It was ameluza— a serpent-woman. Lucien quickly ushered students back against the trees, away from the monster. “Everyone stay calm! I have this handled!”
Lucien charged forward with his sword in hand. His arm moved so fast that it appeared to be a blur. I heard the clash of the sword against the snake’s fangs as the two struck together. The snake tried to strike out several times, but Lucien was too quick. He opened up several wounds on the snake’s middle and one on its head. The snake hadn’t yet put a single mark on him.
Many people didn’t look too afraid— if anything, they were impressed by how well Lucien was handling the snake. Emma, however, was terrified. She froze in place as she observed Lucien and the snake dance, her face shocked by the brutality of battle.
Then something unexpected happened, as it often did with monsters. The snake brought the tip of its tail lashing upward, and it knocked Lucien off his feet. The snake slithered away from Lucien as quickly as it could, to get away from the threat. It was looking for victims that were easier to kill.
The closest people to it were me and Emma.
I put myself in front of Emma as the snake rampaged closer. By instinct, I exploded out of my human form and into my wolven skin. I snarled, lifting my upper lip as the snake came closer.
The snake saw me in its way and tried to divert its path, but I charged. I ran toward it and sank my teeth into one of the wounds Lucien had caused, opening it up further. I ignored the tangy, awful taste of snake flesh. The snake hissed and whirled its head around to bite me, but I let go and rolled so it sank its own fangs into its body. The snake pulled out its fangs and curled up in pain. It was immune to its own venom, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t painful.
Themeluzastruck out several more times, but I was light on my feet. I managed to slide out of the way wherever the snake’s head went. Several times, it sank its fangs into the dirt instead of into me. The snake was becoming furious— the eyes shone with malice and hatred as I continued to outsmart its moves.
But I miscalculated. I went to deliver a blow at the wrong time, and the snake plunged. It missed sinking its fangs into me, but it still knocked me over. I struggled to roll onto my belly and watched the snake slither away.
No! It was going after Emma! I pushed myself onto my paws, but the world was dizzy and I had trouble finding my feet.
Emma had her sword in hand and held it in front of the snake— when it came too close, Emma managed to cut her sword along the snake’s jaw. It was barely a scrape, but the snake skimmed backward in surprise, not expecting a reaction from such an easy target.
Good girl!I internally cheered. I just had to reach her in time…
But Emma was doing perfectly well on her own. She had a precise angle to dive her sword into the snake’s head, right in the area where the neck and skull connected. It’d be a killing blow, if Emma managed to deliver it.
When Emma raised her sword to shove it into themeluza’sskull, the monster noticed. In a flash, it changed— where there once was a monstrous, giant snake was now a naked young woman, shaking and frightened, her long black hair tangled and falling down to her knees. The woman curled up into a ball at Emma’s feet and looked up at her pitifully. Emma held back her strike.
No, Emma, don’t fall for it!I raged inside. I was still so far away. My paws pounded against the dirt to get to my mate.
“Please don’t hurt me,” the woman begged. “I mean no harm. I just wish to be left alone.”
Emma stared at themeluza,her hands shaking so hard that the sword quivered in her grasp. Emma did the worst thing an Arcanea can do in that situation. She hesitated.
Those few seconds of mercy were all the monster needed to take advantage. The woman’s innocent smile changed into a vile sneer that was soon replaced with fangs. In seconds, so fast you’d miss it if you blinked, the woman was gone and the snake was back in her place. The snake crouched and lunged forward, fangs exposed as she sailed toward my mate.
It was like the entire world flashed before my eyes. I moved without thinking, without knowing what my body was doing. All that mattered was that I put my body between themeluzaand Emma. As themeluzalunged for Emma, I leapt forward with a wild snarl, and sank my jaws into its throat.
The snake hissed violently. I tore my jaws away so that blood streamed out of its open wound. In one clean movement, I changed back into a man and grabbed Emma’s sword, performing an up strike so that themeluza’shead was cut clean off.
I heard the sound of the snake’s head hitting the grass, and its body was still. A few people were clapping and cheering behind me, though I barely heard it. They’d been impressed by the fight. The bloody sword fell out of my hand, landing next to the severed head.
Lucien strode toward me. “Well done, Ethan. As you all can see, technique is very important when fighting a monster of this size. Some of you should hope to be half as proficient as Ethan is by the time this course is over.”
I was heaving for breath. When I turned back around to face Emma, she seemed confused. Her eyes looked to me— then glanced downward.
I felt gutted. She saw me for what I really was, in my wolven form. She’d seen I had no leg.
My temper exploded. “Why thehellwould you do that?” I demanded, rounding on her. I took her by the shoulders and shook her. “Why wouldn’t you kill it when you had the chance?”
Emma gaped up at me. “I—”
I let her go. I stomped away, pacing in circles. I was covered in blood and murderous, looking savage. She seemed terrified of me.
“You don’t ask questions! You don’t hesitate! You cut their head off and live to see another day, before they kill you first!” I made a slashing motion across my neck, and Emma cringed. “Anything less will get you killed out there!”
“Ethan! That is more than enough,” Lord Lucien snapped. “You are right that Emma made a mistake, but she is a freshman, and new here. Your reaction is uncalled for. Now leave my class.”
His eyes were narrow and stern. I made a sharp noise, rolled my eyes, and walked off. “Whatever.” I didn’t want to do this. I couldn’t be near this right now, this, this…insanity. I heard whispers as I left. Good gossip about how Prince Ethan had killed ameluzaand lost his shit in class would travel fast around the school.
