“What—”
“The seeker.” He pushes me behind him, but not before I catch a glimpse of something black in the sky. It’s headed straight for us at impossible speed.
“Solano, the seeker is—”
A blast rocks me off my feet as Eraldon hits the ground hard enough to make a crater, power pulsing from him and leveling a wide swath of forest, dirt and greenery flying as he stalks toward us.
Solano changes into the feral and covers me as huge trees rain down, one of them falling onto his back as he shields me. Pain radiates down the bond, and I press my hands to his chest, wishing I had some sort of healing magic to share. But I don’t, and his suffering increases as a boulder glances off him and lands with a shaking thud next to us.
“A lion? How cute.” Eraldon laughs.
Solano growls and turns, the last of the debris already fallen. “Run.” It’s not a word exactly, but a feeling from him that whispers along my mind.
I kick away, scooting back, but run into a branch that blocks any escape. A tree trunk wider than my Nightlands cottage is wedged behind it. There’s nowhere for me to go.
Solano advances on Eraldon, then jumps, the two of them fighting and tearing at each other.
Solano doesn’t know it’s Sigrid’s son, the most powerful seeker in existence. I try to think it to him down the bond, but I can’t tell if it gets through. He’s too focused on killing Eraldon.
I rise and look around for a weapon as they battle. Other than a stick, there’s nothing. I scrabble onto the nearest trunk and look around, hoping to see Brock or Tristano coming to our aid, but there’s only blasted trees, twisted limbs, and the battling males, their blows raining down in a blur of speed and ferocity. I stand helpless, utterly unable to help Solano. His fur is bloody in patches. Eraldon’s fangs are bared as he slams the golden lion to the ground. But before he can inflict his poison bite, Solano’s massive paw smashes against Eraldon’s face and sends him skyward. They rip and tear at each other, the blur of them almost too quick for my eye to follow. The sound is a cacophony of destruction as they knock more trees down, Arin shaking beneath me as I crouch and slide down the side of the splintered trunk.
I scream, begging the forest for help, but no one comes as their battle rages and my entire body goes cold. If Eraldon bites Solano, this battle will be over. Or perhaps the day king can resist seeker venom? The thought warms me only a little as I try to pick my way through the destruction, the battle raging all around me as more trees fall and each male roars and yells, the sound of blows loud and terrifying.
They fly past me, Solano pounding Eraldon into the ground, the two of them skidding along the ruined forest floor.
“Solano!” I press myself against a shattered stump and watch as he pummels and claws Eraldon, black blood splashing on his beautiful golden fur as he deals untold damage.
Yes! I pray to the Ancestors that Solano kills him, that he ends this nightmare and sends Eraldon to the Spires. And it works, because Solano grips Eraldon by the neck and tosses him into the air, then lights him on fire with the concentrated power of the sun.
Solano roars, and I join him with a triumphant cry of my own.
This will end Eraldon. Maybe he’s warded against the sun, but he can’t survive Solano’s fire. I scrabble forward through the fallen trees, climbing to Solano as Eraldon falls to the ground in a burning black heap.
“You’re safe.” I hug him, squeezing him tight as he pants over my shoulder. “We’re safe.” I ease my hand down his back to a spot that looks almost dented. “Oh no.”
He whines as I touch it.
“You need to heal.” I glance at Eraldon’s charred corpse. “Hit him again. I don’t want him coming back.”
He tosses his head with a low chuff and sends another blast of sun into the black blur, fire sparking anew as he puts his paw on my back. He hasn’t healed.
“You used all your healing magic, didn’t you?” I sigh. “On me.”
He nuzzles my shoulder, then licks me again with his harsh tongue.
“Don’t try to avoid the question.” I scratch under his chin and give one more look to the burning pile of seeker. “Come on. Let’s get back to the palace. You need to be patched up.”
He stretches back and licks the sore, dented spot.
“Licking isn’t going to cut it, my lord.” I tweak his ear. “You need more than kitty slobber to mend that.”
He chuffs then reaches for me again.
Movement flashes in the corner of my eye and without thinking, I jump in front of Solano.
Pain rips through me, and I scream. But I’m frozen, trapped against something hard and wrapped up with iron bands. My feet no longer touch the ground.
“The sun can’t hurt me anymore.” Eraldon calls down to Solano whose roar seems to shake the very air. “I drained Grimelda dry. Why do you think I let you capture me? You took me right to her.” He laughs, dark glee in the deep sound. “Not even the king of day can wield the sun against me now.”
