Page 51 of On a Barbarian World

The creature went for his neck, clamping its teeth into his skin. By the Warrior’s fist. Kavon fell backward and slammed into the ground.

The mini-naga made a growling noise, tearing at him. Blood sprayed in front of Kavon. He heard Aurina scream.

He slid his hand down and yanked out his knife. He jammed it into the animal’s side. It let go of him and gave a small roar. He kept hacking at it until his hand was slick with the creature’s black blood. He couldn’t feel anything burning, so he guessed it didn’t have the same ooze as the mother creature had been filled with.

Thank the Warrior for small mercies.

But as Kavon pushed the dying creature off him, he felt his strength draining away. His nanami felt sluggish, attempting to heal him, but the damage was too great. He dropped back, his strength gone, and looked up, his vision blurring.

There was no fight left. He pulled in a breath, and it felt very hard to do.

Aurina was safe now. That was all that mattered.

He closed his eyes.

No, no, no.

Aurina ran toward Kavon. There was one small beast left, sniffing around. She shot it as she ran past and it flopped into the dirt.

She was vaguely aware of Colm and Darroch checking the status of the beasts sprawled on the ground. She skidded to her knees beside Kavon’s prone form.

She suddenly realized that until this moment, she had never seen him still. He was always full of life, radiating power, energy, and raw command.

Her gut clenched. There was so much blood. She fumbled at her belt and yanked off what passed as a med kit on this world. She pulled out a cloth and pressed the fabric against the horrible wound at his throat. She bit her lip and cupped his face with her hand. God, his throat was half torn out.

“Kavon?”

He tried to talk, making a choking sound.

“Shh. We’ll take care of you.” She stroked his cheek. “I’ll take care of you. I haven’t put up with all your bossiness to lose you now.”

His amber gaze stayed locked on hers.

The others arrived. Colm took one look and cursed. “Out of the way.” He gently nudged Aurina aside and a second later lifted Kavon into his arms.

Aurina trotted along beside him. “His nanami will heal him, right?”

“They can heal,” Colm said, his voice dark. “But this… They cannot steal you from the arms of the great Warrior.”

Her chest was so tight she could barely breathe. “He’s not going to die.”

Colm reached his hargon beast. He handed Kavon to Darroch, mounted, and then the warrior handed the injured man up.

Colm stared down at Aurina. “We must get him to the healers. It is his only chance.”

With a harsh sound to his hargon beast, Colm set off with Kavon.

“Come, Aurina,” Darroch said, gesturing toward his beast. Nearby, a dazed-looking Viken had already mounted his hargon.

She nodded, and soon they were heading down the mountain. Kavon’s Tarm trotted along behind them, agitated.

It was a silent, tense ride.

God, if only she had her medscope, she could heal Kavon instantly. She rubbed at her cheeks, surprised to find them wet with tears. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried. She’d vowed at her mother’s grave she would never shed a tear again, would only ever enjoy life.

The journey seemed endless. She stared at Colm’s beast, a fair distance ahead of them. She really wished she was with Kavon, so she could touch him, hold him.

The sun was close to setting, long shadows casting strange, dark patches across the Wilds when she finally saw the landscape start to change—the rough ground evened out, the ragged rocks disappeared, and grass appeared.