Page 160 of Of Serpents and Ruins
Spinning around, I forced myself back into the water serpent form. My body tightened and pulsed. The scales erupted. The horns dragged my head down.
"Buttercup, go!" I lunged onto her back. She charged forward, battering through the fiends. Their bones crunched beneath her feet. The hot air licked at my face. "Komul!" I screamed. She snapped her head down and halted so hard she sat on her hindquarters.
I soared off her back and over her crest, slicing through the air.
"Brandt!" I shouted. My heart stumbled as I struck the stone. It punched the air out of me.
The heat of the lava was too much. My form shrank, pulling back into my human shape as I struggled to focus. My dress reformed again, and within seconds, I was once more drenched with sweat. I jammed my foot into the spot that my instincts demanded, gasping.
The cavern shook again, the lava churning beneath us. The stone tilted. The jagged stone punched my knees, shredding them.
The lip beneath Kine broke.
His eyes widened.
I darted forward, despite the awful pain tearing through my legs. The ground struck me so hard. Somehow, I grabbed him. His weight dragged me down, his body yanking my arms so hard I thought they might wrench out of the sockets.
Words failed me. All I managed was a pained cry as I barely managed to hang on.
Brandt’s attention snapped to me. He still fought, the muscles in his face twitching. Sweat poured down his brow.
Kine’s weight was dragging me down. The stones dug into my thighs.
"Bug," Kine said hoarsely. "It’s all right. Swing me out, and then let go of me. I’ve got the reagents. It’ll be enough."
"No. No! I’m not losing either of you."
The cavern shook. I twisted around to Brandt. "Brandt, please!" I sobbed, trying to keep my grip on Kine’s sweating hands. "Please!"
Every other time I had tried to cry out or scream when he was under the curse’s direct influence, my chest had been tight, my voice small. But this time—even with pain tearing through my body—all of me poured into my voice. The ragged screech was pure agony.
Brandt stiffened, the red in his eyes intensifying. It was as if he saw me again.
A sickening crack fractured the air.
Then the rock gave way. Kine and I both plunged down.
Brandt’s expression twisted. Panic filled his eyes. With a strained yell, he flung himself forward and seized me. His right arm snagged around my waist, his fingers digging into my flesh as he slammed me back, my legs dangling in the air. His other arm locked around my shoulders, his fingers set against my throat. His breath rasped in my ear.
"Hold fast, Brandt," I said, my voice shaking. "I know you can do this."
"Stella." His voice shook.
I bit the inside of my lip.
Brandt held me tight, his foot hooked around one of the boulders. His mouth pressed against my throat. He grunted, struggling to support me as I held on to Kine.
"Hold fast, Brandt," I repeated, my voice cracking.
Fear spasmed within me. If he collapsed into the curse, he could bite my throat or rip it out while barely moving. His right hand already loosely pressed at my throat, his fingers curled as if he struggled even in that small act.
He shuddered against me. I could practically feel the curse sinking its talons into his mind. But he was fighting. Fighting as he never had before.
I tore my gaze from him to Kine, the pain in my arm twisting through me. "Don’t you dare let go, Kine!"
The Gola Resh darted up. Her shadows coiled at my legs and Kine’s torso, giving a sharp tug. I tried to kick her off, crying out in pain.
"Leave her alone," Kine snarled. He turned his face up to me. "Bug, you’ve got to let me go. You know why."
