Page 66 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
I took in a stabbing breath, trying to shield my face from the renewed attack of pummeling fists. The world spun as I clung to consciousness...
A fireball erupted in front of me, snapping me back into reality. My skin sizzled, the heat whooshing over my bloodied bare skin. The light was so bright I couldn’t see. I held up a hand against the flaring illumination as all of a sudden the night was engulfed in flames.
And then I heard her.
Haestas screeched overhead, burning a protective circle of fire around us. Navin rushed to me, one limp arm hanging grotesquely by his side. With his good hand, he hauled me to my feet. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, holding a pained hand to my side. “Nothing shifting won’t fix. You?”
“I think I broke my arm,” he said, wincing as he held the limp appendage. There was no thinking about it; it was a clean break.
Navin looked up into the night sky and I followed his line of sight to where Haestas circled overhead. Her ferocious golden eyes glowed like violent stars as they tracked the carnage below.
“One got away,” Navin gritted out.
He whistled to Haestas, the tune unfamiliar to my ears, and she let out a rumble, seemingly wanting to disobey his command. He whistled again, and with a final chuff of curling smoke, she flew out over the forest in the direction of the fleeing Wolf.
My eyes dropped to the ebbing wall of flames, and I searched the destruction all around us. So many charred bodies, the trees and brambles still ablaze...
“Only a single Silver Wolf survived,” I whispered.
“Those aren’t Silver Wolves,” Navin replied.
I gasped, studying the bodies more keenly, the tatters of inky black fur. “Those are Onyx Wolves. In the middle of Damrienn.” My mouth fell open as I surveyed the carnage. “That explains why they didn’t keep to any formation. If they had been Silver Wolves, I don’t think we would’ve won so easily.”
“Easily?” Navin groaned, holding his arm.
I turned back to Galen den’ Mora. The Songkeepers all stood gaping at the destruction Haestas had wrought. If she hadn’t come...
Finally Kian’s eyes drifted from the bodies to me, and he let out a low whistle.
Navin instantly stepped in front of me, blocking my naked body from view. I rolled my eyes. I was so covered in dirt and gore there was barely anything to see.
The wind whipped up around us as Navin craned his neck skyward. “Look out!”
With his good arm, he shoved me out of the way as Haestas arced back across the sky. A giant form plummeted from the spot where Navin shoved me: the last Onyx Wolf.
He collided in a heap of brambles, moaning and clutching his side. His face was contorted in pain, blood trailing from hismouth and nose. I knew the look in his eyes, knew he was on the precipice of death.
He screwed his face up. “Just kill me,” he begged.
“Why are you here?”
He didn’t answer, shifting into his Wolf form to try to heal. With a groan of frustration, I shifted right along with him. The relief was instantaneous, my wounds healing along with the change. Not so for the Onyx Wolf in front of me, scrambling legs and twitching maw battling the throes of death.
“What is an Onyx Wolf doing in Valta?” I pushed again, towering over him and snarling.
“King Tadei commanded us.” His eyes shot frantically to and fro. “We were on our way to Highwick when we caught your scent.”
My pulse raced. “Why has Tadei sent you to Highwick?”
“To join King Nero’s army,” the Wolf whined. “I don’t know why he did it. He’s terrified of Nero. Tadei feeds us to the hungry beast that sits atop the Highwick throne.” His frantic movements slowed; his eyes stopped searching. “I knew when I stepped foot in this haunted place, I’d never see my homeland again. This place is covered in a pall of dark magic. I never thought I’d see a dragon... never thought I’d die under these strange skies...”
The life faded from his eyes before he could finish the thought. Reeling, I shifted back to my human form. Confusion clouded my thoughts as Navin pulled me into his side, hiding me once more from view.
Haestas screeched overhead before flying back out toward the sea.
“You figured out the command,” I murmured, staring as her shadow disappeared beyond the clouds.
