The faerie slowly pulled his sword from his belt. Lori's beautiful eyes widened with fear and she fought against his hold anew. Lephas leapt forward for his sword, the metal handle slipping clumsily from his grip in the snow.
“His patience has officially come to an end with your nonsense girl. He can't tolerate such insubordination. No one defies King Lazuli – not even his own daughter. You'll learn that the hard way.” The knight shook his head and brought the blade up to her neck.
With a guttural yell, Lephas heaved himself up to his feet and charged forwards. He snatched his sword, but it was too late. The faerie's weapon swung back for the killing blow.
“No!” Lephas roared.
In a flash, large bloody fangs encased the knight's arm. The man screamed in pain and his sword dropped from his grip. It narrowly missed Lori as it fell.
Karn. The large wolf had three arrows sticking up out of his back, blood pouring freely from the puncture wounds, but still he fought with the knight. Tissue and sinew were ripped from the man's arm. Thick blood coated the snow and the faerie thrashed wildly.
Lephas let out a short, sharp whistle and the wolf did as he was trained. He finished the fight.
“Karn! To me!” Lephas yelled and the wolf obediently hobbled to his side, leaving the knight's twitching body forgotten.
“Get out of here!” he shouted at the wolf. “Home! Go home!”
Karn paused, his dark eyes staring defiantly up at his master.
“Now!” Lephas pushed him away. The wolf threw his head back in a long, sorrowful howl but darted away into the woods as quickly as his injuries would allow.
Lephas hastily lunged forwards to grab Lori and dragged her to her feet.
“We need to go!” he shouted. The girl said nothing, instead she tucked against him and gripped him tightly. He took that as her consent.
Lephas scanned the gore-filled clearing for Haros. His heart stopped as an arrow was loosed and its barbed tip landed in a thick, muscled shoulder. Haros bellowed in pain and his hand released his sword as muscles and tendons were severed. The weapon clattered to the floor. The two knights he was fighting lunged at him and knocked him down.
“Haros!” Lephas raised his sword and ran forwards.
The demon was on his knees, folded forwards so his face was nearly in the snow, with his arms pulled back. A faerie was hurriedly binding his wrists. They weren't going to kill him; they were capturing him. Haros caught his eye as he approached.
“Get out of here!”
Lephas faltered.
“Go!” The demon roared, desperation evident in his voice.
Without another word, Lephas grabbed Lori and slung her up over his shoulder. This time the princess didn't protest.
He ran as fast as he could, arms pumping at his side. The demon risked a glance over his shoulder, relieved that the faeries weren't aware of his escape yet. He didn't expect that to last long. They still had horses, they would catch them up easily.
Spurred on, Lephas leapt over a fallen tree, holding Lori steady as he did so.
He stumbled as he landed. The princess squealed and gripped him tighter. He kept pushing, faster... He had to get away from here.
The demon’s throat burnt as he sucked icy air into his lungs. His heart pounded so loudly he thought for sure it would escape his chest. The pain in his side was like a hot poker but still he fought on.
The ground underfoot became gradually rockier and the snow began to thin out. He tripped, barely remaining on his feet.
“Let me down - you're going to fall! I can run!” Lori thrashed against his hold.
Unthinking, Lephas obliged. He skidded to a halt and lowered the princess down onto her feet. He grabbed her hand and encased it tightly with his own. Together they ran, the faerie sprinting full pelt alongside him.
Sharp pine needles slashed and bit at them as they pushed onwards through the wilderness, running blindly deeper into the woods. Soon all Lephas knew was snow crunching, wind howling and harsh, short breaths.
They jumped a log in unison. Lori flew over it gracefully, her long legs stretched out like a forest doe.
The snow fell thicker and faster, and large flakes began to make it through broken gaps in the forest canopy as the woods thinned out. The wind picked up, howling once more. Lephas didn't stop to consider the implications of that until it was almost too late.
