My hands shook. “Easy, girl.”
Her eyes narrowed, and then she disappeared into the night in a smear of violet light.
“Thank the gods.” Oz let out a heavy sigh as his shoulders slumped. “I for sure thought we were—”
The Nix Ikari reappeared behind him, bleeding into existence without even a hint of sound, and swiped the length of his back with razor-sharp claws. Oz hit the ground to dodge, but not fast enough. Tender, flayed flesh oozed blood that shone bright in the light of the moon. Kost moved before I could think. Wrapping his friend in a blanket of shadows, Kost dove with him into darkness.
Which left a confused and enraged Nix Ikari staring directly at me. Whiskers on end and nose twitching, she peeled back her maw to expose a massive collection of daggerlike teeth. Sinking low into her haunches, she prepared to pounce. And then she exploded in a spray of snow and yowling fury, her claws aimed directly at my chest.
Hiding my face behind my forearms, I braced for impact and forced all of my power to my Charmer’s symbol. Rosewood light fractured in the space around me, and an echoing roar shook the mountainside. A white mass barreled through the air and slammed into the Nix Ikari. Followed closely by a snarling Onyx.
“Leena, are you all right?” Kost stepped out of the shadows with a wincing Oz at his side.
“Yeah.” Lowering my arms, I peered at the tumbling beasts. They crashed into a snowbank, and a riotous explosion of white shimmered in the air. “Dominus and Onyx are here.”
“Dominus?” Oz slumped to the ground and grit his teeth. Kost bent over his wounds and began murmuring to himself. With the flick of his wrist, he brandished a bronze key and called out Felicks. Without hesitating, Felicks bounded toward Oz and began licking the length of his back.
“He’s got a mind of his own, though I’m grateful.” Standing slowly, I studied the spitting beasts. The Nix Ikari had slipped out of Dominus’s clutches and reappeared several feet away. He and Onyx circled her with cautious footing, and marrow-rattling yowls rumbled through their chests.
Sniffing Ozias’s now-healing wounds, Felicks let out a quiet bark and promptly sat on the ground. The Nix Ikari’s ears flicked to attention, and her gaze snapped to us. One moment she was there and the next she was gone, nothing more than a smudged violet afterimage burning against the night sky. Onyx and Dominus straightened and swiveled their heads in our direction.
My brows pulled tight together. “What’s wrong?” Their hairs stood on end, and I braved a quick glance around. My eyes snagged on Felicks’s orb, formerly crystal-clear and now churning with an ominous fog.
Shit.The huntress of the beast kingdom wasn’t just agile, she was cunning. Lethal in her ability to assess her prey. The moment Felicks had appeared, future brewing in his orb, she’d sensed a threat. She could analyze her target and strike accordingly, but only Felicks could predict what would happen two minutes down the line. And that would place her at a disadvantage. Panic sent a wave of icy water through my veins.
“Get out of the way!” I barely recognized the shriek that tore through my lungs as I crashed to the ground, hiding Felicks beneath the weight of my body just as the Nix Ikari appeared. Felicks yelped but I wrapped him tighter, unwilling to sacrifice him to the beast. Heated breath, moist and oddly reminiscent of peppermint, collided against my neck. A bead of saliva rolled off her canine and smashed against my skin. Turning my head slightly, I peered up at the monstrous feline poised over my body.
“Leena!” Oz and Kost shouted as one, but the Nix Ikari dominated my vision. Somewhere, I heard the ominous, heavy crunch of paws stalking toward us and the distinct battle roar of Onyx. Tension snapped through the air.
Throat tight, I forced out a whisper. “Don’t move.”
Shadows slunk along the snowy earth and wrapped through my fingers. The Nix Ikari noticed and howled, sinking her razor-sharp fangs directly into the tender flesh of my shoulder. Pain erupted from deep in my muscles, and I bit back the scream brewing in my lungs.
“Don’t!” Shuddering, I fisted my hands. “She sees them. Don’t. Move.”
Oz’s and Kost’s shadows dispersed as Onyx and Dominus slipped into position on either side of me, their contrasting hides visible in my peripheral vision. Their muscles were tense enough to cut glass, and I prayed they understood. One move and she’d sever my head. One move and it’d all be over.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. Itcouldn’tbe over. We’d come so close only to have everything ripped right out of my hands. Noc. The Azad. And now… Felicks squirmed beneath me. If anything happened to him, Kost would never forgive me. I wasn’t sure he’d ever look at me the way he looked at his brothers, but I couldn’t live with myself if something else happened to my assassins. Calem. Noc. Now Kost.
An uncontrollable sob shook me, and I sank further into the earth. Hot tears slid over my cheeks, and I just let go. Let myself revel in the nightmare that this had been. I couldn’t protect myanam-cara. Couldn’t protect a beast. Couldn’t protect my family. What good was I? No wonder Noc always wanted to keep me safe. I couldn’t even protect myself.
But right here, right now, I’d do whatever it took to keep Felicks safe.ThatI could do.
The Nix Ikari paused. Time stretched for an eternity as she stared at me, her breath rolling over the fresh wound of my shoulder. Finally, she pulled back. Inhaling deeply, she took in my scent before shaking her head once. And then disappeared in a blur of violet light.
Gone. And judging by the way Onyx and Dominus relaxed into their haunches, she wasn’t coming back. Focusing on my power, I opened the beast realm door and sent them home just as a light dusting of snow started to fall from the sky.
Adrenaline crashed through my limbs, and I suddenly felt too heavy and too light at the same time. My head swam as I blinked, slowly righting myself with Felicks still bundled in my arms. Standing, I turned to face Kost and Oz. They stared at me with open mouths and pale faces, gazes flickering from the now empty space behind me to the wound on my shoulder.
With a weak smile, I held Felicks out to Kost. “He’s unharmed.”
Kost cleared the distance in two strides, and I expected him to wrench his beast from my hands. Get his beloved creature out of my grasp and back to safety. Instead, he crashed into me and wrapped me in a hug. Chin angled down, he spoke into the crook of my neck not marred by the Nix Ikari’s bite.
“Thank the gods you’re safe.”
All the emotions from earlier came rushing back, and I melted into him. I was a crying mess. The Azad. The Fabric Spinner. Noc. Too much. It was all too much, and I couldn’t think, and I didn’t know what was happening, and I was lost. So lost.
Kost’s fingers pressed tight against my shoulder blades. “Leena.”
