Page 30 of Bonded to the Fallen Shadow King

But I ignored her, heading toward the dragon section with the large volcano and rocks. I leaped onto the rocks and climbed higher, the stone cutting into my paws.

A guard eagle soared by about ten feet in front of me. My pulse thundered as I launched myself off the rock and landed on its back. The guard eagle threw me off, and I angled my trajectory to hit the wall.

I slammed against the stone wall, knocking the breath out of me. Still, I scrabbled onto a small ledge, catching my balance.

Dammit. I would need to cling to an guard eagle to make this work. I had to shift back into human form and do the task naked in front of everyone.Great.

Pain radiated from my side and paws, but my injuries weren’t severe, and the shift would help me heal. I yanked my wolf back, despite her howling in protest. She relented, knowing that it was our best chance.

My fur retreated and my bones cracked my spine back into place until I stood on two legs. Most everyone else had run back to their circles, preparing for the final test. The woman with pale-blue hair who had been fighting with Kaylen was near the water serpent, searching for something. I hoped we both found our crystals and escaped.

This time, I caught the guardian eagle’s eye, and it winged around to face me. Its appearance was ethereal and mystical, and I knew it wasn’t from Earth.

I launched myself onto a guard eagle, and it waggled. I desperately grabbed its feathers, barely holding on.

When it evened out, I released my hold and leapt to another guard eagle that was circling the Guardian eagle. The crystal hovered above the guardian eagle, and I needed to reach out and take it. Assuming that something unexpected would happen, I clamped my legs around the bird’s waist and grabbed for the guardian.

The guard eagle I was riding tried to buck me off, but I managed to reach up and grasp the bigger one around its neck. I flung myself up onto its back, and the bird’s head twisted back toward me, one electric-blue eye locked on mine. I waited for it to do something, but it hovered, allowing me to climb up and take the crystal.

A bright silver glow lit up the ground, and a massive shimmering stag appeared where all of us had first landed. I forgot where I was as the stag stared me in the eyes. Warmth bloomed inside me, and I felt some sort of connection with the animal.

No. I had to be losing my mind. This had—

Warm, rancid breath hit the back of my neck, stopping me mid-thought. I raised my head and found what looked like a manticore, blinking its creepy, glowing, old-man eyes. It opened its mouth like it was ready to taste me.

A heavybongvibrated through the entire room, stirring even more of the manticores...and the lights went out.

ChapterTen

Briar

Thebongechoed through my ears until the piercing screams of the manticores drowned out its deep voice. Supernatural darkness swallowed me whole, and I shook myself back to reality. Even the lava had gone dark. Only the purple and dark-teal lights of the platforms were visible.

Time was running out, and there were people relying on me.

The guardian eagle remained steady, still not trying to buck me off. I had no idea why this one was being patient, but I knew for a fact the others would be more than happy to kill me.

My wolf snarled. I had to get my ass moving.

Wings flapped over my head as the manticores took flight. I tugged at my wolf, needing some of her power but not enough to shift. I needed to remain in human form to hold on to the crystal.

My vision adjusted to the darkness, allowing me to see even better than before, which emphasized how piss-poor the lighting had been.

I jumped from the guardian eagle almost as far as I could’ve in wolf form, to the nearest guard eagle below. My left hand grabbed some of its feathers and locked my legs around it a moment before the guard eagle barrel-rolled. On the second roll, my head started spinning, and the crystal slipped in my sweaty palm.

Heart lurching, I jammed the crystal against my chest. The stone dug into my skin and stung. I pushed away the discomfort, and when the eagle spun me back upside down, I dropped to the next one.

Cold, foul airwhooshed past me and I tried not to gag. My toes hit the edge of another bird. I dug them into the feathers, getting traction and pushed myself off to reach the last bird.

But the animal darted ahead, and I plummeted toward the ground. A scream echoed through the arena, and I wasn’t certain if it was from me or the manticores.

Loud laughter came from below as I steeled myself, bracing for the inevitable impact. I closed my eyes, trying not to see all the horrible creepy crawlies skittering below me, and tightened my hold on the crystal. At the last second, I angled my body, hoping to land without breaking my neck or legs.

Boom!I struck the stone floor, my legs buckling. The momentum had me rolling over, and my head and chest slammed into a rock. Pain blasted through my body, and blood poured into my left eye.

My skin crawled, and I raised my head to find that the centipedes, snakes, and spiders were swarming me. Adrenaline burst through my veins, pushing enough of the pain away for me to jump to my feet.

The floor wavered underneath me as if I were on a boat. Yet I stood on flat ground.

---