Page 18 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

But I kept flying anyway.

The alternative was death.

A few more hours passed beforeI knew I was about to meet my end.

I’d slowed too much—and the klynna was catching me. Though I’d passed dozens of rivers and ponds, I’d need deep water to really escape the monster, so I couldn’t have risked stopping.

Not when my life was on the line.

The klynna’s teeth suddenly clamped down on my wing, and an awful scream pierced the air as it shook me wildly.

A snarl sounded below me, but the pain was too intense to focus long enough to look for the source.

Out of nowhere, ice traveled over the creature’s face, blocking its nostrils and forcing its jaws apart. The ice freed me from the monster’s grip, so I tucked my injured wing and dove toward the ground.

Shifting forms just in time to use my magic, I landed hard on one of the branches. The world spun around me, but was steady enough that I saw Aev in a tree not far from me.

The klynna did too.

It dove like I had, roaring and throwing fire toward Aev. The sabertooth’s sleek, furry body smoothly dodged the attack.

When the airplane-sized monster landed on the dirt, taking out a few huge trees in the process, the ground shook. I grabbed the branch I was sitting on so I didn’t slide off the huge, smooth surface of it.

The movement sent hot pain through my back, and when I looked over my shoulder to see the injury, my stomach clenched.

That was a lot of blood.

The skin was knitting itself together already, but it was a damn good thing I was fae.

A huge cracking noise had me jerking my head back toward the man who’d saved my life.

Horror flooded me when I looked at him.

The klynna was breaking through the branches, blowing hot fire everywhere in an attempt to get to Aev. Luckily, there was enough pollen in the air to prevent the world around us from burning.

I knew he could kill it—he had killed one by himself, a long time ago, according to Korrik. But what if his magic was different now? He hadn’t had time to adjust to the change to it since losing his bond with Naomi. And the klynnas had been hidden away for so long that he could’ve forgotten how he killed that one.

If hedidforget, then what?

I didn’t want to consider that, so I pushed the thought away.

I needed to get back in the fight, to distract the monster and give Aev a chance to figure out if he could end it or not.

Carefully, I made my way to my feet and glanced down at my back one last time. The skin had finished healing, and I didn’t feel any residual pain.

There was no time to muse about how incredible that was.

I shifted forms and launched into the air, and was hit with a whole new dose of adrenaline now that it wasn’t just my life on the line.

With Aev at risk, I was alive again.

Desperate, again.

Aev leaped to a new branch as the klynna crushed the one he was on.

I barreled toward the klynna, just in time to watch as the monster tried to grab Aev in its jaws.

Ice flooded its mouth, giving the fae time to throw himself out if its path. He hurtled toward the ground, and it was a long way down, but he could cushion his fall with magic.

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