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“You don’t understand.” Frowning, she held up the crystal. “It must’ve broken when I fell. This is only half of it. I sense no magic in it now.”
Tigress let out a roar, slashing the wall.
Cadmus swore, panic turning his veins to sludge. How was he supposed to keep his mate safe?
A violent roar like a thunderclap sounded in the distance.
Bennu trembled against him like a leaf in a windstorm. “What was that?”
The demon cat went eerily still. “The lechers.”
Bennu visibly swallowed. “That didn’t sound like them.”
Tigress pushed off from the wall, the hair on her back standing up like porcupine quills. “They must’ve found fresh blood. They’ll be much stronger now and impossible to beat.”
“What do we do?” When Bennu blinked up at Cadmus, his heart set off at a gallop. How was he going to protect her when she still hadn’t recovered her strength?
Tigress crouched on all fours, giving Cadmus and Bennu a look of pity. “We can’t outrun them.”
Cadmus unclenched his hands, magic sparking off his claws. “Then we fight.”
The she-cat shook her furry head. “Fight if you want to.” Then she bound up the tunnel.
Sweeping Bennu into his arms, he followed after her. “Where are you going?”
“I’m running,” she called as she leapt out of the hole.
“Hold on tight,” he whispered to Bennu.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, fitting snugly against his side.
He used his wind to escape quickly out of the hole, eliciting a shocked gasp from the demon cat who came to a skidding halt when he landed in front of her, his mate clinging to him. “You just said we can’t outrun them.”
She skirted around him with a sneer, her tail darting back and forth like a charmed cobra. “I don’t need to outrun them. I just need to outrun you.” She leapt into the air, clutching something in her front paw. The claw! That sneaky feline.
Before she could hit the ground, he struck her hard with his wind. She shrieked and went flying head over tail, the claw falling from her grasp. She landed on her back, blinking up at the sky, a look of shock on her face. One leg was twisted at an odd angle. He would’ve felt sorry for Tigress, hadn’t she tried to leave them stranded.
Adjusting Bennu in his arms, he flew past the she-cat and snatched up the claw that had wedged itself in the sand.
They’d just made it to the top of the ridge when they saw the three menacing shadows converging on the cat.
“We can’t let them kill her,” Bennu cried, untangling herself from his arms. “She saved my life.”
Cadmus let out a string of curses. “She saved your life to get to the crystal. She tried to steal the claw.”
“I know,” Bennu said, sorrow reflecting in her eyes. “But she’s Daeva’s friend, and I can’t let them kill her.”
Before he could stop her, she blinked away. He’d almost forgotten his mate had teleporting powers. He roared when she appeared at the bottom of the hill, standing fearlessly in front of the demon cat while his zombie brothers converged on them, their sharp claws outstretched. He’d never reach them in time.
Throwing back his head, he let out a mournful howl, his heart shattering into tiny grains of abrasive sand.
