Cair primed himself to lunge, fangs bared, but before he could, there was a whistle through air. I wasn’t given the chance to comprehend its origin as the creature that had spoken slumped to the ground, an arrow skewering its neck. Seconds later, two figures came rushing from the tree line, cutting through the ghoul-like beings with battle cries and the ringing of metal. I could only see vague shapes through the translucent panels of Cair’s wings as he guarded me, but one by one, almost too quickly for me to grasp, the bad guys dropped like flies, either dead or writhing in pain.

Yellow blood soaked the forest floor, spraying the tree trunks, and the stench of rotten flesh assaulted my nose.

My stomach roiled.

With the distraction of the newcomers, one of the hooded creatures surged toward Cair, clearly hoping to catch him off guard. Thankfully, my mate was on high alert. He dodged the slices of its daggers, managing to knock the weapons from its grasp before his hand darted out to seize its thin gray throat, squeezing until it went limp.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away, too focused on the growing heap of bodies and the scent of death to notice the plume of smoke sneaking up from behind me until it was too late. A clawed hand materialized, grabbing my wrist and hauling me out of the safety of Cair’s shadow, dragging me halfway across the meadow, away from the fight. The creature threw me to the ground before straddling my waist, once more a solid mass, and I bucked and kicked, swinging my fists at its masked face, but it was pointless. With little effort, it pinned my arms to the ground with one of its ghoulish hands before unsheathing its dagger.

The sight of the sharp blade had me freezing.

My breath was fire in my lungs, my vision blackening at the edges as terror consumed me. I didn’t know what to do as it set the point against my belly, where my shirt had ridden up, as if teasing me with the power it held. I couldn’t conjure up a single rational thought, couldn’t envision anything except my life force withering away to dust. I couldn’t defend myself, couldn’t struggle, couldn’t even scream. I was stuck in a body that was working against me, so I just screwed my eyes shut, hoping dying would be painless and that Cair wouldn’t hate me for giving up.

Of course he will, you’re pathetic.

There was pressure at my side and I bit my lip, preparing for the agony that would follow, for the darkness that would drag me under… but it didn’t come.