Page 57 of Unbound

It lets out a deep breath filled with so much relief it nearly breaks my heart.

"Unbound... You have freed me from my prison. I was once known as Typhon, first heir to the water throne and ruler of the tides. I owe you a debt, and you may name your price."

I hear metal clashing nearby as if people are fighting.

Then a deep shout of pain and desperation. It's close, and it's unmistakable.

Raith.

"We have to help," I say. “Help me save him. The one who just shouted."

Another voice echoes through the forest, this one weaker than before. Raith is running out of time.

"He needs our help," I say urgently.

"The fire-touched. Yes."Typhon's head tilts slightly."I can sense him. He’s strong. You wish to save him for mating purposes. Very well. Get on my back."

I stare.Mating purposes?

I don’t have time to think about the odd comment. I’m too busy trying to figure out how the hell I’m supposed to get on his back. He’s not as huge as he once was, but his hind legs are still nearly the height of my whole body.

As if sensing my hesitation, he extends a wing, offering it like a leathery ramp. I don’t have time to waste, so I run up his wing then stare at his scale-covered back. Just as I'm about to wonder how the hell I'm supposed to hang on, blue light shimmers on his back as a saddle materializes beneath me. Glimmering blue straps that look made from pure sapphires slide over my thighs and waist, securing me into place.

The wings behind me flap in a powerful burst, and wind rushes against my face, forcing my eyes into narrow slits. We explode upwards and it feels like my stomach stays where it was back on the ground hundreds of feet behind us.

Each beat of his wings makes us lurch forward at such incredible speeds it makes my eyes water.

The flight is over before I know it. Typhon lands with shocking grace for his size at the edge of a clearing. A clearing where I can see Raith covered in blood, his powerful body hacked and bloody in several places. But he's still standing, even as blood drips freely from him.

And there's a panther made of pure flames fighting beside him. With him.

Thank the gods. He tethered an elemental. But Raith and his new elemental are badly outmatched. Five students are creeping closer to him, weapons drawn.

I see Malakai and Serena among the still-living, and both have tethered elementals of their own.

Even as I watch, Malakai's elemental—a shark-like creature that slices through the air as if it's water—flashes past Raith and tears a chunk from his leg with a vicious bite. The panther slashes at the shark, landing a heavy blow that wounds but doesn’t stop the creature from slipping away.

Typhon flaps his wings again, yanking us forward so fast it threatens to make me sick. We land with a crash in the center of the conflict, putting us between Raith and the stunned semi-circle of attackers.

Raith is wounded. Badly. His elemental is also dripping fire from a gash that hisses steam on its side and it walks with a limp as it circles him protectively.

Even if his wounds look mortal, the defiance and fire is still blazing in Raith's eyes. He's planning to fight until he drops dead. But the thought of him dying is… it’s not something I can handle. We’re going to find a way to save him. I don’t care how. We’re going to fucking do it.

From Typhon's back, I take in the scene of the battle.

Raith and his elemental killed three attackers, but there are still five standing, plus Malakai and Serena's new elementals.

Malakai bleeds from a deep slash that runs from his scalp to his cheek, and one of his eyes looks completely ruined. Serena seems untouched, and she's flanked by a snake made of flames. It's nearly ten feet long, and it coils around her ankles.

Malakai's elemental swims through the air behind him, teeth glinting.

But they're all staring at me now, and the look of dumbfounded shock as they see the water dragon I'm riding almost makes everything I've gone through to get here worth it. Their expressions almost make me want to laugh—a hysterical, giddy kind of triumph surges through me despite the danger, despite everything.

Serena steps forward. "What the fuck... How?" she breathes.

"Get rid of them," I command, not caring in the slightest how Typhon chooses to interpret my words. They all deserve to die for what they've done, and if Raith is going to have any chance of surviving, we can’t afford to be gentle or take our time here.

There's a moment of building power, like the feeling of water pulling away before a huge wave forms in the ocean. The others feel it, too. The two elementals react first, the shark and fire snake retreating slightly.

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