Page 54 of Wicked Prince of Shadows
I crawled forward, dragging my wounded leg behind me, arm outstretched toward the incline.
Osric turned halfway up, his face pale and wild. “Sabine?—!”
“GO!” My hands clawed at the earth, nails breaking as I tried to drag myself free. It placed its taloned foot on my back, crushing me against the earth.
Minutes. I had minutes at most before I blacked out at best.
Black dots circled my vision, the pain coming in waves so strong I could barely breathe. My blood spilled out onto the parched earth, hot and gushing. Already my head spun.
Osric grabbed a rock and chucked it at the deathbeak, his back to the tablets.
I shook my head, blood filling my mouth. “Osric!” I croaked. “Get back to the palace. GO!”
"KRUKK!" The deathbeak leaned forward and tilted its armored head in front of me. It clattered its armored beak in warning as its talons pressed deeper into my flesh. “DHRRUUUMM-THA-KRAAAK-KRRRUUMMM?—”
The deathbeak's shriek cut off mid-note, strangled into a wet gurgle.
A shadow slammed into it from above. The weight on my back vanished as the creature was torn away, hurled sideways across the salt flats. It tumbled twice before going still, its neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Two vines groped up, wrapped around the corpse, and dragged it in.
My head spun, another wave of nausea twisting through me. I didn’t even have the strength to push myself up.
Vetle landed between me and the chasm in a crouch, his skeletal wings flared wide, shadows pouring from him like smoke. "Sabine,” he rasped. He was at my side before I could blink, dropping to his knees. His hands hovered over me, trembling. "Don't move. Don't fade."
“Osric—” I tried to speak, but my mouth filled with blood. I choked. The world tilted sideways, grey earth and dark sky blending together.
"He’s safe. My guard is here too. You focus on breathing. Stay with me." His command was steel wrapped in terror. "Look at me. Sabine, look at me."
I tried. My vision swam, his face blurring into streaks of grey and shadow. Behind him, the storm-dark sky churned, lightning forking through the clouds in jagged white veins.
The thunder of wings filled the air—heavy, powerful beats that sent dust swirling around us. I turned my head just enough to see them: a dozen winged guards descending in formation, their dark wings cutting through the ash-grey sky. They landedin a protective circle around us, weapons drawn, eyes scanning for threats.
"Fahlda!" Osric's voice pierced through the haze. His feet pounded across the earth as he skidded to a stop beside us.
I gasped, each breath a knife in my lungs. The cold spread through my thigh, numbing and sharp at the same time. My teeth chattered so hard I thought they'd crack.
"Osric, stay back—" Vetle started.
But the boy was already there, dropping to his knees beside us. His face was streaked with tears and dirt, his amber eyes huge. "Is she—will she be all right? Fahlda, will she?—"
"She will be." Vetle's tone left no room for debate. “But you need to go back with Baza and Teias.”
I focused on his face. The stitches pulled tight across his jaw, his amber eyes wild with something I'd never seen there before. Fear. Raw, undiluted fear. Then I managed to twist to look at Osric. “M allright.” The words slurred as blood spilled from my lips. I couldn’t breathe. Vetle’s shadows wrapped around me, not pressing into the wounds yet but squeezing along them enough to stop or at least slow the bleeding.
I understood.
This wasn’t something Osric should see.
"Osric." A guard with a gentle baritone voice stepped forward. His wings folded tight against his back, and his hand rested lightly on Osric's shoulder. "Come with me. Let His Majesty help the princess."
"But, Baza—" Osric's voice broke. "I can't just leave her! She needs me."
"You're not abandoning her," Vetle said sharply. He ducked his head, then squared his shoulders. He softened his voice, speaking steadier and slower. "You are not abandoning her, Osric. I’m here now, and I will take care of her. But your friends back at the palace—they're terrified, and I’m not comforting.You know I might scare them, so I can’t do that. You can. Can you help them for me? Be brave and tell them that we have work to do. Then do whatever Baza says is best. That way Sabine can rest without having to worry about everyone else. That will help her get better. You help them, and I’ll help Sabine."
I tried to speak, to tell Osric it was all right, but my throat felt full of wet cotton. The world slid sideways, the dark dots taking up more of my vision as my hearing went in and out.
"We’ll bring you to see her as soon as everything is taken care of," Baza said. "I promise. But right now, the best thing you can do for her is let His Majesty work. All right?"
Osric nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks as his mouth trembled. He reached out and touched my hand, his fingers bruised and cold. "I won’t draw anything ever again if you die.” He spoke tightly as he tried not to cry anymore.
