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The hounds’ eerie, high-pitched baying was amplified by the Caverns, like demons screaming from the deepest pits of the Great Beyond. If they set those beasts loose, we’d never outrun them, and I doubted my sword would penetrate their thick hides.
One more minute, though, and we’d make the turn. Then a final pass and we’d be clear and riding across the flatlands to meet Zorander.
I didn’t dare look back across the flatlands to see if Tavion had reached him in time, if the enormous force had ground to a halt. They’d still be fighting today, but it was far safer out there, where they still had room to maneuver, to form defensive lines, to keep their shields in place.
Another arrow whistled overhead, nicking the top of my head. A shriek of pain rang out behind us—Tristan found his mark. The air grew thick with arrows and magic, the whistling of those iron points blocking out everything except for my fear.
“Stay down,” I screamed to Anaria, who was laying as low on the back of her horse as she possibly could. A full patrol of archers was stationed at the Caverns’ entrance as we flew past, bowstrings creaking as they let their arrows fly.
Pain ripped through me as an arrow from the next volley pierced my shoulder, and my arm went limp.
We rode straight into a shimmering cloud charged with magic, tendrils of black whipping through the air, reaching for me, brushing the ends of Anaria’s hair, until they vanished. I supposed we had Tristan to thank for that, but I was too busy searching behind us for any sign of those fucking hounds.
My horse stumbled, recovered, kept going, Anaria casting a frightened look back. “Don’t you dare fucking stop.Go.”
“Raziel.” She was still staring back…past me, at whatever was behind us. I had a good idea what caused her to blanch pure white, but I looked anyway, then wished I hadn’t.
“Come on. Come on, Anaria,don’t you dare slow down for me.”
The hounds ran on feet so quiet they didn’t make a sound. Five of the deadliest creatures I’d ever seen, enormous jaws wide to catch our scent, their powerful bodies straining as they picked up speed.
Their thick skin was crackled, so dark it was nearly black, their eyes a glowing white, saliva streaming from their open mouths as they gained on us. Teeth as sharp as razors glinted, dust rising behind them with every stride.
The Caladrian soldiers were every bit as deadly as these beasts, would slay their enemies without an ounce of mercy then eat the poor fuckers, too. But soldiers wouldn’t kill Anaria, not when she was worth a king’s ransom.
If this went badly—and it was heading that direction—she would be taken to the Citadelle to the Fae King.
But those hounds…
Those beasts were bred to run down their prey and tear it to shreds. They didn’t care about a reward, or her magic, or the Fae King. They’d shred flesh from bone.
And they were closing on us.
* * *
“Keepyour head down and don’t fucking slow down,” I grunted to Anaria when her eyes widened at the arrow sticking out of my godsdamned shoulder. The fiery pain I could deal with, my dead arm…not so much.
Soldiers and mages poured from the mouth of the cave, some holding the hounds back, leashed with iron chains and magic, as another cloud of arrows and magic exploded toward us. Without this fucking collar, I could protect Anaria with the magic contained in my little finger, even against a hundred mages.
But I didn’t have my magic, and when I took another arrow, then another, I cursed our foolish, failed revolt from a hundred years ago.
This fucking collar might be the death of me yet.
They hadn’t managed to hit anything vital, but an arrow through the head or one touch of death magic would leave Anaria unprotected, and that was unacceptable. Not me dying—my death was a loss the world could tolerate—but I refused to leave Anaria to fend for herself.
A dull thudding and my horse stumbled, two long arrows sticking out of his front shoulder. He slowed, his gait turning choppy as he foundered on his lame leg.
My left arm hung useless, our enemies poured from the mouth of the Caverns, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Anaria reach up and slide one of her bands down. Before I could shout a warning, a whip of magic speared past me, howling into the mouth of the Caverns, knocking mages and soldiers and hounds back into the darkness.
From the force of the blow, some of them would not be getting back up, others would never walk again, and we finally cleared the Caverns and circled to the right, rounding the enormous rock formation, which would give us cover for a few precious seconds. Switching places, we thundered past the forest, heading straight for where the Solarys army was coming to a grinding halt.
To our right, the mages and soldiers were climbing to their feet in front of the Caverns, reorganizing themselves into defensive lines.
We could make it.We had to make it. Behind us, three of the five hounds rounded the rocks, claws digging grooves in the packed ground. Another few seconds and we’d be back in the sights of the mages and soldiers, but hopefully out of range of the arrows, at least.
Anaria’s mouth tightened. “You’re covered in blood, Raz. We need to stop.”
My horse was wheezing, every wet, dragging breath a struggle, and from the sound, he wouldn’t make it much further. “I’m fine. Zor can take them out when we reach the army.”
