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Chapter 5
Shock jolted through my body. I screamed as the carriage tilted sideways on twowheels.
Out of nowhere, a shadow slammed into the falling cabin’s side, sending it rocking back onto four wheels. The sudden move tossed me across the compartment. I hit the opposite seat hard, my hip screaming with a short, sharp pain, then I slid to the floor with a groan. The world swayed, and I scrambled to my feet, wobbling when I came to an abrupt stop. The carriage stayed in an upright position.Thank you,Goddess.
The wind whistled outside, shaking the carriage, and I now stood diagonally across the road. A fierce blizzard battered thenight.
Stay put,Raze had said. Not as if I could outrun the bears. But sitting here meant waiting to get butchered, and what if Raze lay somewhere injured? Maybe the dragon horses just needed a little nudge to get them running again. They must be spooked from the carriage almost toppling over. But I couldn’t hear themstruggling.
Pressed up against the window, I searched the woods, then did the same on the other side. All clear, except for the impenetrable dark woods, but if two bears had knocked over the carriage, why would they have taken off? Unless Raze was fighting them. Okay, I had to get the carriage moving. He might need a quick escape, or for me to go gethelp.
I pushed open the door and froze as a gale hit me. “Goddess, please help me. Don’t let me get eaten,” I muttered under mybreath.
Once I jumped out, I rushed to the front, where both horses were upright, neighing, and snorting short flames from their nostrils. Okay, that wasnew.
A tremendous snarl erupted from farther up the road, and I flinched so hard, my headspun.
I plastered myself against a skittish horse. A scream bubbled on the forefront of my mind. Trembling, I peeked out and stared at the biggest mother of a bear on hind legs, snarling, drool seeping from longfangs.
My stomach churned.Goddess, I don’t want to die this way!I scrambled alongside the horse toward the back of the carriage, searching for my bag. I needed myherbs.
Breaths came too fast. At the rear, I found my bag tied up with rope. Adrenaline soared through me, muscles taut. I tugged at the knots, my chest aching.Hell!The ropes weren’t loosening. I might as well have been trying to rip the cord apart with my bare hands.Shit!
A thundering roar came from the bear, and the horses backpedaled, driving the carriage backward and into me. I shuffled aside, peeking around to the front. The grizzly hadn’t budged, maybe put off by the flame-snorting horses. Rushing back to my bag, I kept pulling at the rope knotted tighter than a dead bug in a spider’s web.Fucking ropes. Comeon!
The wind howled in my ears, ripping at my hair and clothes, icicles chilling me to the bone. When the crunch of snow came from behind me, I snappedaround.
A huge bear the color of timber on all fours, fifteen feet away, and it wasn’t Raze. Was this a wild bear or a shifter? Tales painted them as brutal and unforgiving, carrying grudges for life. So that explained the death stares coming my way, and Raze had said royals had issues right now. What did thatmean?
Facing the bear, I fumbled with the buttons on the bag behind me. My hands shook so hard I fought the restraints to pry the bag open so I could get my handinside.
The animal inched closer, and when it unleashed an ungodly sound, a strangled cry fell from mythroat.
It’s going toattack!
My hand slid into the bag. I fumbled about, past clothes and pouches of ingredients, for spells. Except what I needed was a small, velvet sack. My fingers touched the fabric. I pulled it out and tore open the tinypurse.
The bear charged towardme.
I trembled and dropped the bag to my feet, herbs and powders spilling onto thesnow.
“No!”
The insistent gale tossed them around my feet, and yet I stood there, fear sitting over my mouth and nose, suffocating me. The beast flew atme.
Another figure lunged out of the woods and slammed into the attacking bear. They both smacked into the ground, snow thrown in every direction hitting me in theface.
My stomach lurched, and I snatched up my pouch ofherbs.
Snarls filled the night. Teeth bared, ripping off fur, spittle, and a cacophony of growls. They rolled off the road, and I rounded to the front of the carriage to where the horses pulled away from the encroachingdanger.
My heart would break out of my ribcage, but I couldn’t just sit back and wait to become bear food. I pulled out a pinch of herbs from my pouch and summoned the strength to hold myself still. The horses reared and nudged me aside. I stumbled into the middle of the track, right in the path of the other bear unleashing a deathly roar. Itcharged.
Clasping the enchanted powder, I trembled, and those few moments felt like a lifetime as I grounded myself. Magic flowed over my skin and I let it go. “Freeze.” I blew the crushed herbs into the gale, but the wind seized the ingredients from in front of me and blew them into a tree, ice crackling around its trunk in aninstant.
I recoiled, my fingers deep in the pouch. The horses pulled a hard right to avoid the attack. I screamed and tossed the contents into the bear’s face as it reached me. “Freeze!”
The beast iced over mid-movement, its expression twisted into a snarl, and it fell at my feet with a dullthud.
