Behind the trio of Grimbeasts, his leg bloodied, clothingshredded from where their claws and teeth had torn into him, Ryland managed to lift his head and glare daggers at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Unbelievable. That male holds a grudge even longer than me.”
I didn’t hear Varian’s response because I was already moving toward them, far enough away to give Varian a chance to run, close enough to Ryland to…well, since he was still alive, hopefully save him from ending up in one of these things’ bellies.
This close, their foul breath washed over me in fetid waves, and the beasts were bigger, meaner, and outnumbered me three to one.
There was no underestimating the coiled brute strength contained in those powerful bodies, the greedy way their eyes shone with raw hunger. As barren as this place was, we had to be the most food they’d seen in weeks, and they weren’t about to let us escape.
No, they were already shifting into hunting formation, pinning us between them.
But I’d already marked my targets.
All I had to do was be fast and precise. To get in and out before those deadly claws punctured my heart or a lung. One deep breath and my body sank into battle readiness, exhaustion forgotten, my muscles loose, my eyes on the prize. My blades were sharp, I was quick and ruthless, and I had a prince to kill. A kingdom to save.
These things were just in my way.
I left the first one bleeding out on the sand, my knife buried deep in its eye socket, the tip piercing its brain. The second one was warier, circling, trying to herd me closer to the leader, still guarding Ryland, like the creatures understood we’d come to rescue him.
Or didn’t want to lose his next meal.
Varian edged closer, his eyes flicking between me, the Grimbeasts and Ryland, pinned flat by one of those taloned paws, the pack leader now crouched over him, tracking Varian’s every move as he caged Ryland’s body between his powerful legs.
One wrong move and the creature would shred him to pieces with no effort at all.
“Stay clear, Varian,” I hissed. “I’ve got this covered.”
“Don’t give me orders, commander. If I see an opening, I’m taking it.”
“Actually, Iamgiving you an order.Stand the fuck down.” I kept my gaze fixed on the two remaining Grimbeasts as I pulled my third—and final—blade from my thigh sheath. If I lost this one, I was screwed, because the rest of my weapons were in my pack, fifty feet behind us. My aching muscles were stiff; my reflexes slow from no sleep.
Adrenaline, however, pumped through me like liquid energy, fueling my muscles with dizzying power. The rush wouldn’t last long, but I planned to ride this for as long as I could.
The smaller Grimbeast lowered itself into a crouch, muscles tensing beneath thick fur, air and snot bursting out of its wet, black snout, launching toward me in a spectacular leap of five hundred pounds of bared teeth and glinting claws.
I dove, rolled, and plunged my blade straight up into the animal’s soft, exposed gut as it leapt over me, paws spraying up sand on either side of my head as I was surrounded—for one awful second—by nothing but a storm of stinking black fur, flashing talons and grunting growls.
Blood showered me, drenching my clothes, my hair, my face as the hound’s momentum carried that enormousbody past me, wrenching the knife out of my slippery fingers, twisting my poor wrist so violently it almost snapped.
The thing landed behind me, floundering in the soft sand, kicking dirt all over me, barely managing to push up to its full height one final time before collapsing.
I turned, weaponless, my knife hand wrenched and numb, worthless for the fight that was coming.
Like the beast recognized my helplessness, the pack leader uncurled itself from Ryland’s prone body and prowled forward, death on four legs, hungry gaze fixed on me like we were the only two things that mattered.
If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn a gleam of vengeance ignited in those dark eyes, in the warning growl rumbling in its chest before he raised his head to the sky and bayed.
I shifted to my right, forcing the beast to put more distance between him and Ryland, Varian slowly, cautiously moving with me, all sounds of struggle ceasing from the dying Grimbeast behind us.
One careful, slow step. Two. Three.
Sand crunched behind me as Varian mirrored my movements, closing in on Ryland, the beast’s hungry gaze bouncing between us, deciding who made the more promising target.
“Me,” I muttered, eyeing the length of those fucking deadly teeth as I waved my hands to get its attention. “Come on, you ugly fucker. It’s me you want, not them. Trust me, I probably taste better.”
Heart thudding against my ribs, not daring to take my eyes off the enormous creature, I hissed to Varian, “Get to Ryland and do that…thing you did before. Then use the globe to call Zeph. Find cover, and wait for his instructions. I’m leading the beast away from you. Get Ry up and get moving, Varian, now.”
The adrenaline was fading, but I had enough strength for a short burst across the sand. Far enough, perhaps, to give them both a fighting chance, especially if Varian could fly Ryland over one of these hills and out of sight.
