The worm’s maw hurtled toward me, and a scream lodged in my throat.
“Ana!” I was swept off my feet and bundled against taut muscle, enveloped in the scent of pine, and protected as we rolled.
Drayven.
My terror melted, limbs unlocking. I wrapped my arms around him as he hauled me to my feet.
Where was it? Where was the worm?
The ground furrowed to our right as the thing burrowed around, circling back toward us.
“You have to run,” Drayven said. “Don’t look in its eyes. Just run, and?—”
The ground behind us erupted as the worm burst forth once more, blocking out the blanket of stars and casting us in its mammoth shadow. It screamed into the night—a horrific sound of triumph and domination.
The ground groaned and rumbled beneath the strain of expelling such an epic form.
Drayven grabbed my hand, and we ran.
“Move!” He ordered the others. But his command was lost beneath the roar of another tremor. Not that it mattered. The other students had the right idea, sprinting for the wards. Bryce and Poppy ran parallel to us, Bella clinging to the Thrope’s back.
We could outrun the beast. It was huge, but it was slow. We could make it if we?—
The world went dark beneath the shadow of the beast.
“Shit!” Drayven veered to the left, taking me with him.
The worm slammed into the ground, missing us by a mere foot. The earth crumbled as it burrowed, creating a landslide of soil. My boots slipped, the only thing saving me from falling into the pit after the beast was Drayven’s grip on my hand.
“I’m going to shift. Get on!” Drayven cried.
He burst out of his clothes, morphing into his barghest form without breaking stride.
I stumbled, almost losing momentum, but managed to grab a handful of fur and haul myself onto his back. I locked my knees and pressed my body to his as the world rushed by.
Icy air tore at my face and ripped at my hair, burning my eyes and blurring my vision with hot tears.
I tucked my head, heart hammering against Drayven’s back as I attempted to block out the sound of the world crumbling by focusing on the steady thud of Drayven’s heartbeat.
“Wards incoming!” Drayven growled. “Hold on.”
I risked lifting my head a fraction, searching for the shimmer of the wards—how close were we?—when movement in my periphery drew my attention.
A furrow of earth headed our way.
My heart leapt into my throat, momentarily stealing my voice.
“Drayven, watch out!”
A mountain of earth slammed into us. The impact—sudden and hard—knocked me loose and up toward the sky.
The stars winked at me, as if trying to send a message. I reached for them, but gravity had other plans, wrapping its jealous arms around me and tugging me back to earth.
The impact knocked the wind out of me, sending shockwaves through my bones. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth as the world went strangely silent for a beat before a humming filled my head.
Move.
I needed to fucking move.
