I didn’t want to do anything of the sort. There was a massive creature two seconds away from attacking Kael, and I couldn’t just stand here picking flowers as if I had zero cares in the world. But then Kael swung his sword at the creature, and I was no longer so desperately afraid forhim.
He moved with a fluidity that defied logic. It was as if a dance had taken over his body, one with swords and violence, rather than one to the beat of the music, but it was a dance nonetheless. The blade rippled underneath the glittering stars above, and power sang as it sliced through theair.
Kael might be smaller than the creature, but I’d never seen anyone or anything look more powerful than he did in thatmoment.
The awe of him made me temporarily forget what we’d come herefor.
The blade sunk into the creature’s left leg, and a horrible gurgling noise echoed through the night. With a sharp breath, I twisted away from the gory sight that followed. So much blood. Thick and pouring onto the ground. My fingers trembled as I focused on the flower and plucked it from the tangle ofweeds.
When I turned back to the fight, Kael had managed to get another blow into the creature’s right leg. The lion-like monster was thrashing and roaring, but it showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Kael slashed his sword again and again, each time hitting the creature even harder than before. Soon, the monster began to stumble away, and I breathed a heavy sigh ofrelief.
But just before it turned away, it swatted its large, beefy claw into Kael’s stomach. The world seemed to slow to a stop as I watched Kael’s body launch through the air. His sword clattered to the ground, and his cloak flittered away on the frosty wind. The creature roared and pounded its fist at the ground, blood arcing through theair.
Kael landed heavily in the thicket with athump.
With a sharp cry, I shoved the flower into the depths of my cloak pocket and began to pick my way through the thicket, desperate to reach his side. Kael. The mighty, powerful Kael. He couldn’t be dead. Not when all he’d been trying to do was help me save myfriend.
Before I could reach him, the creature’s massive claws soared through he air and squeezed around my body. My heart went wild, and so did my legs and my arms. I kicked and squirmed and pushed to escape, but the rough paw held me tight before lifting me from theground.
It dropped me just beside a puddle of its thick blood, and the stench that filled my nose made my throat close in tight. My god, it smelled rank, and its dozens of wounds were still oozing with more of that disgustingblood.
What was it doing? Was it trying to make mefight?
Out of the corner of my eye, the shimmer of Kael’s sword caught my attention. Before the creature could notice, I dove to the side and grabbed the sword from the ground. It was a hell of a lot heavier than it looked, but I managed to hold it up before me just as the creature lunged myway.
I jumped to the side, swinging the sword wildly. Nothing good came of that. The creature merely stepped out of my range and watched me wave the weapon like a lunatic. And clearly like a person who had never handled this kind of bladebefore.
I needed to get control of myself and fast. My fear and desperation were charging through my veins, and I’d only get myself killed if I didn’t calmdown.
Quietly, I lowered the sword and took several deep breaths in through my nose, remembering how to keep the panic at bay. The creature’s eyes narrowed as I settled my nerves. Sure, I will still terrified of this monstrous creature. It was huge. It had massive claws and fangs. And I didn’t know what the hell I wasdoing.
On the other hand, it had some pretty deep wounds, and there was no way it could last much longer. All I had to do was fend it off for a little while. I didn’t even need to wound it more. Its blood was everywhere, and it could barely walk. So, I took in my last deep breath and curled my hands tight around the hilt of the sword, holding it close to my chest. The blade was completely vertical, pointing straight up at thesky.
The creature lunged forward and roared, but I held my stance. It was trying to provoke me, trying to get me to waste my energy fighting a battle I couldn’twin.
After several moments of this, the creature’s heavy breathing began to sound labored. Its shoulders slumped forward, and its paws dragged along the ground. It gave me one last look before heaving a rattling breath, and then lumbered away from where I still stood, the blade shaking in myhands.
When it finally disappeared, I let out the longest, most shuddering breath I’d ever had. My whole body felt weak and spent, even though I’d merely stood still. I’d been running on adrenaline, and now that the creature was gone, all I wanted to do was collapse on theground.
But I had to make sure Kael wasokay.
I pushed back through the brush and dropped to where he’d fallen. His eyes were closed, and his face was ashen. Fear coursing through my gut, I placed a hand on his neck to feel his pulse. It was there, a slight tremor in his neck. But there was something else. Something much worse, something that made all the blood drain from myface.
His skin was as hot as thesun.
Chapter Eighteen
“Kael.”I shook his shoulder, but there was no response. His skin was on fire, as if he was burning up from the inside out. I couldn’t help but think back to what he’d said. Redcaps were allergic to this plant. If they touched it, an intense fever would take over their body. A fever that could befatal.
But Kael couldn’t be a Redcap, could he? For one, he was very much fae. He wasn’t animalistic or savage. Plus, there was that whole thing about being a magical wolf, and as far as I could tell, he was flesh andblood.
My eyes flicked to the bandaged wound on his hand. He’d had since after the day he dropped me off on that cliff to face the Redcap. My mind began to piece together puzzle pieces that felt as though they should never, ever fit together. But they did. Kael’s wound, his strange attitudes about the Redcaps, the way he’d told me that the quest to get the flower was mine and minealone.
Surely hewasn’t...
Surely he couldn’tbe...
Regardless, he was burning up, and if I didn’t get him out of this brush, he was only going to get worse. I’d spotted a cave around the corner. All I had to do was get him there and do my best to calm thefever.
