Page 54 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood (Of Fae and Wolf Trilogy #2)

I leaped onto another ledge formed of numerous jagged rock columns protruding like broken teeth.

The edge crumbled, bits of rock and sand sliding down into the rising fog.

Fear clawed through me as I scrambled to stronger, higher ground.

Some of the naturally formed pillars blocked Arrow Assassin from reaching me.

“ Mmmrrhh—neeehh .” A throatier, broken sound whinnied through the dry air. I spun and peered through the stone pillars.

A delicate unicorn foal with a pearly gray horn was scrambling up the mountainside toward the spot where I’d just been, its gray coat streaked with dirt and blood.

Its spindly legs trembled with each frantic step while the fog monster continued to build behind it.

The fog filled every crack and crevice as the unicorn continued to move closer and closer.

Some of its blood oozed down into the chasm.

Another arrow whistled past my ear. Veering away, I ducked behind a line of rough boulders and natural pillars and peeked back out.

Below me, the unicorn squealed and redoubled its efforts to escape, slipping on the loose gravel. Its charcoal hoofs kicked out the stones, and it slid back.

Would it be able to jump the chasm? My wolf strength had propelled me far, but this unicorn barely looked old enough to run.

Another arrow snapped past and embedded itself into the rock pile ahead of the unicorn. The foal screamed again, high and wild. It almost fell, and the fog reached for it from behind while also seeping in from the top left.

Now, almost half of the ledge was covered.

I bared my teeth at Arrow Assassin and scanned the mountain for any advantage. There was more sand and soil here than I’d expected, and it looked like there was more the higher it went.

"Focus!" Sword Assassin shouted above the wails, his voice close. “At least wound the bitch again before you start going for the unicorn. She’s acting like she didn’t feel it at all.”

Arrow Assassin laughed coldly. Rocks shifted under his feet as he jumped to a closer ledge and pulled out another arrow. “Relax. I already got her once. We kill her and the unicorn and remove the horn. Double prize. Double gold.”

I wanted to vomit. They wanted to kill this unicorn for its horn? Not on my fucking watch.

The foal raced to the edge of the chasm. Its white-rimmed eyes rolled as it tossed its head, a panicked squeal escaping its gray muzzle. The dim golden light caught on its iridescent pearl-gray horn.

From about thirty feet away, Sword Assassin moved up behind the unicorn.

The foal peered over the edge of the chasm, then reared up on its hind legs. Its nostrils flared as it snorted and squealed. “NEEEE-iiih .”

Rage boiled inside me. I could jump back there and end Sword Assassin once and for all, but the monster was taking up more and more space on the ledge.

Even if most of it had disappeared into the depths of the chasm, it’d still reach the unicorn, because there was nowhere else for the unicorn to go.

Then I had a plan.

I raced to one of the looser pillars situated at the edge of the platform.

The pale gray and beige rock was already tilting toward the chasm.

If it fell right, it’d be a bridge. Growling, I rammed my shoulder into the stone, teeth clenched.

Then I slid down and dug at the base, my claws hooking into the clay, gravel, and silt.

From the broad ledge I’d just abandoned, Sword Assassin chuckled. He adjusted his grip on the sword and gestured toward the chasm and then me.

The pillar shifted, but not enough. I backed up and charged again, hitting it harder with my shoulder and striking at the weakened foundation point. Pain lanced through my side, but the pillar groaned. The unicorn bleated again and moved back and forth along the edge as if it wanted to jump.

The monster oozed closer. Two sets of eyes opened and closed. It moved faster as its focus intensified.

Come on!

I thrust my shoulder into the pillar once more, and hot blood spattered out of the wound on my foreleg. A shower of gravel spilled as the rough stone column shifted free and tumbled. It crashed over the ledge, landing just low enough to form a narrow bridge across the chasm.

The little unicorn blinked at it, then bolted across.

Crack-THUD-crack.

The pillar shifted against the rock ledge, dropping a little farther. The unicorn foal stumbled but caught its footing and ran faster. Silt rained down from where the pillar’s end had settled on the stone.

“Hey,” Sword Assassin snarled. He raced up from the back of the ledge, forcing the monster’s fog to part. “The unicorn’s ours.”

I growled, and another arrow hit the rock behind me, spraying grit. I pressed my body flat to the ledge, noticing even more blood dripping from my leg. It hadn’t clotted. My wolf healing wasn’t working. They must have done something to their weapons.

Arrow Assassin moved to a ledge almost directly across from me. He whipped out another arrow and smirked.

My blood chilled, and I inched back.

Sword Assassin placed one foot on the end of the pillar I’d knocked over. His boot crunched on the rough curved stone, and he shook it to test its stability.

My breath snagged. The coppery scent of my own blood mingled with the smell of ozone, burning fur, and rot.

