Page 13 of The Iron Fae
As much as I’d noticed the sounds of the wildlife, soothing in their own way, I quickly notice when all sounds come to a sudden halt. Even the horse’s breaths below us are shallow and quiet. The breeze stops. All of nature is suddenly aware of something I’m not.
I look from side to side, nothing but green, dense trees. Kai pulls a hand back to his baldric.
“Be very still.” He advises.
I don’t move. I can’t. Not with the steady beating of adrenaline pulsing through me. My ears strain to hear anything. Only silence follows.
A blur of white flashes across our path. There, and gone in an instant. Kai grunts softly, sending his blade flying in practiced rotations through the air. It hits as the animal stops in front of us.
An outlandish hiss responds to the puncture of the blade sticking out from the panther’s ribs. But this animal… thepanther… stands at eye level with us while we are seated on top of our horse. It hunches forward, baring its sharp teeth at us. Its hide is thick with clumps of fur protruding here and there along its arching back.
Then it charges.
Four
Damp Panties
Kai yanks at the reins,the horse following smoothly. Teeth gnash in the space we once occupied. An unyielding, terror-filled scream slowly dies on my lips as we ride away. The forest crashes behind us, with the beast clambering over anything in its way.
“Alright, Cupcake, if the boys didn’t know where we were before they sure do now,” Kai says with a grunt as he leans forward with the horse. “Here, hold this.”
His steady hands drop the reins in my sweaty palms, still trembling from the sudden shock. I hold the leather, a desperate refusal ready to leave my lips but Kai dives off the side of the horse.
No. Not dives… off.
I’m screaming again fearful he’s just left me to gallop off alone into the woods to face an elephant size feline but he merely swings himself around and sits with his back to me in the saddle.
That’s some fancy fucking foot work when we are moments away from being split open by footlong claws.
The blade of his sword shines from a sliver of light that’s managed to break the canopy above. It sings as the sharpened blade cuts through the air, slashing at the cat.
Kai tilts his head back in a wicked laugh.
“How can you be laughing at a time like this?”
“We’re fine!” He pushes me to the side with him, dodging a swiping white paw.
“Are we?!” It’s a squeaky shriek. “I think I may have just pissed my pants.”
“We can wring out your damp panties when we’re done.”
My ears are flooded with the cracking of twigs, limbs, and fallen debris underneath the beating hooves of our horse. Hisses and fearsome roars are met with Kai’s throaty grunts and the whistle of his sword. Somewhere off behind us another chorus emerges. A thankful sound. Two horses galloping in near unison appear behind the panther.
Cheers rally from Michael’s and Nicholai’s throats. Both of them reach for their weapons. Arrows cut through the air, flying at a speed so quick, my human eyes only see the pull of the string and the arrow head buried within the feline’s thick pelt. Michael flashes his glowing smile as the panther stops its chase after us and turns back to the two Fae behind it.
“Slow the horse,” Kai says over his shoulder.
“As if I know how to do that.” I grit my teeth.
“Pull the reins toward you. Then turn us around. You know what, let me just…” He pushes his sword back into his belt, reversing the trick he performed earlier and swinging himself back up into the seat to face me. Sweat has pooled on his neck and chest making my shoulders damp as he reaches around me. “Here.”
Trotting back to the men takes only a moment. The panther’s blood dots its pelt making it a stark cherry red near the wounds and the rest of its fur a mulled strawberry milk color. Breakfast turns over in my stomach. I can’t watch. I don’t want to watch.
“Thought you might have taken off there for a second, Prince Kai. It’s practically licking its wounds now,” Nicholai calls.
Large round shoulder blades poke out of the animals back as it lowers to the ground watching the pair. Michael points a notched arrow at the cat, watching with narrowed eyes.
“You’re shaking,” Kai says with surprise, his eyebrows pinching together.
