Page 30

“Be prepared to catch him,” he ordered, eyes wide, before returning to the twins.

I watched as he tugged them backward. They fought his grip, struggling to make it to the nykse that called them, and then they…

stopped. Vyrain went down first, slumping into the water.

Yrra quickly slipped an arm around him to keep his head above the surface.

Hohem went next, falling back with a splash and eliciting a grunt from the waterfolk male as he caught him.

Lu crumpled in place, collapsing into my waiting arms. Good Goddess, he’s heavy!

I fought against gobs of mud and nearly went under, having underestimated his bulk.

Spitting mouthfuls of swamp water, I shook my head to get my bangs out of my face and hauled him toward me, sending a shot of mana to shorten my hair at the same time.

Daethie released a ululating war cry and engaged the nykse pod without prompting, becoming a projectile of light and color.

She zipped around and between the monsters, causing them to screech and recoil in pain as her sharp claws, teeth, and wings cut into their delicate skin.

Black blood oozed from the shallow slices she made.

They swiped at her but couldn’t maintain focus, and their songs stuttered as a result.

It didn’t make a difference at this point—Lu was unconscious, his eyes closed. Whatever Yrra did was effective.

Together, he and I hauled our companions through muddy swamp and wet, tangled weeds toward Solfarin.

When the nykse noticed that we were moving away from them, their songs petered out one by one.

The one in front straightened up, its hair falling in a dark curtain around it, and watched us go with an almost comical frown on its face.

Daethie shot a crude gesture their way and went to join us. As she turned her back on the creatures, the one nearest her lurched forward, arm outstretched. Daethie’s progress was abruptly halted as bone-white fingers closed around her torso, trapping her wings against her body.

My heart might have stopped. “Daethie!”

Yrra’s head whipped up at the terror in my voice.

His grip on the twins faltered, nearly upending Hohem into the water.

A dozen expressions crossed his face at once—surprise, fear, horror, resignation—contorting his features.

His gaze catapulted between the unconscious Luthri in my arms and Daethie struggling in the nykse ’s grip.

The monster held her aloft, a victorious grin splitting its narrow mouth. Yrra and I could only watch as the monster brought its other hand around to snatch one of Daethie’s little windmilling arms. Gritting its teeth in a nightmarish sneer, it began to pull.

My eyes squeezed shut.

Water splashed beside me as Yrra launched himself forward, coming to her rescue even laden as he was.

But as it turned out, we underestimated the pint-sized fairy.

Almost faster than the eye could follow, she wrenched her arm back and twisted around to sink her teeth into the hand that held her.

Mouthfuls of flesh fell to her onslaught.

The nykse shrieked in pain and dropped her like a hot potato, plunging back into the water to ensure it was free of her.

The others retreated uncertainly, their eyes wide.

Daethie crossed the space between us in an instant. “Woo, that was a rush!” she exclaimed, shaking any residual tension from her small frame. “You guys okay?”

Were we okay? The Goddess have mercy. This was doing no favors for my blood pressure. “We will be,” I grunted out, focused on dragging Luthri over a section of land. I jerked my chin in the direction we’d come from. “Are they following us?”

The pixie spun around to check. “Nope. They’re off to find easier prey.”

“Oh, thank the Goddess.” I let Luthri fall back against the ground and collapsed next to him. Raising a hand to wipe away some of the mess from my face, I returned to my usual appearance. My heart knocked against my rib cage as if it was eager to join the fray.

Yrra fared slightly better, even with Hohem and Vyrain both to handle.

A shadow remained over his features, but other than that, he appeared unshaken.

He paused in the next watery section for me to catch my breath.

How did he do it? I’d faced down some things in my life, but drunkards and bullies, nothing like that. Those were straight out of hell.

“How is something like that even here?” I wondered aloud. We were so close to the city. How many travelers and residents had fallen prey to this pod in the past? Were there even more of them somewhere out there? The wetlands continued for several kilometers.

“It’s not a bad spot.” Yrra corrected his grip on the twins. “The water is not all salt; many things can live in it. And there’s nothing higher on the food chain that might bother them.”

He stared into the marsh, deep in thought.

Taking stock of the situation, I looked Daethie over next. Remnants of black blood coated her arms and wings, but she was otherwise no worse for wear. I didn’t look much better, as covered in sludge as I was. But we were alive, and that’s what counted.

We would live to fight another day.