She was going to leap.
Behind his ribs, a jolt—primal, instinctive,alive. He didn’t think. Didn’t plan. Just reached. His fingers scraped bark as he hauled himself higher.
A crack. The branch gave out beneath him, and he slipped.
The growl that followed made his blood turn to glass. He didn’t breathe. Couldn’t.
And then—
Pain.
Iron claws sank through his back. A blast of breath scorched the side of his neck.
The weight of her—massive, inescapable—dragged him downward. The branch vanished beneath him. Air tore from his lungs in a single gasp as he hit the ground hard, the world exploding into dirt and sound and stars.
He didn’t move.
Couldn’t.
He was sure—absolutely sure—he was dead. No one survived a forest panther. Not in stories. Not in real life.
He waited for the tearing. For claws to shred through muscle, for teeth to crack bone. Waited for the pain that should have already come.
But nothing happened.
The stillness pressed in.
Then—salt. Copper. Blood.
The taste shocked Collin back into his body. His lip was bleeding. His heart—was beating. Fast, wild, slamming against his ribs like it wanted out. Could a dead boy feel that?
His breath caught. Slowly, carefully, he peeled his eyes open.
And stared straight into gold.
The panther’s gaze was locked on his—unblinking. Immense. Eternal.
Collin flung himself backward, scrambling through wet leaves and tangled roots. Twigs snapped under his palms. Breath tore from his throat.
But she didn’t pounce.
She didn’t move.
Her eyes didn’t shift. Her chest didn’t rise. One paw lay still against the earth.
Then he saw it—the arrow. A single shaft, blue-feathered, sunk clean into the back of her skull.
He blinked. Once. Twice. It wasn’t a dream. The arrow was real. The panther was dead.
His eyes searched the trees.
And foundher.
Still as a statue between two trunks, bow lowered, hair loose down her back.
Dragonfly.
Collin stumbled upright and ran. He didn’t think, just flung himself into her arms. She dropped the bow as he crashed into her. Her body trembled against his; his own hands shook as they gripped her tightly, grounding himself in her warmth, her breath, the impossible rhythm of life still beating between them.
