The centaurs aren’t stupid. They must know they’re at a disadvantage crossing the gorge. Then again, they probably didn’t realize that capturing an annoying, talking raven for themselves would earn them this much grief.
Their scout, who is currently yelling“We’re under attack!”but is probably thinking,Oh well, a fae, a human, and a lioness? How much damage could they do to a centaur herd?
Of course, they’ve never seen Roane and Ardruna fighting. Or they haven’t made the connection between the library’s guardian and this tall man dressed in black leathers, watching them from the rocks.
And maybe the scout is a little stupid, because he goes on to yell, “False alarm!”
Excuse me?I think as we leap on him, but then my thoughts scatter as with the impact, I fly off Ardruna’s back.
Shit!I hit the rocky ground with a cry.Ow.I roll to a stop and flinch when hooves gallop past me. I glance up, dazed, and find Ardruna hanging onto the centaur’s back, teeth and claws sunk into thick hide.
Quickly taking stock, I find I’m not broken into pieces and get up with a groan. I pat the book nestled against my breasts, relieved to find it’s still there.
The centaurs are now in disarray, struggling to turn around in the narrow passage, their stomping hooves echoing. The sound bounces from rock wall to rock wall in a deafening din.
Where is Roane?
A scream, a shout, two centaurs rearing up, and I know I’ve located my warrior librarian. A smile tugs on my lips, and when I realize that, I do my best to wipe it off my face. Nothing sexy about a powerful fae male killing monsters.
A powerful fae male who keeps pushing me away.
”Her. Let’s takeher!” I find a centaur leaping over the body that Ardruna is still worrying at and pointing at me. “She’ll fetch a good price.”
I stumble backward, but I hit the gorge wall. With a trembling hand, I pull out the knife Roane gave me, and almost laugh at the image I present—a slight human girl, holding up a knife as a massive centaur canters toward me.
“Ellin!No!” someone roars, and I know it’s Roane. I see him from the corner of my eye. He’s somehow extracted himself from the bind he was in and is racing toward me, jumping over boulders and ducking under centaur bellies. The scimitars flash like stars in his hands.
The centaur standing before me bends his muscular humanoid torso, a long rope in his hands, preparing to catch me. His bearded face is split in a grin.
So I brace myself and throw the knife, and… I somehow manage to land the throw. It thuds into his chest and he glances down at himself, slowing.
Oops.Beginner’s luck?
“You hit me!” With a roar, the centaur rears up, his hooves flashing before my eyes. Pulling the knife free, he throws it back at me. “Die.”
It clatters beside me, making me scream. It misses me, thank the Gods, and I waste precious moments to grab it in case I need it again, before racing along the gorge wall toward Roane.
Before we meet, though, another centaur turns toward me, hefting a spear.
“You’re done here, human,” he growls.
But a serpent springs from… fromme. No, not from me. It’s coming from Olm’s book, hidden inside my shirt. A familiar giant snake, rearing up and hissing. It rises in front of me and falls on the centaurs as I backtrack, horror taking my breath away.
The monster snake grabs a centaur in its jaws and throws him against the opposite gorge wall. The wet thump is followed by the body sliding down, leaving behind a smear of dark blood.
Gods…I realize I’m staring, slack-jawed. I never thought I’d ever see a centaur in my life, and now I’m looking at the corpse of one. I feel sick.
I’m still holding the bloodied knife, my grip white-knuckled.
“Aline!” Roane finally reaches me, his eyes wide, face pale and streaked with blood and filth. He drops the scimitars and grabs my shoulders. “Are you all right? I saw the centaurs coming at you?—”
“I’m fine,” I whisper. “It’s already dead.”
His gaze moves over me, searching for any injury. “I saw that serpent. Was it you?”
“I have the book with me. Olm is protecting me.”
“Well, good,” Roane growls, “it’s the least that bastard can do after manipulating you like that.”
