Page 42 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

Aev snarled at us, but Presley was smart enough to dodge him as she hauled ass toward the rest of the fae, who were all ready for a fight.

I didn’t know exactly how this was supposed to work.

I should’ve had a serious conversation with whoever was in charge of making the plans, instead of letting my panic lead me away from everyone else.

But I didn’t do either of those things.

So, I’d just have to figure it out as we went.

Presley reached the organized groups of fae just as the klynna above us roared.

It was warning us, I thought.

Giving us a chance to hand Aev over.

Which, obviously, we weren’t going to do.

Oren gestured for Presley to follow him, shifting and launching himself into the sky. She didn’t hesitate to do so, her nose on his gleaming golden tail as his massive, scaly form flew upward.

I still smelled enough like Aev to catch the creature’s attention, I hoped.

Presley and Oren wove through the trees rapidly, gaining altitude until they broke through the branches and up into the sky.

My heart pounded hard, but I felt no panic.

The last time, I had locked eyes with it, and pleaded with it. It hadn’t obeyed me; it had answered my plea.

So I wasn’t going to try tocommandthe creature to do anything. It was too large and too intelligent for that.

I needed to look it in the eyes andaskit to leave without killing anyone.

Without killingAev.

The klynna roared when it saw Oren—and dove toward us when it saw me. It looked a lot like the first one I’d seen, covered in scales and with strong, feathery wings, but the coloring was that of a sunset back on Earth, with gorgeous oranges, reds, golds, and pinks.

Despite its beauty, I knew it wanted me dead.

Presley dove back into the trees for a moment, cutting off my view of the creature.

“I need to see its eyes!” I yelled to her. The flames running over her feathers burned white and blue and green as she burst back into the sky.

The klynna was already barreling toward us.

We wouldn’t have much time, but we’d have to make it work, because there was no other alternative that I could accept.

Presley zigzagged through the air and forest, leading the monster on a chase away from the Stronghold and slowing it down as it broke through branches and trees. I saw glimpses of other dragons and phoenixes in the skies behind the creature, waiting to attack if we needed them. The heavens poured water on all of us as we flew, but it didn’t slow Presley.

Though her efforts only put the tiniest amount of space between us and the klynna, I knew I had to make it enough.

She flew in a quick, sweeping loop, and then launched straight at the monster.

Its massive pink eyes locked with mine, and its jaws opened.

A snarl below us was followed by ice blossoming in the creature’s mouth. The ice blocked its fire, growing larger and thicker and wider.

I didn’t have time to think about that, or even notice it, so I didn’t let myself.

I just called out, “Please, don’t hurt us. The king only trapped you to protect his people. Please just leave, so no one has to die.”

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