Page 21 of Unicorn Shifter Academy
“Shit,” Raze hissed, then whirled on the creatures. “Khimaira isn’t here for them—she’s here forus.”
Khimaira.
Vestals.
My mind was already spinning trying to make sense of this place.
The lion—Khimaira—had one of the cubs in her mouth. The little thing was doing a good job of fighting back, though, scissoring his way through the lion’s maw.
Except, the plume of smoke that came from Khimaira’s mouth made the cub go limp.
“Stop that, you overgrown ass-cat!” I shouted, abandoning all sense as I ripped free from Raze’s grip. I didn’t doubt he was strong enough to stop me, but he likely hadn’t expected me to runtowardthe fire-breathing lion.
But I couldn’t just abandon these animals to their deaths.
I didn’t care if the cubs had sharp teeth and could change form into terrifying predators.
They didn’t deserve to be cooked alive by that beast that had attacked for no reason. They were just trying to protect themselves.
Mama Bear joined me as I ran up to Khimaira.
I wasn’t sure what I planned on doing, though. I didn’t have any weapons, and I certainly didn’t have any combat training other than the fencing classes my mom had forced me to attend.
I wasn’t sure why wealthy families were so obsessed with fencing, but I was pretty good with a sword.
Then it hit me. Maybe I didn’t have a sword… not in the traditional sense.
But I did have ahorn.
“Watch my six!” I shouted to my friends.
I wasn’t even really sure what that meant. I’d just heard it in the movies.
“I got you!” Ned shouted back, then a massive bowling ball crashed through the trees, crushing them.
The lion easily bounced out of the way as it careened by.
“Really, a giant bowling ball?” Angel shouted.
Ned laughed. “Come on, that was hilarious!” He stuck up a finger. “And, effective.”
It might not have struck the beast, but it had done its job of distracting it.
Bowing my head, I ran straight toward the lion that was looking down the path of devastation. A golden flash released from my body and pinpointed through the horn, striking the creature. My strike left a gouge along her side that forced her to release the cub from her mouth.
It snarled and shot out a wave of fire.
I would have been burned to a crisp had Angel not protected me with a wall of water that deflected the worst of the heat.
“Bonny!” she shouted, panic thick in her voice.
From what I knew of her skill level, she couldn’t do that many more times. She needed to be near a body of water to replenish her power, and while she was able to draw some moisture from the air, I spotted her hair already sizzling from the lion’s heat.
This wasn’t a fight we could win, but what choice did we have? The beast had cut off our escape route with fire.
When the smoke cleared, the lion lifted one paw and snarled at me, showing bloody teeth. It had harmed the cub, but to my relief, the bear limped back toward its mother and huddled underneath her protective shadow.
The other two cubs snarled, their horns glowing with golden, sparkling light.
