Page 50 of Tethered Desire

Chapter 14

Bracken

“Hadi!”

I stilled, having sliced off the head of a charging nightwing, tossing her body to the battlefield to be devoured by emerging crawlers, when I heard my mate screaming at the king. Then, Kiar joined Sun, screaming for Hadi to listen to their cries to retreat. But he wouldn’t, overpowered by low-level nocs in his desperate pursuit of Kovit.

Covered in blood, hovering over the battlefield, I tried to assess our situation. Clem was too close to danger, fighting Kiar, who was dragging him to safety. Kiar also attempted to reach for Sun, but the ground broke open all around them before he could.

“Kiar! Go now,” I shouted, worried they’d all be consumed before I could reach them, still fighting off too many winged nocs who should not be awake, probably a part of Kovit’s ambush.

In his wisdom, Sun tore away to avoid being captured by Kiar and the crawlers. Sun shouted, pointing uphill, most likely directing Kiar to take Clem away. My friend didn’t have a chance to argue as the ground cracked wider, Kiar and Clem driven away from our human warrior, divided between a sea of nocs.

Gritting my teeth, I swooped low again, determined to save Sun, until I heard a sound I didn’t recognize. I latched onto a tree, piercing the chest of a fellow batbeast with my bare claws as the bastard tried to sneak up on me. I tossed his corpse aside as well, shocked to hear Hadi was screaming in pain. I had never heard such a horrid sound, and it sent a most unusual shiver racing down my spine.

“Damn you!” he roared, defiant, even as Kovit’s claws pierced his tawny body. He tripped, still uncoordinated from his feeding frenzy, and the traitor used the opportunity to slash at the thin flesh of his belly. Hadi would be disemboweled at this rate, just as I had been beheaded through Kovit’s trickery.

Kovit used the overwhelming number of crawlers to his advantage, pecking at Hadi but never drawing close enough to be recaptured. I needed to help him, but first, I had to help Sun.

I searched the sea of insects for signs of life, their glossy shells rolling in a dark tidal wave. Frantic, I took to the skies, fighting against more nightwings than I could count.

And then, like a miracle, I spotted Sun hanging from a branch on a hill. He’d found an oasis, and I raced to his side, slicing through two owl-like nocs at once. For his part, Sun was watching Hadi be devoured and cut down, slack jawed as the brainless bugs went after the strongest among them, the only arachnid alive.

When he noticed me, I saw hesitation brewing behind Sun’s emerald eyes.

Why?

I looked down and got my answer. Hadi was pinned down just below Sun now, cornered on all sides, and beset by Kovit from above. He was vulnerable but not yet defeated, crushing Kovit’s foot with his web, the batbeast dragged Hadi along the ground against his will, away from us, closer to death.

But he wasn’t dead yet. With two of his hands, he threw out coils of web, immobilizing more nocs than I could manage with Kiar and Sun by my side and I knew Hadi would likely survive this struggle. Gravely injured, but alive, nonetheless.

Maybe that’s why Sun didn’t act. Perhaps he took some solace in seeing his enemy get wounded as he was unable to kill him without killing himself.

But then his eyes captured mine again, instantly closing the distance from the battle below to the one I was fighting in the skies.

Sun’s message was more precise this time, now that I didn’t have to rely solely on reading his mind. He crawled until he stood on top of the hill, pointing to his chest.

Help me, he mimicked.

And then, fury warping his pretty face as he slashed the neck of a charging crawler, losing his metal sword as it fell away. Standing on its corpse, Sun pointed to himself again, then Hadi with his Blood Onyx dagger, his remaining weapon.

Help me, help him.

Glady, I thought, the realization that I wanted Hadi to learn to accept us was more potent than my need to reject him, hitting me like a punch to the gut.

I swooped down, claws extended, and Sun jumped, trusting me not to crush him as I caught him. He wedged his dagger between my toes. Thankfully, the shard was not large enough to crack my claws, and we sailed with the wind, evading the battle in the skies to join the one down below.

“Duck, Hadi!” I shouted, and Hadi turned to face us, wide-eyed, confused. He was probably wondering why we came to his aid. And I would have asked the exact same thing only minutes ago.

Because preserving the tether wasn’t the reason I aided our idiotic king. Suddenly, I wanted him to see what could be if we just worked together.

“Go!” I dropped Sun, who landed on Hadi’s back, riding him like a horse, slashing as the surging crawlers holding him back until he was free.

Then, I twisted in the air, faster than lightning, outmaneuvering the sluggish scumbag despite his best efforts. With a snarl, I extended my claws and pierced Kovit’s eyes quickly, driving him to his knees.

“This is what you get for hiding behind maps, strategizing instead of facing the battlefield the way I have!”

I didn’t know if he cared, but it still felt good to best my former commander after he had betrayed us all.

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