Page 24

24

NARANUS

T he morning air is overflowing with the scent of battle. The trees groan under the winged shadows that hunt us, and the wind howls like a beast ready to sink its teeth into flesh. We are being hunted. The relentless flapping of wings above us is a drumbeat of pursuit, and I know what comes next.

Eryss skids to a stop, turning back toward her Purna kin. “Leave! Get out of here!”

But they don’t.

Catalina’s silver-blue gaze burns like ice in the darkness. “We’re not leaving you.”

Eryss steps toward them, her movements frantic, her chest heaving. “You’ll die! They don’t care about you, they only want me!”

Amelia’s hands are already glowing, the telltale shimmer of power coiling around her fingers. “We’re not leaving, Eryss. We can fight.”

I snarl, stepping between them and the incoming threat.

"Your kind doesn’t protect anything but your own ambitions." I bare my teeth, my claws flexing as I widen my stance, wings flaring.

Eryss turns on me, fury flashing in her gaze. “And yours are any better? Your kind doesn’t protect anything but your own pride.”

I don’t answer. Because she’s right.

But she also doesn’t understand.

Before I can snap back, before I can make her see that her so-called sisters are only here to use her, the first attack strikes.

A gargoyle drops from the canopy, a massive beast, his wings tearing through the wind like a razor. He moves fast, but I’m faster.

I twist, shoving Eryss aside as claws swipe through the space she had been standing in. My forearm takes the brunt of the blow, stone cracking beneath the impact.

The force sends me skidding, but I catch myself before I hit the dirt. I pivot, just as another enemy lands with a thunderous impact.

Magic explodes.

A blast of silver power tears through the air, sending shockwaves through the ground. Trees bend and snap, the force uprooting loose earth. Amelia and Catalina are fighting, their magic clashing against the dark gargoyles in vicious, blinding bursts.

I reach for Eryss, gripping her arm and yanking her behind me.

"Stay behind me!" I snarl, my voice rough with command.

But her damn Purnas don’t listen. They move beside her, not behind, placing themselves between her and the growing tide of enemies.

I should let them die.

Let them be torn apart.

But the way Eryss looks at them, like they are something more than just tools of betrayal—it keeps me from abandoning them.

The battle surges forward.

More gargoyles descend, the impact of their landings shaking the earth. Claws rake through stone, splitting trees apart as they attack. I strike hard and fast, grabbing a smaller one by the throat and twisting until bones snap.

Another rushes me.

I pivot, slamming my tail into his ribs, sending him flying into a tree. More magic erupts behind me.

"Shit!" Catalina curses, her power crackling out of control.

I turn just in time to see her magic arc wildly.

A misfire.

A spiraling whip of power, a bolt of unstable energy that rockets toward Eryss.

"Move!" I roar, but she doesn’t.

The blast collides, not with her, but with the ground beneath her feet.

The earth shatters.

The cliff crumbles.

Eryss’ silver eyes widen. Her arms flail as she tries to catch herself, but the ground is gone.

She’s falling.

A scream rips from her lips, her body tumbling toward the dark abyss below.

"No!"

I don’t think. I don’t hesitate.

I jump.

The wind roars in my ears, my body cutting through the atmosphere as I chase her down.

She’s reaching for me, her fingers barely outstretched, but I can’t catch her fast enough.

The river below rises like an open mouth, waiting to swallow us whole.

I wrap my wings tight, bracing for impact.

The water is ice and agony, slamming into me with the force of a stone wall. It drags me down, pulling me under.

Eryss is lost beneath the churning depths.

But I will not let anyone or anything take her away.