I reached into my bag and pulled out the steel rings I’d salvaged from the cliff—cold, dense, sharp-edged.
“Slade!” I shouted, hurling them back.
He caught one mid-air with a flick of his hand—his power snapping to life like a flare in the dark. The look on his face—
Gods, therelief.
Within seconds, metal hovered around him like a storm. Then—
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
He fired, smooth and fast. A low yelp behind us confirmed a hit. Then another.
Three left.
“Can you blast them with your fire?” Caelen shouted over the wind.
“Not without spooking the horse.”
“Godsdammit.” A pause—then, “Okay, Slade! Follow me!”
Without warning, Caelen twisted off the main path, cutting sharp into thicker woods. Branches slapped at my face as we tore through undergrowth.
Slade followed—no hesitation. His mare crashed through the brush behind us, metal still orbiting him in tight, deadly spirals.
“Where the hell are you taking us?” I demanded.
“There’s a ravine up ahead!” Caelen called back. “Shallow enough to cross—steep enough they can’t follow without slowing!”
“That’s a big maybe,” I snapped.
“Then pray fast.”
A snarl to our left—one of the wolves was gaining.
Slade turned in the saddle, loosed a ring like a blade, and clipped the beast across the muzzle. Blood sprayed. It fell back, shrieking—but didn’t stop.
They were relentless.
Caelen spurred the mare harder. “I can see it! Hold tight!”
The trees broke suddenly, the world tilting downward.
Ahead of us—stone and air. The ravine.
It wasn’t deep enough to kill. Probably. But it was steep, jagged and slick with moss and shadow.
Caelen didn’t slow.
“Are you insane?” I shouted.
He didn’t answer. Just gave the horse one last kick and leaned forward.
We flew.
For a split second, all I heard was wind—rushing past my ears, tearing at my clothes. The mare landed hard on the opposite slope, stumbled, then righted herself with a lurch that jarred my teeth.
“Go!” Caelen barked. “Ride!”
