified."
"That is what makes it brave. Being afraid but acting anyway." Her hands rub soothing circles on my back, bringing me back to myself. "I was afraid you would charge it but you did good. It is my fault that creature was even able to get to you. I will not let that happen again."
I almost argue with her, ready to tell her that it would have been impossible to stop something with that kind of speed but instead, I just hold onto her. We stand like that for several minutes, me clinging to her while she tightens her arms around my back. Eventually, my trembling subsides and I can breathe normally again. I pull back enough to look at her face, seeing the blood on her arm where the creature's claws must have caught her during the initial lunge.
"You are hurt."
"Barely a scratch." But she lets me examine it anyway, my Beta letting me drag her back toward the fire to clean it with waterand cover it with a stripe of cloth. The ritual of caring for her injury helps settle my nerves, giving me something productive to focus on.
I glance around, looking for the creature, confused to find it gone. Only traces of black blood and the stench remain. Trying to rid myself of it on my flesh, I gather a bit more of the water to wash my hands, Solace moving to check my horse before returning to my side. “He’s okay?” I ask.
She nods, pulling me into her lap and running her nose alongside my temple. “Yes, spooked but okay. We’re all okay.”
I settle into her chest, letting out a heavy breath as my lids slowly close. That mixture of magic that caused Solace to shift back seems to appear again but not physically, like something in the air. “There is something I need to tell you,” I say quietly, turning my head so I’m staring into the fire. "Since we stepped into the Shadowlands, I have felt... pulled. Like something is drawing me forward. Not in a bad way, just persistent. Like there is something ahead that I am meant to find."
I feel Solace tense slightly behind me. "What kind of something?"
"I do not know. It is not a voice or a vision. Just a feeling." I turn my head to look at her. "Do you think I am going mad?"
"No." She kisses my temple softly. "I think you have magic that we do not fully understand. You broke an Alpha's command with words and will alone. You sense emotions and lies. Why not also sense direction or destiny? Perhaps your magic is trying to guide us toward something important."
The thought is both comforting and unsettling.
"No matter what happens," Solace murmurs into my hair, "I will be at your side. Okay? Whatever we find ahead, whatever dangers we face, whatever destiny your magic is pulling you toward, you will not face it alone. I am yours, Kaia. Completely and utterly yours."
My throat tightens with emotion. I reach up to take her hand and bring it to my lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "And I promise that no matter what, you will get to stay there. I do not care about the kingdom or my father or anyone else. You are what matters to me, and I will have you. Not hidden in shadows, not as a shameful secret, but openly and honestly. I will have you as my mate, my partner, my equal in all things."
"Even if it costs you your crown?"
"Especially if it costs me my crown." I twist in her arms to face her properly. "What good is power if I cannot use it to protect who I love? What good is a throne if I have to sit on it alone, bound to someone I do not choose, living a lie for the rest of my days? I would rather rule nothing and have you than rule everything and lose you."
She cups my face in her hands and kisses me with a tenderness that makes my heart ache. "My fierce, beautiful princess. My Omega. My everything.” Her chest deflates with a heavy sigh as she meets my gaze again. “Just promise me that you will listen when I say it is time to return. There can only be so many surprises in the Shadowlands before your safety overrides any desires we are trying to achieve.”
I don’t want to agree to that but after what just happened, I know we are not equipped the same way the warriors fighting for my hand are. “I promise, Sol.” I just hope it doesn’t get to that.
