That’s what my father always told me. And he died by that credo.
I would be proud to die fighting for Nate’s safety.
My sword clashes with the twisted horns, and as sparks fall, melting the snow, the beast leaps back, making the pebbles rustle around us. Our collision was so intense my arms ache, andI’m not sure how long I’ll be able to fight this bull before my strength gives out.
My sword looks impossibly small in front of the muzzle exhaling smoke in my face
I’d yell at Stone to take Nate away, but two more bulls are already approaching from the other side. I swear under my breath, and as the animal huffs out more smoke through his nostrils, I grab one of the horns and tug on with every ounce of strength in my body, directing it away from my mount and beloved.
Every muscle in my body burns, spine on the brink of breaking, but I shall protect Nate with everything I have. As moon is my witness, I will not fail him again.
“Stand down,” I scream into the bull’s face.
It exhales, stepping back only to charge, stabbing the twin weapons upon its head at my torso. I spin aside, taking it even farther from my precious human, who’s now yelling my name.
I don’t want to hurt the beast. Its hide is almost as thick as a dragon’s, and besides, it’s simply following its nature, but when it attempts to skewer me in a wild charge, I slam the dull side of my blade on its forehead while the herd roars in fear. The blow resonates with pain up my arm, but I know these bulls. They fight with their heads and will accept defeat if attacked this way.
“I said walk away!” I roar, staring into its eyes without blinking.
If I fail, my last resort will be using my wings. I can grab Nate and fly, but then I’d be leaving Stone to the horns, and I can’t do that. My kelpie deserves better after all our adventures together.
I sense the heat from the bull’s nostrils on my cheeks and the smoke leaves soot on my hands, but I don’t let go.
And then, with an angry huff, the bull relents. It steps back so abruptly I almost fall forward. He doesn’t charge, just stares atme as if I’m to know why he’s so furious about us riding on the road. I back toward Stone, never taking my eyes off the animal.
“It’s all right,” I tell Nate, pretending my arms aren’t on fire. I’d rather him think I’m indestructible.
I carefully place one foot after the other, so he doesn’t notice how weak I feel, but then he’s reaching out for me, brows low over those expressive dark eyes. “I thought it was about to kill you… Tristan…”
“Stay in the saddle. Stone, if the bull comes at us again, make a run for it.” I grab the lead and pull the kelpie along with the sword in my hand. My heart is pounding, because while I know this herd well, I can’t anticipate their every move.
They’re acting strange. Some of the cows in the field are walking in a circle, and the few bulls watch from afar, clamoring like a fire warning in a big city with narrow streets.
“Maybe we should go back,” Nate tries, but I am not letting this spoil our day out. I’d rather he believes I’m the master of beasts and thinks about the moment I protected him deep into the night.
I want him to know I would jump into the fire for him.
With the bulls relenting, the cows forming a moving wall ahead of us have no choice but to comply, and as I lead Stone farther down the road, toward the village, moonlight reveals a trembling mound of flesh in our way.
I frown, hesitating whether I want someone as sensitive as Nate to witness the death of an animal that might have been bitten by a despair, but I hear him rise in the stirrups just as the cows hum around us.
“This poor animal… what’s happening?” Nate asks.
The cow’s black fur is matted with sweat, and the unearthly moans it makes speak of pain. I look back at the bull, but it is now kept away by the cows which murmur in unison every now and then, their voices so low the ground trembles under my feet.
“Stay back,” I say to Nate as we get closer and I sheathe my sword. “I’ll check it for wounds.” And if it’s impossible to save her, I might just have to show the kind of mercy Nate won’t be happy to witness. I could take Nate to the village and alert the herd’s keepers, but if a despair is still attached to the cow like some giant leech, I need to dispatch it so it doesn’t attack any elves.
“Maybe I can help it!” Nate shouts, and I hear Stone blow air out in a doubtful huff.
Under the watchful gazes of the other cows, I approach, with my palms up. The beast’s spine is level with my head even as it lies on the road, and once I’m close, I soon find the source of her distress.
An elongated white bulge emerges from her body, streaked with blood, and for a moment I’m certain this poor animal is evacuating its own bowels, but then the protrusion twitches, and my heart starts beating faster.
“She’s giving birth. But why—”
“Something must be wrong,” Nate calls out, and I only glance his way when his boots meet the cobbles with a loudthud.
I get up, frantic to reach him when he slips, but Stone raises his skull-head and keeps my human upright.
