Page 46 of Forged By Heart and Claws
A hulking beast barreled toward Rhielle, fangs gleaming and eyes burning.
Vad swung his sword in a low circle and cleaved the wolf’s throat with a single motion. It collapsed at Rhielle’s feet, the shadow mist evaporating around her boots.
But more were pouring through the holes, making this a war zone.
Two wolves already lay dead on the floor, but eight moresurged in, their snarls rumbling so deep that my ribs ached. The air burned hot, metallic, and thick with death.
My throat closed. I didn’t have a weapon, but I couldn’t stay where I was.
Lips peeled back, a shadow wolf snapped its head toward Quen and Thalira. My stomach knotted, and I bolted toward them, my bare feet slapping stone.
Thalira was sprawled limply on the stone floor with her eyes closed. Blood poured from a wound in her neck and soaked the front of her dark-blue dress. Quen crouched next to her, pressing her hands over Thalira’s chest and throat and sobbing, ragged and desperate. Blood leaked through her hands.
“Watch out!” I screamed, launching myself between them and the oncoming wolf.
I slammed into its ribs with my shoulder, making sure that it didn’t get anywhere close to the women. We crashed to the floor, the air knocked from my lungs as I landed on top of the snarling monster.
Its breath reeked of rot, and I gagged and drove my forearm into its throat, forcing its snapping jaws away from my face. Its claws tore into my shoulder, and hot, sharp pain flared down to my fingertips.
But I didn’t let up.
Instead, I pressed harder, grinding my knee into its ribs. The wolf’s eyes glowed brighter, and it opened its mouth wide as if ready to end me. I didn’t have anything to stop it from reaching my throat, and I gritted my teeth, knowing I had to fight as long as I could to have a chance to survive.
The shadow wolf jerked, the force of its spasm catching me off guard. My arms weakened as a dark blur flashed in the corner of my eye. The wolf’s head fell from its body.
A sickeningcrunchechoed in my ears, and a hand yanked me back to my feet. Vad towered over me, a deep scowl on his face. Shadow mist drifted off his blade, confirming he’d been the one to behead the wolf.
His grip remained urgent. “Stay behind me!”
My arm stung, and blood ran from my new scratch, but there were too many for me to retreat. “I’m not going anywhere,” I snapped, already scanning for the next wolf.
I looked across the room and saw Elias standing over Quen and Thalira with a dented pot gripped in his trembling hands. Broth stained the floor, mixing with Thalira’s blood. His eyes were wide and glassy with terror, but he held his ground, swinging wildly whenever a wolf crept too close. The clang of metal against bone rang out, causing the wolves to hunker back.
To their left, Silus had planted himself like a wall in front of Elara. His sword hissed through the air as he slashed at two wolves closing in. Blood streaked his cheek, but he didn’t flinch. Behind him, Elara clawed at the wall, trying to rise. Her face was pale but furious, and her wings fluttered in sharp, panicked bursts. She clutched a bloodied dagger awkwardly, a sword lying forgotten at her feet.
Vyraetos caught a wolf’s snapping jaws against the edge of his dagger. His muscles bulged as he pushed it back, snarling. “The shadow beasts have gone mad!” He forced the beast off balance and slammed it to the floor.
At the far edge of the chamber, Veralt grappled with one of the wolves, holding it by the throat. It writhed, claws tearing bloody streaks across his forearms, but he squeezed harder until its neck gave way with a brutalsnap. He hurled the limp corpse into another charging beast and dove toward the pile of discarded weapons.
Rhielle ducked beneath a lunging wolf, her tattered gown fluttering like a flag of war. Her sword flashed clean through a beast’s flank. Her jaw was tight, and her eyes held steady as she spun into her next strike.
Another wolf forced its way through the pulsing gash nearest Quen. It lunged, and with a cry of pure rage, she punchedit square in the snout. Bone cracked beneath her fist. The beast reeled, stunned, and cowered away. Quen collapsed over Thalira’s body again, her shoulders shaking as she once more pressed hard against the wound in our friend’s neck.
My gaze snapped to Thalira’s still form, and I sobbed.
Hands drenched in blood, Quen looked at me. “I can’t stop the bleeding. She won’t stop bleeding, Briar!”
I rushed to them, slipping in the spreading pool of crimson. A wolf snarled nearby, claws scraping the ground as it circled behind us. I managed to regain my balance and spun around just as Vad linked,Don’t worry.I’ll handle the wolves with the others. Just see if you can help Thalira.
Trusting him, I dropped to my knees and pressed my hands over the wound on Thalira’s chest, and my palms were immediately soaked with slick, hot blood. “Hold her steady,” I choked out, barely hearing myself over the clash of metal and the howls.
A deep gash was cut across the base of Thalira’s throat, the blood no longer pouring but leaking. Her chest wasn’t stirring. Her lips were dull grey, and her eyes were tightly shut. My bottom lip quivered.
“No! Keep the pressure on!” Quen screamed. “She’ll bleed out. We can’t move her until we stop the bleeding.” Quen pressed both her hands over mine against Thalira’s wounds. The heat of Thalira’s blood seeped through our fingers, but her warmth was fading.
She was gone.
“No—no, no, no!” Quen sobbed and shook her head hard. “We can still save her. Just help me?—”