Dust and small rocks rained down on me, and I twisted around to see the unicorn peering at me from above.

It tilted its head and snorted, stomping its right hoof against the stone as if trying to get my attention.

Then its focus snapped back to Sword Assassin, who was still testing his weight on the pillar.

It stamped both hooves as it reared and drove down again and again.

“ HRRRFFF—chh—chh .” It exhaled forcefully through flared nostrils and tossed its head.

Sword Assassin laughed. “You really think you can do something? Go ahead and make your distress calls all you want. I’d love to kill your herd, too.”

Was the foal trying to call to its family for help? I snarled, snapping my jaws.

“Got it.” Arrow Assassin nocked an arrow and shot it.

This time, it sliced across the back of the unicorn’s hindquarters, making it squeal and veer away.

The foal vanished from sight and screamed in terror.

Something slick and heavy splashed, and the cries intensified.

Arrow Assassin laughed heartily, until a tremor shook the mountain.

The well at the top cracked, and crimson water leaked out, cutting through clay and earth in a slow trickle that threatened to worsen.

“Fecking void.” Sword Assassin froze halfway across the pillar, his breath sharpening.

“Relax. We’ve still got time.” Arrow Assassin slung his bow over his back and climbed the embankment. “I’ll take care of her.”

They still had time? What was going on with the water?

My hackles rose, and I growled again. My teeth ached to sink into their flesh and snap their bones. Ripping out their throats was too good for creatures like this.

Snarling, I lunged to the base of the pillar and dug, trying to position myself so that Arrow Assassin couldn’t get a shot at me. If I could get the bridge pillar to drop, Sword Assassin might fall to his death, and then I could focus on Arrow.

Chunks of dirt and clay fell into the chasm as the monster surged forward and slid down into the darkness. The pillar jolted down and shifted. Sword Assassin’s eyes widened, and he swung his arms to keep his balance.

The ground began to shake.

My breath caught. Could this be another earthquake?

Stones ground and rattled, and a horrible tearing sound vibrated through the chamber. Silt sifted between the pillars and the ledge, and a crack formed in the large platform on the other side of the chasm.

A few of the pillars rocked and wobbled. Then one collapsed and crashed forward, cracking on the dark stone and then rolling into the abyss.

Sword Assassin's pillar shifted further, and he screamed and pressed his body flat to the stone.

A loud, pained shriek above me, and more rocks rolled down the edge. I glanced in Arrow Assassin’s direction just as stones slid from above and covered him.

Thank Fate. Maybe she didn’t completely hate me after all.

The ground calmed, and I went back to my end of the pillar. Sword Assassin had managed to stay on.

I growled, daring him to continue across, and then dug once more.

He spat over the side. “Stop digging!”

Yeah, that only made me dig faster.

Beyond the rock ridge, the terrified cries of the foal bounced off the stone walls.

Sharp pain sliced across my right shoulder. I howled and jerked back from the pillar.

A green-coated blade stuck out of the rubble. My stomach twisted as more hot blood leaked down my shoulder blended into the blood on my foreleg.

I had to move fast, or I might bleed out.

Sword Assassin snarled, holding his sword on one hand while his other fumbled down the front of his tailored jacket.

My heart galloped. I was running out of time.

I jammed my forelegs against the pillar’s end and shoved hard, causing it to crack and groan against the stone.

The stone shifted, and Sword Assassin let out a scream and flailed.

“Noln!” He slammed his hand down in time to keep from losing the sword, but his ice-blue eyes were wild with terror and his breathing ragged.

I snarled, letting drool drip from my teeth, and snapped my jaws. The monster had slid up against the base of the pillar on his side, but now it just oozed down into the chasm.

I glanced over my shoulder, then leaped back into digging at the base of the pillar. One of these assholes had to go, and now, before they could team up on me again.

Sword Assassin bared his teeth at me and inched forward, trying to finish crossing.

I was running out of time. I dug more frantically, dirt and rock hitting my eyes. Still, I pushed through, and finally the pillar groaned and sank lower.

The assassin flung his sword, and it struck the rock beside me with a clank, then spun off into the chasm. It disappeared from sight, and adrenaline fueled me even more.

The pillar trembled and shook as he struggled to crawl across.

I shoved the end of the pillar with both forepaws. He was almost an arm’s length from me.

He got into a crouch with his arms still wrapped around the stone.

Then he jumped...and his stomach hit the edge of the wall.

He grunted as his lower body dropped, and he caught the ledge with his fingertips.

His boots found traction below, and he boosted himself a few inches upward and flung his arms over the edge.

He froze when he saw me, and then his right arm slid out of sight.

I went for his hand.

Just before I reached him, his right hand shot up holding a small, dark dagger, aimed right at me.