Page 195 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos
Allie’s beside me, panting, blood trickling from a cut along her cheek. Heaven’s crouched low, fire swirling around her, her breath ragged but eyes locked on it. We don’t speak as I shift back and take up my swords.
The monster roars.
The sound rings through the air, creating a wall of force thatcracks the earth beneath our feet.
Then it charges.
We scatter. I dive left, roll, and then rise with my weapon glowing in my hands. Allie’s already attacking it, her blazing eyes sharp as her claws rip through the monster’s chest, but it almost instantly heals.
What on earth?
Heaven dashes forward, fast as a whip, sending a spell that slices through his leg. The beast snarls and backhands her across the sand, making her crash into a rock formation with a sickening crack.
“Heaven!” I shout as I send a wave of power and a spell of fire at the beast, watching as Heaven rolls to her feet, coughing.
“Allie! Right side!” I call.
We move together. She throws a burst of force to its left; I use the opening, using the sphinx as leverage before I launch into the air, flipping into a spinning strike, both blades aimed for its exposed neck.
I connect.
Blood sprays across the golden sand, but it’s not enough. It grabs me mid-air, its claws closing around my torso.
Pain explodes across my ribs. I scream.
I spot Allie snarl loudly before she slams into the monster, tearing into him. The monster shrieks, flinching just enough for me to twist free and land hard, coughing blood.
“Get clear!” Heaven shouts.
I throw my hand up, a wall of shadows erupting around us as the monster’s claw crashes down. My body shield buckles, and I can feel the cracks forming in it, but it holds long enough for thethree of us to regroup behind the sphinx.
“It has a weakness,” I grit out. “Everything does.”
“We need to find it fast,” Heaven says, rejoining us, one arm hanging limp. Allie nods, still in Lycan form. The rest are engaged in battles of their own, and if Enrique thought we could get away, we can’t – not yet.
My power surges. My wolf claws beneath my skin, wanting to come out.
I rise.
“We hit it together. Disorient it enough or distract it so we can finish it off in one go!” I shout.
They nod.
We run.
Heaven throws fireball after fireball at him, but it is pure brute strength, and nothing affects it. Allie darts at it. The force of her run sends it reeling backwards, but she doesn’t let go of him. I leap again, higher this time, spinning in the air as I gather everything inside me. I feel something spread from behind me like wings, my power keeping me airborne, and I throw everything into this attack, my power tightening as I gather it to its limit.
“NOW!” I roar.
Allie lets go, and I unleash it all. It hits and explodes, sending blood, rot and bones all around. I drop to the ground, my throat dry and clogged.
For a moment, there’s silence, and I almost fall to my knees, but Allie is next to me, catching me as she shifts back. The taste of blood is in my mouth, making me sick.
Allie collapses beside me, laughing breathlessly. “That waspretty incredible.”
Heaven smirks through a split lip as she approaches, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Before I can reply, a blinding blast of light throws us to the ground. I hit the back of my head on something hard, and my vision spins.
