Seda glanced at Cahir and noticed a bead of sweat forming on his forehead as he fought to resist the beast’s assault on his magic.
He couldn’t hold this for long.
“Drop the gods-damned shield!” Roya yelled.
Suza shrieked as she shifted herself underneath one of Elco’s wings. He didn’t flinch or shirk away from her. Instead, he tightened himself closer, protecting her as if she were one of his own.
Seda felt a flicker of pride well within her, but her focus was solely on the monsters ahead.
“Your friend cannot hold this for long. If you drop the shield and give us the Lionne, the rest of you may leave in peace,” the beast purred.
“As I said,” Seda replied coolly as a slow grin began to curl her lips. Electricity flickered across her face as ravenous thunder shook the ground. “You. Can’t. Have. Him.”
The beast’s eyes widened before quickly hunching back and growling in response to the thunder.
Cahir fell to his knees, gasping for breath as he held out his hands, his magic beginning to sputter. Seda looked down and encouraged through a soft whisper, “It’s okay. We have this.”
He gazed at her with wild eyes, desperately trying to keep the shield for as long as he could, refusing to put her in harm’s way.
His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he gasped as his body collapsed backward onto the forest floor.
The shield evaporated.
A menacing laugh escaped the beast in charge, but they stood firm and didn’t move forward.
“As I said, we only want the Lionne,” the monster cooed.
“He’smine.” Seda tightened her fists, releasing lightning from the sky, striking the beasts around the campsite one by one.
Loud yelps screeched through the area. Roya lunged forward with her claws extended and danced around the monstrous forms, her body moving like liquid as she gouged deep cuts through their thick fur and through their flesh.
Elco roared, and fire erupted, engulfing one of them in molten lava that melted the fur from its body, leaving only a charred mass on the ground. The smell of burnt hair mingled with the foul odor of the mist.
Another ran from behind, and Seda attempted to strike down the beast, but missed as it quickly ran toward Elco. The monster lunged onto Elco’s back and bit down, his torn red scales mixing with the crimson of his blood. A scream of panic burst from both her and Suza.
Elco flickered out of sight.
The monster fell to the ground as it attempted to tear into Elco once more. Rage flooded Seda’s vision as her eyes glazed over, and she electrocuted it, focusing all of her power at once onto the beast as it writhed in pain and eventually stopped breathing. She felt exhaustion begin to weave its way through her nerves, but ignored it.
When she felt like the monster was charred enough, she quickly looked around, trying to find Elco and Suza, but they were nowhere to be seen.
The roses began to shake violently, and thick, prickly roots emerged from the ground.
They wrapped around the remaining monsters, pulling them into the thorny bushes.
The beasts snarled, fighting against the roots, but were unable to break free.
Seda unclenched her fists, and the clouds parted abruptly as panic coursed through her. She looked around for Elco and rushed to where he was standing, feeling around for him, but the warmth of his skin was nowhere to be found.
“You have an Amaru with you?!” the female voice snarled as her body lay tangled amongst the thorny vines.
Seda jumped back as Elco and Suza reemerged a few feet from where they had been standing before.
“Elco!” She ran up to him and hugged him, feeling his racing heartbeat beneath her arms. Elco’s blood seeped into her cloak, and she choked back a sob. He was hurt. She felt her anger begin to simmer once more as she glared at the tangled beasts in the bushes.
“He’s depleted his magic,” Roya said as she knelt next to the lying form of Cahir on the ground.
Seda gasped, remembering he had fallen, and ran to him. She dropped to her knees and brushed her hand over his damp forehead, pushing back the waves of his chestnut colored hair. The jade glow of his skin had faded, making him look almost human again.
