Page 253 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

“Let me test it out.” Tyree unsheathes his sword.

“Careful!” I urge.

He approaches the beast, giving it a wide berth as he strolls around it before moving in closer.

It sits quietly, unmoving.

“She’s done it.” Tyree grins. “We are going to fly out of this forsaken realm. Take Destry’s arm and guide her—”

Destry gasps as if coming up for air after too long under water.

The wyvern rears back with a screech, the claws waiting to collect us raking across Tyree’s torso.

And then it turns to dust before our eyes.

“Tyree!” I scramble out of the tunnel and run to where he has fallen. “Fates. Okay …” The slash is long and deep. My trembling hands cover it, attempting to stop the blood from flowing. Rivulets stream over my fingers. “Okay, so it is bad, but it’ll heal.”

“Liar.” He grimaces. “It’s a Nulling beast wound, Annika, and I do not see any casters.”

“But it will be fine. It must be fine.”

Destry is hunched beside me, her eyes returned to black.

“What happened? What did you do!” I cry.

“Nothing! I had it and then … I did not.”

I search the gaping entrance above for any hint of wings. There were four hunting last night. “We need to move him back to the other cave before another one shows up. Help me.”

Tyree grits his teeth as we each grab under one arm and drag him through the tunnel.

“Okay, if we can get him up there, onto that straw and—”

“Stop, Annika. Stop.” Tyree collapses to the ground.

I drop to my knees beside him. “But we have to get you up there!”

He collects my blood-drenched hand. “No bed of straw will fix this.” His face is pale, his eyelids shuttering.

“No! You will not die on me. I forbid it!” I yell, my tears streaming down my cheeks as I clamp down on the wound with my other hand.

“Annika,” Destry calls out, but I ignore her. “Annika!”

“What?” My voice cracks as I snap at her.

She nods to something behind me, her eyes wide.

Fates, please tell me Queen Neilina hasn’t risen again … I turn.

The little goblins are back, and padding toward us on their webbed feet.

“What are you … no, no, no.” I shoo their hands away from Tyree as they paw at him, fumbling with his clothes. But they do not relent, one hissing at me in warning.

“Let them.” Destry grabs my shoulders and pulls me away with surprising strength. “They can help him.”

“How do you know?”

“I sense it.”

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