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The wraith jerked Ella hard, and her skull made a sickening crack against a hard rock. She cried out and turned her head, just enough to press her fingers against the back of it. Her fingertips came back bloody.
I saw red.
There was no stopping me as I breathed icy fire on the group of wraiths gathered behind her. Shrill angry screeches echoed through the valley as they froze in a pattern that reminded me of shattered glass.
I rubbed my tongue against the rough patch of flesh deep inside my throat, igniting the natural matchbox, and the whole world turned into a spiral burst of blue flame that froze everything and anything that it touched. I was careful to avoid Ella, focusing on the rest of the group in hopes that the one that held her would release her in fear.
That didn’t happen.
I roared, swinging my tail around and shattering one of the frozen wraiths in a fit of fury. The hazy face of the leader came into focus, black beady eyes taunting me from afar as she yanked Ella back again. Ella’s eyes rolled back in her head as her head slammed against a rock, and I watched in horror as her body went slack.
I couldn’t control myself now. I lost all restraint.
My fire poured out of me, freezing every single wraith in that clearing. I slashed my claws and whipped my tail back and forth, shattering each one into a pile of broken ice. I fought like a wild beast, scratching and clawing and destroying every one of those hell creatures until there was only one left.
The leader.
She stared back at me, cocking her head and taunting me with a devious cackle that set me even more on edge.
I didn’t give her a second to call on her magical powers, not that it would have much power against me. Instead, I directed my fire solely at her. It plowed into her as she cackled, the sound slowly morphing into an agonizing screech that would be heard for miles.
In an instant, my teeth gnashed around her, crushing her into a billion broken shards. I didn’t hold back. I took out my fury on her until she was a pile of dust that would only scatter away on the wind. By the time I remembered myself, there was nothing left.
Ella…
I turned back to her. In horror, I noticed that there was a small pool of blood beneath her head. Not only that, but her skin was icy cold. I prayed that my fire hadn’t frozen her. Desperately, I pressed two claws to the side of her throat just beneath her skill and searched for a pulse.
When the steady beat of blood throbbed against me, I let out an audible sigh of relief. Gently, I picked her up from the ground and cradled her in my clawed feet. I tucked in the mantle and reached for my own, wrapping her in that in too before I pushed up off the ground and up into the air.
Trees snapped as I forced my way through, the crack of them breaking deafeningly loud in the valley. If there were any more monsters in the area, the noise would draw them in, but I would be long gone before they arrived.
The journey to the Glacierhold was still too far from here. Her injury and the chill beneath her skin put her too much at risk. If I didn’t get her someplace where she could get warm while she healed in safety, then she was going to die. I decided to take her to the abandoned city of Icehelm instead. Her chances of survival would be best in my own home.
I would save her. I didn’t care what it took.
CHAPTER7
Ella
Holy shit… Thathurts!
My head pounded so hard I thought it might have split wide open. The intensity was so strong that I heard myself whimper. I didn’t dare open my eyes yet, not certain if it was worth the risk because I feared that might make it worse.
Was this what a migraine felt like? Or was this something more painful?
I groaned, pressing my fingers to the left side of my head. A surge of agony pierced through me, so sharp that I couldn’t stop myself from crying out. I bit my lip as a warm hand gripped my wrist.
“Don’t put pressure on it,” he said, and I started a bit, not realizing that there was anyone in the room with me. My eyes snapped opened, and my head felt so foggy that I had difficulty remembering what had happened. There was a distinct familiarity to the man sitting next to me, but I couldn’t really place him, at least not right away.
“What? Where am I? I don’t remember you…”
My tongue felt thick in my mouth, and I swallowed past the dry ball of cotton at the back of my throat. The sound of my voice was awash with panic, and I had difficulty calming myself down.
“It’s alright, Ella. You’re safe. I took you to my home in the north. You hit your head really hard during the wraith attack, but you’re safe here.”
Gently, he tucked the blankets in around me. I didn’t make any move to sit up, not quite trusting my head not to explode at this point. Slowly, I blinked, and the events of the day finally started to come back to me.
“Nykor?”
