Page 26 of Ties of Frost

Ahead of us, a towering pine swayed and fell toward the road.

“Kyr!”

The ice disks slammed to a stop, and I teetered forward. Kyrundar grabbed my upper arm and steadied me. With a crash, the tree hit the road. Pine needles and dust burst into the air.

Amid the strong smells of pine sap and freshly cut wood, I caught another scent.

I pointed toward the side of the road. “Shifter—”

A snarling wolf as tall as I was and an even larger black panther leaped out of the tree line. Dragon heat stirred in my veins.

Kyrundar’s grip on my arm tightened. “Don’t shift!”

“I know!” I snapped, ignoring that Ihadalmost shifted instinctively. In my wyvern state, I’d be twice the size of the panthera, and I’d have plenty of room to maneuver on this quiet stretch of road. I could subdue both shifters in moments.

Instead, thanks to this infernal ice curse, I would have to face them with nothing but my sword—

The ice disks lurched upward, taking us high above the approaching shifters, who snarled and yowled in response.

“They can’t run as fast as I can fly us out of here,” Kyrundar said, but our magical conveyance continued to hover high above the circling predators.

He was waiting for me to make the call to engage or not. The realization prompted a warm stirring in my chest.I shook my head. “A second assassination attempt? I need to know who they are and why they’re targeting me—or us.” Whichever it was, I needed answers.

“Then let the hunt begin.” He drew his twin swords.

I allowed myself a small grin and removed my pack, then drew my own sword. He navigated our ice disks away from the shifters and then descended. The shifters didn’t wait for us to touch ground to run toward us, so I didn’t, either. I jumped and landed in a crouch with my sword extended point-first in front of me.

The panthera growled and turned aside, avoiding running straight into my blade. A flash of Kyrundar’s glittering magic raced toward the wolvus, so I focused on my own opponent.

I might not have been able to access the full power of my wyveri blood, but my senses and strength were still heightened compared to a human’s or even an elf’s. Every time the panther’s paws hit the ground, they caused a subtle vibration in the packed dirt. My eyes tracked every twitch of powerful muscles beneath its dark rosette-patterned fur and the telltale movement of its golden eyes.

I pivoted to keep facing my opponent. Slowly, I rose to my feet and pulled my sword in close. The panther’s tail twitched. I eased one foot back.Steady…

When the panthera leaped, I ran a step to the side and slid forward, parallel to the great cat. I slashed my sword down the panther’s side. My boots cast up a cloud of dust, and my back hit the ground hard.

The panther yowled, but I didn’t have time to assessmy strike. I rolled away and jumped to my feet, already swinging again. My blade clipped the panther’s upper leg as it tried to swipe huge claws at me. It limped back a step and growled.

I held my ground, waiting.

With another ear-splitting yowl, the panther pounced. This time, I took a risk and lowered my sword, instead rushing forward between the grasping paws to tackle my opponent. The force of our collision nearly knocked the breath out of me, but I threw all my strength forward. My blood heated, and I willed my shifter magic to settle.

I crashed to the ground on top of the panther. It whimpered beneath me. Before it had a chance to recover, I brought up my sword and laid the edge against its throat.

“Maki’elle!” I shouted in Vethalric, the native tongue of the shifter clans.Reveal your true self.

The panthera bared its teeth in a snarl.

I frowned. Conversing in our non-animal forms was a sign of mutual respect, as it put all shifters, regardless of clan, size, and strength, on relatively equal footing. It was also considered respectful to fight another shifter only in baik’eth, “same form”—both animals, or both humans—and the honorable thing was to start any fight in di’ora.

“I cannot shift,” I said. The panther squirmed, and with its greater strength and flexibility, it could easily throw me off. I pressed my blade harder against its throat.

“Our archon thought that might be the case.” In his animal form, the panthera had a raspy, indistinct voice.

My lips parted. “And you still chose to attack in di’yar?”

“Rengiri do not deserve the respect of di’ora.”

Outrage sparked in my veins, and I took a deep breath to cool my dragon fire. “Why are you targeting me? Who is your archon? Which order are you part of?”

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