Page 35 of Monster's Pretty Bride

A shift in the air.

The wind thickens, no longer smooth but choked with something heavier, more charged.

Naranus curses, his arms tightening around me as his head snaps to the side.

The first arrow strikes.

He jerks, the force of it ripping through the membrane of his wing, embedding itself in the flesh just near his shoulder.

His snarl is like breaking stone.

The sky around us erupts.

Figures emerge from the cliffs, hidden within the jagged crevices, their dark wings folding open like specters against the sky. At least six of them, moving fast, moving with intent.

Rogue gargoyles.

Naranus doesn’t hesitate.

He tilts mid-air, his massive body twisting as another arrow whistles past his head, narrowly missing us. He banks left, trying to outrun them, but they’re already too close.

Another arrow flies.

Another strike to his wing.

This time, the damage is worse.

His balance wavers, his breath rough against my ear, but he keeps flying, his body fighting against the wound like it’s nothing more than an inconvenience.

I can’t do anything.

I have no magic. No power.

I can’t even pull a damn dagger without risking him losing control mid-air.

I twist in his hold, trying to catch a glimpse of the attackers. The leader is the closest, his wings beating hard, his eyes locked on Naranus like a predator with a kill in sight.

“You should have stayed in your crumbling stronghold, Alpha,” the gargoyle snarls. “You’re not fit to lead anymore.”

"Then come take my throne, coward," Naranus growls back, voice ripping through the wind like a blade.

The rogue lunges but Naranus is faster.

His wings snap inward, cutting through the air like a missile, diving lower, forcing them to chase us through the maze of stone.

I feel the strain in his muscles, the tremor in his grip. He’s bleeding too much.

He won’t make it back.

Another rogue dives from above.

I barely have time to react before claws rake across Naranus’s back, tearing into flesh. His body jerks.

We drop.

The world tilts, my stomach flipping violently as the sky falls away.

Naranus tries to catch himself, his wings flaring in desperate resistance, but he can’t.

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