Most of the bees had given up pursuing her now, so she stopped, flopping onto her haunches and licking the rest of the honey from her chops, sighing contentedly.

That was when the predator that had been stealthily hunting the bear for miles struck. Soraya didn’t have time to turn before its foe’s fangs sunk into the back of her neck. She roared, flinging a foreleg behind her to try to dislodge her attacker while simultaneously shoving forward into a somersault. They tumbled together, gravity drawing them down a slope that steepened as it sucked them toward a ravine. Flashes of leathery wings and dark skin inlaid with rivulets of gold appeared at the edges of her vision.

Even as they approached the edge from which there was no return, her attacker clung to her, fangs lancing deeper, trying to inflict enough damage to mortally wound her. The ravine’s edge ended up saving her, for it was only when her paws left the ground and flew, unfettered, into open air, that the creature released her.

With a yelp, she fell, claws flashing about in a desperate attempt to latch onto the foliage and vines growing thick along the ravine’s sides. She might’ve been successful in arresting her fall if the roots of such plants had burrowed more than a few inches into the rocky wall. As it was, anything she managed to grab onto was immediately uprooted, serving only to drape her—not me, the bear, Soraya thought desperately—in a cloak of leaves, vines, branches, and even a few brightly colored flowers.

Even landing in the few feet of water offered by the stream that had been carving the ravine for years into the forest’s landscape did little to soften the impact, which was like being hit by a massive stone in the back. Soraya’s bones shattered. Her teeth, still sweet-tasting from the honey, chattered between her jaws. Blood flowed freely from where her attacker had pierced her with its fangs. The flow of blood from her neck felt like the least of her concerns when she couldn’t bring herself to lift her head from the water, which swarmed over her face.

She wished the impact had killed her. Drowning, as helpless as a newborn cub, would be worse.

She looked up, nothing left to do but wait for death. Above her, the water shimmered gold. It was…beautiful, awe-inspiring. Could the sun’s rays have reached this far inside the deep ravine? No, it was impossible.

Above her, a form wavered, looking down at her helpless form.