Page 79 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

Hours passed as I followed Vail’s footsteps, stepping where he stepped and stopping when he stopped. A few times, he squeezed my hand in warning and would then look pointedly in one direction. I’d focus until I saw whatever it was he was pointing out.

A monstrous-looking flower devouring the canine corpse of a howler, some type of tree-dwelling mammal with four arms and hooked claws, and my personal favorite, a baby küsu. I’d almost screamed when I’d spotted the nearly six-foot-long beast curving its body around the trunk of a tree, its shiny, black scales reflecting the small amount of moonlight that peeked through the tree canopy when the wind caused the branches to sway, and it’s too many legs propelling it forward as it climbed further up the tree.

Thanks for the nightmares, little buddy.

Vail stopped so suddenly, I ran into him, the hand that wasn’t in his instinctively going up to steady myself, feeling the hard muscles of his lower back flexing underneath the leather vest. I immediately started scanning our surroundings while myears strained to pick something up, but I saw nothing and only heard the insects chirping away in the night.

No. Wait. There. Dark shapes were slinking down the trees around us.

“What are they?” I asked tightly, wanting to know what we were up against. Whatever these creatures were, they clearly knew we were here, so our silence was pointless.

“Beduv kodgeg.” Vail released my hand to free his sword. “Moon devils.”

Shivers ran down my spine, but I forced myself to remain calm before sliding my throwing daggers out from my thigh sheaths.

The branches above us creaked, and more moonlight danced across the trees, giving me a better look at the creatures. I’d never had the pleasure of seeing moon devils in the flesh before, only sketches from people who had survived encounters with them. They were one of the more reclusive predators in Lunaria, and what they lacked in size, they more than made up for in intelligence.

I had to admit, they had a certain beauty to them. Short black fur coated their sturdy, feline bodies, and silver dapples in the shape of crescent moons decorated their fur. My heart hammered inside my chest when one of them got halfway down a tree and unhinged its jaws to what seemed like an impossible degree, showcasing the six-inch fangs that jutted out on either side of its mouth.

“Do not get bit, Samara,” Vail breathed out. “They will snap through bone like it’s nothing, and if you can’t run, we die.”

We die, because Vail wouldn’t leave me behind this time. He’d die protecting me.

I tightened my grip on the blades. “Plan?”

More devils climbed headfirst down the trees, and some remained crouched on the trunks while others slunk across theground and began circling us. Low, throaty clicks echoed throughout the night air, and in the dark, several short barks rang in response, the clicking sounds growing more excited.

The panic I’d been feeling increased until my breaths were nothing but quick pants. There were too many. We were going to die here. They’d snap through our bones and tear the flesh from our bodies as they devoured us. There would be nothing left.

I would die here. In this forest. Far from friends and family. Vail would die with me. Part of me felt guilty at being glad I wouldn’t die alone.

But I didn’t want to die. Not here. I didn’t want?—

A steady hand closed around my forearm, cutting off my thoughts. “It’s their magic,” Vail said softly. “They can increase whatever emotion you’re feeling. It’s easier for them to take down panicked prey. We need to run before the rest of their pride gets here.”

I concentrated on Vail’s hand on me, then slowly felt for the foreign magic pushing itself into my mind and shoved it back. The chittering increased, an angrier edge to it now, and several sharp bellows boomed. We were running out of time.

“When I say go, you run towards the tree directly in front of us with the blue vine growing up it. Run past it and don’t stop until you reach a dried-up creek bed, then turn west. There’s a cave we can seek refuge in. I can find it if we make it to that creek bed.” Vail pulled his hand away and shifted lightly on the balls of his feet, holding the sword loosely at his side. “If any of them get in front of us, throw your daggers at them. Don’t worry about fatal wounds. We just need to keep them off us. I’ll guard our backs.”

“How far?” Sweat ran down the sides of my face despite the brisk night air.

“Five miles.”

Fuck. Me.

“Don’t be a whiny little Heir now, Sam.” Vail shoved me forward before yelling, “RUN!”

I took off, darting under a low branch and past the tree Vail had pointed out. Sharp cries echoed around the forest as the devils immediately gave chase. Two shadows peeled off the trees ahead, one darting directly into our path. My daggers were soaring through the air a second later. One sunk into the flank of a devil, and it howled before leaping back into the trees. The other missed by a hair but still caused the feline monster to retreat.

The daggers flew back into my outstretched palms, and I immediately threw them again. More angry screams. The muscles in my thighs burned, but between embracing my bloodlust and it being nighttime, I was nowhere near my limit. Behind me, I heard Vail cut away anything that got too close to us.

For a few minutes, I thought we actually might make it, then my foot caught on a tree root and I stumbled. The moon devils seized the opportunity, and their magic flooded me again.

I stumbled once more and barely managed to right myself as sheer panic gripped me.

“If you can’t run, we die.”

Another raised root snagged my foot, but this time, I didn’t recover fast enough. My shoulder hit the ground first, and I flipped over, barely managing to avoid stabbing myself with my own blades.

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