But at that moment, Justice shot from the sky and slammed into the jackaltooth. They rolled across the field, Justice coughing, the jackaltooth snarling. Justice yanked free a knife. He stabbed the jackaltooth in the shoulder: a quick, hard punch with his blade. The jackaltooth yelped and rammed him with its weight, knocking Justice across the field. He rolled to his feet and charged the jackaltooth.
Wait.
Last was here. I was here. Justice had jumped in after us.
But where was . . .?
Oh no.
“Justice. Stop!”
That wasn’t a jackaltooth.
That snarling, dangerous, horrific beast was . . .
Luvic.
25
The jackaltooth—Luvic—bounded across the field, his powerful muscles rippling beneath the mottled gray fur. He didn’t run with the doglike lope of the jackal; instead, he moved with a forceful fluidity that was terrifying to watch.
His shoulder was bleeding. It was a bright red stain spreading over his fur. He was huge. Bigger than any jackaltooth I’d ever seen. Comparing Luvic to the jackaltooth under the Bard mansion was like comparing modern-day tigers to the sabertooth.
Fear gripped me and raked its claws down my skin. Luvic’s snarl shot through me, and the instinct that had kept my ancestors alive while the sabertooth still stalked the land screamed, Predator! Run!
I didn’t.
I stood as still as the stone columns in the distance, hypnotized by the way the gray and silver stripes rippled like violent waves over his fur. His orange eyes glowed even in the bright daylight.
He was huge. He was monstrous. He was hideous.
If a Bard were everything that was beautiful, a jackaltooth was everything that was not.
Twisted. Ravaged. Horrific.
He veered past Justice, darting past his knife, a snarl ripping from his throat. The meadow’s lacy white flowers were plowed beneath his claws, and dirt tore from the ground as he sprinted toward me.
The scent of star jasmine, heavy and perfumed, perfect in its sweetness, curled around me. The honeyed scent wrapped me in a delicious hug.
I lifted my hand, the flat of my palm out. “Luvic?”
Over his furred shoulder, I could see Justice sprinting toward us.
Luvic snarled. Justice threw his knife. It struck Luvic in the side. He roared and turned, batting a claw at Justice. His tail slammed into my stomach.
I flew back and hit the ground. The breath rushed out of me. I gripped the grass and the white flowers. My lungs spasmed, and the world tilted, going topsy-turvy.
Then the spasming stopped, and I dragged in a violent rush of air.
Oh.
Thank goodness.
Breathe.
Breathe.
I drew in the sweet, jasmine air, calming my heart and filling my lungs. Slowly, ever so slowly, my heartbeat calmed, and my lungs filled. I sprawled on my back, cushioned by the long, soft grass, and stared at fluffy, golden-bellied white clouds.
