She knew stopping to lick her wounds would be the end of her, so she willed herself back to her feet, turning not to flee but to face the creature. Furred face twitching with unspent violence and smattered with at least a dozen golden leaves, it reared up onto its hind legs until it was twice Shim’s height, releasing a roar that felt like a weapon, battering her ears and deafening her for a moment. Its muzzle glowed golden, chin dripping godsblood. Its origins were clearly bear, as they’d suspected, but to call it one now felt utterly wrong, for compared to this monster, any grizzly, black or brown would appear almost docile, more pet than wild creature. It hammered its paws against its chest with a series of percussive whumps. Its four paws to go with the two upon which it already stood. The beast had the normal two limbs growing from its shoulders, but also two more just beneath them, just as strong-looking, long black claws arcing out from its fingertips. Above its leaf-flecked cheeks, its eyes glowed gold, flaring brighter just before it bent its hindlegs to attack.

“GO!” came Shim’s deep-throated voice, just as he attacked from behind, leaping high into the air and curling his hands around the monster’s throat, dagger gleaming as he slashed.

This was it, Soraya’s chance to run, to save herself. She was barely a Guardian anyway, right? Clearly there had been some mistake, because she wasn’t ready for this, wasn’t ready for fighting mindless killers like the monster raging before her.

Already she was backing away, her feet separating her from the danger without her having remembered commanding them to do so. Shim was still entangled about the creature’s neck, but as far as she could tell he hadn’t managed to pierce its thick hide despite repeated attempts to do so. As the pair struggled, there were flashes of gold from both their eyes, as well as Shim’s forearms, his enhanced strength firing in short bursts with each effort to open his opponent’s throat.

Soraya stopped. She was scared, more scared than she’d ever been in her entire life. But then she realized something: In this moment it didn’t matter whether she was a newly minted Guardian as green as the leaves on spring flowers. It didn’t matter that she’d never fought for her life or for the life of another. Because, by the will of the Goddess of the Wood, Narcissi Herself, she was a Guardian.

It was time to start acting like one.

She charged into the fray, ducking under one of the creature’s claws as it swept toward her, only to be battered by another one swinging in the opposite direction. She absorbed the impact by throwing her arms over her head, feeling the prick of claws as they tore through her flesh.

And then she was there, shoving her hand forward into the monster’s midsection, pushing through the thick tufts of blood-soaked fur until she felt skin.