Page 27 of Golden Star

Will we even beableto outrun this thing? I don’t think so, but we’re not exactly doing an A-plus job at killing it. And I have no idea how to drop the shield without giving the monster an in to attack us the moment it falls.

The barrier I created around us is both a shield and a coffin.

Horror tears at my throat.

But I’m not going to let us die like this. More importantly, I’m not going to letZoeydie because we decided the fae realm might make for a fun field trip.

It was so stupid. But the existence of monsters—realmonsters—didn’t seem real until one’s staring me in the face.

Well, through a water shield. Same thing.

Zoey’s still holding up the stick like a weapon, ready to strike if the shield breaks, when a gust of wind whips through the trees at an angle that allows me to use its momentum topushall the water that’s part of the shield at the monster, throwing it so off balance that it falls to the ground.

Zoey throws her rock with all the strength she has, then grabs my arm, pulling me with her out of the clearing and into the forest.

I hold onto her as we bolt through the trees, keeping her pace even though I can run faster.

The creature roars, furious and relentless, its claws scraping the ground as it comes after us.

We’re not fast enough.

It’s gaining on us.

I reach for Zoey’s hand, and the wind whips through the trees and pushes at our backs, adding speed to our steps as I pull us forward with every ounce of strength I can muster.

We turn a corner, and there, up ahead, is a massive pile of fallen trees.

A pile that might slow down the monster—if we’re able to get over it.

It’s an impossible jump. But we have so much momentum that we might be able to do it.

Either way, we have to try. It’s either make the jump, have the monster catch up with us, or turn back around to fight it.

I don’t like the last two options.

“Brace yourself!” I tell Zoey through the howling wind, tightening my grip on her hand. “We’re going to jump.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she says.

“I don’t,” I say, and then we leap into the air, soaring higher and farther than I ever thought possible.

We clear the trees in one giant leap, using the momentum of the wind behind our heels to continue running without stumbling, weaving through the trees with more grace than I ever thought I had in me.

Eventually, we find ourselves in a clearing.

Zoey lets go of my hand, stumbling to a halt as she leans against a tree, her chest heaving, her cheeks bright red.

But we can’t stop. The creature’s crashing through the trees behind us, its guttural roar reverberating through the forest, threatening to rip us to shreds.

“Come on,” I tell her, reaching for her. “We have to keep going.”

I’ll throw her over my back and carry her if I have to.

I’m about to do it when a deep, commanding voice cuts through the air.

“Get down!” he says, and I barely register the wordsbefore Zoey grabs my arm, pulling me down as Ghost leaps from the tree line, crashing into the monster with terrifying force.

The monster roars as Ghost’s teeth sink into its skeletal frame.

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