She turned and saw the wolf leap. Terena dropped, intending to shield the boy with her body. Instead, a roar ripped from her chest as she fell to one knee. Her hand shot out and everything stilled.
No more shouts from her friends.
No wolf snarling.
No boy crying.
Just the deafening sound of silence.
Terena turned her head. It was heavy, as if she was underwater. The wolf was frozen mid-leap, close enough she could see the arrows protruding from his hide. His jaws were wide, saliva suspended from sharp fangs. Terena stretched forward and wrapped her hand around its throat and squeezed.
She blinked and exhaled. Sound returned in a rush and the wolf’s body dropped to the ground, Terena still gripping its throat.
The boy, Nikos, squirmed in her arms, trying to twist to see. She heaved another breath, looking at the wolf in horror.
Terena opened her hand. Flexing her fingers, the wolf’s head dropped against her ankle. Panting, she stared at the dead animal, its vacant eye glazed. She shifted and looked up at the ravine edge. Her friends stood hunched over, mouths agape as they stared back at her. Terena’s eyes snagged on Daris, his eyes wide in shock as he stared back.
Terena turned when Nikos moved, his small arms wrapped tight around her neck. She pulled at them to keep him from choking her. She whispered soft words to him again, letting him know they were safe, and rose.
Nikos squirmed against her chest. Terena took a step and her legs wobbled. She stood still for another minute, letting the adrenaline fade from her body long enough for the strength to return to her legs.
She started walking back toward the rope, stepping carefully around the dead wolf when she heard Nikos’s inhale.
“He’s so big,” the boy said, wonder filling his voice.
“Aye,” Terena said, her voice shaky. “Don’t look.”
“You killed him,” he said, pulling back to look at her face. She glanced at him with a tight smile, seeing the awe in his pretty brown eyes.
“See?” She gave him a wink. “I told you I’d help you, that you’d be all right.”
He said nothing as they reached the rope. Terena set him down carefully, leaning his weight against her side as she hunched down on one knee. She held his waist and used her right hand to pull the rope around his middle.
“I need you to be brave again, Nikos,” she said in a hard voice as she looked him in the eye. He nodded solemnly. “Do you see my friends up there?” Terena looked up at the others huddled above. Daris and Rydon crouched down, holding the rope, their faces tight.
The boy nodded. Terena turned back to him and said, “Those arethe bravest men on the continent. That man there,” she lifted her chin at Daris, whose eyes never left hers, “He’s the Commander of the Liodari. In Sparta. Have you heard of them?”
Nikos’s eyes widened comically as he looked up at Daris with another nod, awe filling his face.
“Good. He’s going to pull you up now. And when you get to the top, they’re going to pull me up. All right? It’ll hurt, because your leg is broken and you’re bruised from falling, but I promise you, we’ll take care of you and take you to your family.”
The boy nodded again, his eyes never leaving Daris.
“Are you ready?” Terena didn’t wait for his nod this time before she looked up and motioned for the men to pull the boy up.
When he was halfway up, Terena rose and dropped her head back, her hands falling to her hips, and then she bent over, bracing her hands on her knees.
Fucking gods.
That was close.
That was so close.
Calm down. Calm down. Calm.
Terena looked up in time to see Daris grab Nikos’s arm and lift him up, wrapping a big hand around the boy as he hefted him up to his hip and rose. He moved back to put him on the ground where Terena could no longer see him.
The rope dropped back down and she grabbed it, climbing back up. When she neared the top she turned her face up. Daris was there, gazing down at her. He grabbed the rope and heaved, pulling her up so fast her legs fell away from the wall and she was suspended for a second before he hauled her up and wrapped her in his powerful arms.
