Page 28 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)
“Run!” I urged the others, breaking out into a sprint. “Fucking run!”
I focused on Sherai’s panting breaths behind me as we put one foot in front of the other and high-tailed it.
I held both torches high, not just for visibility but to ward off any monsters hiding in the bushes.
Sherai in the middle kept her torches held lower, while Akira also held hers high in an attempt to make it look like the fire completely surrounded us.
“Fuck,” Akira cried. “My leg!”
I glanced behind me, seeing my friend on the ground with something that had impaled her calf. Was that an animal bone or a Fae’s? I clenched my jaw as blood dribbled out from the wound. Sherai and I backtracked, helping Akira to her feet with a grimace.
“Can you walk?” Sherai asked.
She attempted a step and cried out. “It’s no use, I’ll only slow you down. Go.”
“We’re not fucking leaving you,” I hissed as I gave her a torch and slipped her arm around my neck. Sherai did the same on her other side. “Together, no matter what.”
“So fucking stubborn,” Akira said with a shake of her head, but the smile that followed revealed her fear.
I didn’t need Sherai to tell me our chances of survival just decreased a bucketload. But there was no way in hell I was leaving either of my friends tonight. I meant what I’d said. Every damn word.
More screams from females, more howls from the beasts.
We carried on, going as fast as we could with Akira slung between us.
She held our torches with her own, creating an even more intense firelight on either side of us, while Sherai and I held her with one hand and our second torch in the other.
And then it finally came. The sounds I’d been dreading since we’d left the safety of the cave. Thundering steps, shrieks and chitters.
“They’re coming,” I yelled. “Backs together!”
The torch shook in my left hand, but I held it high and took out a spear with my right.
Sooner or later, I’d have to drop one, but for now, I’d take my chances.
Sherai held Akira steady with her free hand and swept the torch with her other, trying to see which direction they were coming from.
Akira held the torches and put her weight on her good leg, looking vulnerable but determined.
We moved, slowly, ever so cautiously toward the beach, scanning our surroundings all the while.
The creatures’ faces appeared in the light not long after.
Three of them, all with large eyes like voids and sagging skin that stunk of rot and decay.
Or maybe that was coming from their hideous mouths filled with endless sharp teeth.
They circled us, hissing and chittering, as if unsure which angle they should attack from.
Every time one of us would wave our torch, the creature would back away before getting brave again.
Whether from adrenaline or pure desperation, Akira was managing to hop along without our help, but we’d only last so long.
We were crawling at a snail’s pace through the brush, constantly moving, circling to confuse our enemies and holding our firelight toward their eyes.
Each time they were forced to look at the light, they squinted their eyes or turned away.
Finally, one got tired of waiting and trundled back, preparing to test our defences. “Spear up and knee down,” Akira cried.
I did as commanded, dropping my torch at my feet, ready to defend myself.
But it shifted and suddenly lunged for Akira.
No , I realised as the beast leapt high.
It wasn’t aiming for her, but on her. It was bigger than a large dog.
She’d be crushed beneath its weight.Without thinking, I swivelled on my knee and tossed my spear at the creature’s chest. It hit its mark, causing the creature to fall short of its target enough to prevent it from crushing us both.
It wasn’t enough. The monster was only momentarily inconvenienced as it got back up, but Akira shot forward, thwacking the thing over the head once, twice, with her torch until its flesh lit up and a scream that shook my very bones pierced through the night.
Akira had stepped too far in front of Sherai and me, and the other two creatures darted forward.
Sherai grunted as she waved her torch madly, gaining one’s attention.
I yelped as the other came for me, so fast I barely saw its foreleg swipe at my limbs.
Akira yelled, distracting it just enough for me to pick up my dropped torch and club it over the skull.
It backed up, disoriented long enough for me to give up on blunt force and opt for the sharp steel of the sword at my waist. The monster shook its head and hissed, then played a game of cat and mouse as it skittered back and forth, toying with us while Akira and I tried to corner it.
My friend darted forward, attempting to club it again as she had the other.
It caught the fucking torch in its mouth, bit down and snapped the wood in two.
Then it cocked its head and leered at her.
Akira’s hand went for her sword … it was gone.
Lost, most likely, when she had taken the fall earlier.
Oh gods . I was too far away. I was so close, but I was still too far away to stop what came next.
Akira looked at me, her face resigned, as if accepting what came next.
And I saw what happened before it came. Saw the sad smile on her face before the creature leapt at her.
She shrieked as it forced her to the ground.
“Akira,” I screamed as tears filled my eyes and blurred my vision.
A grunting sounded behind me, and I gathered my wits enough to remember that there was another creature.
I turned, my sword hanging loosely in my hand, then prepared to meet my maker as the last creature reared up on its hind legs, its spiky front legs preparing to swipe.
Shock fired through me, just enough to jerk me back to reality.
I pulled back to thrust my sword into its exposed belly when something else caught my eye.
A force so fierce and unstoppable that even the monster couldn’t move in time.
Sherai screamed, roaring her battle cry to the world as she sprinted forward.
The creature turned to face her, right as Sherai plunged her spear into its stomach.
I didn’t know where the strength came from, but once she’d finished gutting it, Sherai lifted it into the air by the spear before crashing it down on its skull.
Silence.
I stared at the dead thing on the ground, then slowly turned my gaze to Sherai, who was panting with both hands on her knees. When she looked up, blood was splattered all over her face, and her eyes were wide.
“I killed it,” she said quietly. “I actually killed it.”
I couldn’t muster any words as I just nodded stupidly. Gratefully. I realised it was too silent. The lump in my throat refused to dislodge, but I managed to croak out, “Akira.”
Sherai ran towards the beast that had felled our mighty friend. It was still. My stomach twisted violently even as I smiled sadly. “Defiant even in death,” I said. “Akira must have killed it. She was so fucking fierce.”
“This can’t be,” Sherai whispered as she shook her head. “She can’t be dead.”
“Sherai,” I said gently, reaching out a hand to comfort her.“There was nothing we could do.”
A grunting sound came from where the creature and Akira lay dead.
“It’s coming from the beast,” Sherai said shrilly. “Quick. Help me!”
We cautiously checked that the creature wasn’t about to tear our hands off, but it remained lifeless. Sherai gasped, and we heaved the carcass to the side to find Akira, covered in blood and gasping for air.
“Oh my gods,” Sherai cried as she burst into tears and fell upon Akira in a giant hug. I stared at my friend in disbelief before joining them moments later.Nothing had ever felt so good as hugging a grumpy, dishevelled, wounded but very much alive Akira.
“Can’t … breathe…” she huffed.
Sherai and I begrudgingly let her go as we rose. “But how?” I asked.
Akira’s grin turned to a wince, but she simply wiggled her injured leg, as if too tired to explain.
And she didn’t need to. Her slim calf was bleeding heavily but was free of the object that had pierced it.
She jerked her head to the creature, and as I followed her line of sight, I spotted a long shard of bone.
Sharp and deadly as a knife. We shared a grin.
Laughing a little, Sherai and I helped Akira to her feet.
And then we hugged her once more, blood, sweat, and tears be damned.
“Let’s go,” I said to my friends as we all pulled apart. Firelights moved through the trees ahead, somewhere near the beach. “We’ve got a boat to catch.”