The Rozzers saw her struggling and ran over to her, stabbing her with too small swords. High Gravemara’s hand opened up, and Seda fell to the ground, high enough to twist her ankle.
She hobbled as far away from the giants as she could, struggling to catch her breath. Guards kept firing at the Jotnar, but the Jotnar were swatting them away like flies.
With a sudden burst, a door swung open, and Elco rushed out, like a vision of a flame tearing through the night. He opened his black wings, and they expanded twenty wide feet as he flew into the air. He looked down and saw Seda pulling herself to the side of the courtyard and roared.
The guards, the Jotnar, and the remaining prisoners screamed.
The Captain looked up and seethed, “Forget the fucking Jotnar, get the Lionne!”
Elco tucked his wings in and dove into the chaos. He grabbed Seda with his front paw and flew back into the air. Bullets flew past them as they went higher into the sky. She pointed her hands back down at the Jotnar and fired her power again.
Seda saw the courtyard turn purple and shrink in size as she faded into darkness.
Chapter 27
Cahir
The team trudged through the sandy dunes for hours until they spotted the distant view of the Camp. They hid behind a tall dune and looked over. The Camp was unlike anything he expected. Tall, stone walls formed a large square with spikes along the top, and a big plume of smoke rose from the center. Guards were posted all around the Camp, and he could hear the distant sounds of screaming.
Roya swooped down from high above and told Cahir, “The walls are heavily guarded, and that isn’t all…”
“What do you mean?” Kalon asked nervously, his eyes flicking between the Camp and Roya. “What else is going on in there?”
Roya shifted her form and looked at the men. “There are three Jotnar in the middle of the Camp. They appear to be cooking… people.”
“Fucking a,” Askold said. “How would we get past three Jotnar?”
A bright purple flash exploded through the center of the Camp, and the group watched in horror.
Loud screaming wailed through the air, and the sand shifted beneath their palms with the pulsating beats of the earth shaking. The sound of gunshots echoed across the distance.
Ferona flew down and quickly shifted into a human. “They are shooting the Jotnar.”
“What the fuck…” Benny said as he looked back at the Camp in horror.
“I have to get Seda out. Now!” screamed Cahir. He had no idea what truly went on within those walls, but this wasn’t what he expected.
This wasreallyfucking bad.
“Look!” Benny pointed at the Camp. A giant winged creature flew out of the center, holding a pulsating purple form.
“Get back up there, Roya! See if you can see Seda in all of this!” Cahir commanded.Roya and Ferona shifted forms and flew back into the sky.
Seda, hisbestfriend and the woman who was his entire world, the thread that bound his broken seams, was alone in all of this chaos. He couldn’t imagine what she was seeing or feeling.
If she got injured in this, orworse…Cahir’s breathing became labored.
He quickly stood from his crouched position and marched toward the Camp.
Ojore tackled him from behind, throwing him back down onto the sand. “Do you want to get us all killed, you fucking idiot?”
Cahir didn’t care. He just wanted to reach her. Fuck these other people’s lives. What mattered was Seda, and right now she was caught up in all of this. He would let everyone die if it meant saving her. He shoved Ojore off him and began to shift,not caring if his secret was revealed, but Roya flew down again and yelled, “She is there!” She shifted forms and pointed to the winged creature flying in the distance over the dunes. The beast struggled to stay airborne, its wings giving out. It crashed into the sand about a mile away.
Cahir ran as fast as his legs would take him, not allowing his weakening breath or the blazing sun to slow him. He heard the others following behind and saw the Corvids approach the winged beast. They flew down and shifted forms, circling the creature and readying to fight. Cahir pushed his legs harder.
When he neared, he took in the size of the beast before him. Massive wings lay splayed out around it, with both fur lining its legs and head, and the scaled skin of a reptile. He ran up to the beast, and it snarled, snapping at his face. He looked for Seda and saw that the beast was holding her within its paws, protectively pulling her closer to its chest. The others approached and pulled out their swords.
“Stop!” Cahir yelled. “It is not trying to hurt her.”
