Page 12 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

“I am aware,” she snapped as Yasen reached out a hand to pull her up before they launched back into the chase.

“Can’t you use your thing?” Yasen shouted.

“My thing?”

“Yeah, the sparkly magic thing.”

Zarya shook her head. “I still don’t know how I did that. And what if I hit Amrita? I don’t have enough control over it.”

A dark shape dropped from the sky, swooping overhead. Rabin curved in a graceful arc, snatching one of the vetalas in his teeth and flinging its now headless body into the distance. A moment later, the head followed, plunging from the sky with an unceremonious thump.

Rabin flew up and made a wide arc across the sky, lining up to make another pass.

Zarya and Yasen chased down the remaining vetalas as two more broke from the main group, while the last two took off with Amrita still clutched in their pointy claws.

Their attackers only made it a few steps before a shadow grew from above, and Rabin scooped them both in his jaws, crunching through their bodies, letting the pieces fall to the earth.

“Help!” Amrita screamed as the two remaining vetalas ducked into a thicket of brambles.

Zarya growled as she dove in after them, wincing at the scrape of thorns ripping against her skin and clothing.

“Let me go ahead!” Yasen called as he hacked down the branches, clearing a path. “Why didn’t you bring your sword?”

“Because I didn’t think we’d end up confronting a pack of monsters in the middle of the city.”

“You should always assume there will be monsters, Zee,” he said, and she snorted a wry laugh as he squeezed past her.

“I’ll try to remember that.”

As Yasen chopped away, Rabin circled overhead, roaring into the sky. He swooped, his jaws snapping at the head of a vetala as if trying to pluck a flower of its petals. The vetala ducked, Rabin’s teeth missing by a sliver as he lifted back up and circled again.

Zarya and Yasen squeezed through the thicket until, finally, they were almost on the creatures. Rabin dove again, curving so low the wind whipped up Zarya’s hair. His jaws snapped, and he snagged his target, biting off its head with a tidy crack.

Black blood spurted from its neck as it remained upright for several seconds before collapsing to the ground. The second vetala screeched, dropping Amrita as it attempted to escape.

Yasen dove through the brush, spearing the demon through the back before it could get far. Then, he yanked out his sword and cut an arc through the air, lopping off its head.

Zarya skirted around Yasen and threw herself to the ground where Amrita was sobbing, wrapping the princess up in her arms.

“I’m so sorry,” Zarya sobbed. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Amrita said, her entire body shaking.

“Can you walk? Are you hurt?”

“No. Yes. I’m fine.” Amrita sat back and held a hand to her forehead, her eyes closing as her chest contracted in and out with struggling breaths.

Zarya had made a huge mistake dragging Amrita out here tonight.

“We should get back behind the walls,” came a gruff voice a moment later.

Rabin had shifted back into his rakshasa form and now stood over them, his hands hanging loosely at his sides, though tension hardened every line of his body.

“We don’t know what else might find us out here.”

“Okay,” Amrita said, her jaw tightening. “Let’s go.”

Yasen and Zarya helped her up, and with Rabin leading, they made their way towards the city, its lights glowing brightly in the distance.