Yes. He’s here.Her mental tone sounds resigned but not afraid. She glances up over my head to where the commotion is coming from and makes that chuffing amused sound again.He’s having his fun.
My brows collide. “Fun?There’s a rabid manticore back there! We have to help him.” The sound of a large tree snapping in half makes us both glance in the direction of where her mate is. “Shit, Raz!” I shout.
Your concern is touching, dear one.Indira bends her long neck so her huge spined head is once more at my level.They have likely moved a fair distance in flight, but I can carry you, if you wish it.
I glance at her with trepidation. She is Raz’s mate, but Darrius is her rider. Wouldn’t there be rules about who can mount the king’s bonded azdaha? But I can’t let Raz face that monster alone, not when this is my fault to begin with. I inhale a gulp of air and nod. But instead of extending a wing for me to climb on her back, her massive hind foot stretches in my direction, scooping me up gently before she takes to the skies in a huge whoosh of air. My stomach bottoms out as we soar upward.
We don’t fly far enough for me to get used to being carried in her claws—perhaps four or five gigantic wingbeats—before she descends into another clearing. The place is utterly destroyed, trees ripped from the roots, branches shattered, and an enraged manticore and a smoking azdaha circling each other.
Indira releases me, though she settles her bulk defensively in front of me.
I peek around her huge hind leg. Despite the destruction and the superficial scratches on his hide, Raz’s tongue is lolling out of his mouth like a giant puppy. He doesn’t seem like he’s fighting for his life at all. Perhaps I should’ve taken Indira at her word. She must’ve known her mate wasn’t in any real danger via their bond.
Or...
Do theyknowthe manticore? Is it sentient like them?
Singe marks from Raz’s fire cover the manticore’s side and a bit of its thick golden mane is missing, but it no longer seems feral, the way it had earlier. I can’t help staring at how regal the creature is. It’s gorgeous in the way that wolves are—mesmerizing but undeniably deadly.
Come to see the show, little queen?Raz greets me when he sees me peering out from behind his mate’s leg. His usual affectionate salutation is met by a vicious roar from the manticore as if it had somehow heard Raz’s mental address and didn’t like it in the least. I nearly leap a foot into the air when that golden gaze locks in my direction.
“Mine.”
Thatgrowl makes my hair stand on end. It canspeak? Blinking, I shake my head. Does it still think I’m its prey?
“I’m very bony,” I call out. “And I have a sour disposition that might not suit your palate.”
Indira chuffs above me, earning herself a nuzzle from her adoring mate. The manticore lets out a noise between a whine and a growl, that very lucid, very covetous glowing gaze trained on me, its deadly tail swishing like a feline’s. That means aggression, no? I hiss out a breath as it runs a forked tongue over its sharp canines, studying me, the intensity unsettling. Sands, why does it look soravenous?
My father used to say back in Coban that the only way to stand up to certain predators is to make yourself as large as possible. Knowing that Indira and Raz won’t let anything happen to me, I straighten my spine and stare the manticore right in the eyes. Instantly, the beast goes preternaturally still, its amber irises glowing with brighter gold filaments. Its nostrils flare at my overt challenge, and a low, dangerous-sounding growl leaves its maw.
Oh,shit.
Don’t mind him; he’s in a bad mood because I trounced him,Raz taunts. Too fast to track, the manticore fires one of its poison barbs from its tail toward my azdaha—one Raz easily dodges with more chuffing noises.
“Do you know who he is?” I ask, mind racing with possible explanations at Raz’s familiar tone and the fact that the monster is male. “Is he a corpus magi?”
Raz takes much too long to answer, and I have a feeling that the manticore is following the conversation, because those gorgeous, flared wine-red wings fold inward and his aggressive stance relaxes slightly. It’s probably just for show—a beast of prey like that never actually lets his guard down.
Raz billows a stream of smoke.Not exactly, no.
My gaze shifts to him. “What does that mean?”
It means that he’s not a shapeshifter, little queen.
The manticore roars even louder than the last time and bares his razor-sharp fangs at the azdaha. That can’t be a coincidence. He clearly doesn’t like Raz calling me that name.
“Go, R’zlek.”
They’re mostly gravelly, growled sounds, but Razulek crooks his neck and glances at Indira at the manticore’s clear command. I blink as they bend their powerful hind legs and spread their wings. Wait, what are they doing? Are theylisteningto the beast?
“Where are you going?” I shout, starting to hyperventilate. “You can’t just leave me here!”
Raz nuzzles my head fondly, a blast of his azdaha heat surrounding me.Farewell, Starkeeper. Tell the king to bring you to visit our nest sometime.
“I won’t be able to visit if I’m dead, now, will I?”
Both azdahas chuff, Indira’s crimson eye meeting mine.A manticore will never harm his mate.
