Page 20 of Forged By Heart and Claws
A bolt stuck out of his side, buried through his already shredded surcoat.
Vad!I snarled, the sound ripping from my throat as my claws skidded across the marble. My jaws snapped at the air, helpless and enraged.
“Vad!” Thalen shouted.
Cries erupted from behind us.
“There they are!” a voice rang out from farther down the corridor. “I hit the prince! I need more bolts!”
I’m fine. Vad tossed the phrase back to me. Gritting his teeth, he shoved the door open. The hinges shrieked in protest as they parted.
He grabbed Silus, who was still carrying Elara, and shoved him through.
The guard at the end of the hall fumbled with his crossbow as he tried to reload. More footsteps pounded from around the corner, closer now.
Vad braced against the doorframe, one hand pressed to his bleeding side, the other clenched around the key ring. His eyes swept over us. Veralt charged through first with Thalira and Yuki. Quen and Vyraetos followed with the lamps, their footfalls harsh and quick. Many-Greats darted in behind them with a worried glance at me, his brow furrowed. Thalen and Myantha darted after them, and I closed the distance.
Vad jerked his head at the door.Inside.
I lunged forward, ears pinned, fur slick with blood.
Twang.
Pain exploded in my hip. Another bolt, buried deep.
A choked yelp ripped from me, and my back legs buckled. I stumbled, the marble sliding out from under me, but I didn’t stop. I dragged myself forward, each step agony. Blood dripped from the wound, trailing in vivid streaks across the floor. No way to hide it. No way to outrun what came next.
Briar?
I’m fine, I bit out through the bond, even though I wanted to collapse.
"Get inside!" Many-Greats shouted.
Vad growled low behind me. His eyes burned like silver flame as he glared down the corridor. “When we meet again,” he shouted at the reloading crossbowman, “You die!”
Two more crossbowmen rounded the corner, weapons raised.
I stumbled past the threshold and into the front hall of the royal chambers, my body screaming. Vad followed me and slammed the door shut.
My legs gave out.
Thalen grabbed a narrow table from beneath a crooked painting and shoved it against the door. Rhielle ran up beside him and stabbed her sword through the handles, locking it tight.
Silus rushed to an alcove and gently laid Elara across one of the black-cushioned couches. Veralt did the same with Thalira and Yuki, his tunic now soaked in blood.
Quen set the oil lamps on the floor and slid to her knees beside me. “You all right there?” Her voice was tight. “Do I need to pull the bolts out?”
Spots swam in my vision. I dropped my head to the cool black marble, my breath wheezing from my lungs. The pulse in my hipthrobbed in time with the aches in my shoulder and side, but I managed a weak head shake. Not yet. I needed to brace myself.
Vad dropped beside me, his hand moving to my neck and muzzle to support my head.What do you need?
Pain flared through the bond in both directions, so sharp it left my vision spotty.Just a few breaths.My mind clawed for focus.I'll shift back. It should heal me.
I didn’t tell him it could also tear me apart. Shifting wasn't safe for me in this state. Not with this many wounds. Not with three bolts buried in me like thorns. But I couldn’t stay like this. I’d shifted during the last trial, when I was nearly as bad off. I could only hope my body would survive it again.
Many-Greats started forward. "We need to have her treated."
"We will. Stay back and let her focus. She'll tell me what she needs." Vad’s hand swept over my head, gentle despite the tension in his jaw.Whatever you need, my love. We’ve got a few minutes.
