Page 52 of Forged By Heart and Claws
They’ll try, Vad responded.
The tunnel grew colder, air thinning as he charged deeper into the maze, dodging the occasional stalactites and stalagmites in the cavernous labyrinth. Every time his foot hit the ground, my leg jarred, and pain shot through me until I became nauseated. His grip on me never faltered, but it wasn’t going to be enough. Not with the scent of blood trailing us.
Snarls echoed down the passage, closing in all around us. No direction was safe.
I twisted in his hold, eyes searching the dark beyond the flickering lamplight. I called on my wolf vision, eyes sharpening past the glow. Shadows darted along the far wall with their claws scraping stone.
Too close.
I linked to Vad,More coming. Behind us. At least fifteen now?—
“Vad!” Silus shouted.
“I know.” Vad’s tone was steel. “We won’t outrun them in this corridor. There’s a steep drop-off ahead with a ledge above it that we can climb onto.”
My heart slammed against my ribs, and tears blurred my vision.
“It’s after the next curve in the tunnel, and the opening narrows there. Getting into the elevated access point will be tricky—full wing spans won’t make it, and the stalactites are sharp.” He sighed. “We go one at a time, focusing on the wounded first. Does anyone have razor wire?”
“Quen!” Silus barked. “It’s in the bag with three black bands.”
“Quen, as soon as we get to the drop-off, leave the bag at the edge,” Vad ordered. “No delays.”
The tunnel curved, and as Vad had promised, the ground farther ahead vanished into a pit. A cliff face beyond the pit rose up about ten feet on the far side and then leveled into a narrower ledge and, I assumed, a continuation of the passage. Jagged stalactites hung from the ceiling, and long, sharp rocks resembling teeth framed the opening. It was too narrow for anyone to fly through easily, especially carrying someone.
I judged the trajectory it would take for me to get up there.Don’t fly me. Just throw me.
Fear shot through our bond, and Vad’s jaw tightened even more.
I trust you,I told him.Now trust me.I looked over his shoulder in time to see glowing yellow eyes rounding the bend.
I don’t like this one bit,he growled, but ran to the edge of the drop-off and launched me into the air.
Wind roared past my ears, and my palms slammed into stone, followed by my body, my fingers curling over the lip to hang on. Pain exploded in my injured foot, but I gritted my teeth, trying like hell to ignore it. I hooked my good leg over the top and dragged myself onto the ledge, then rolled flat against the rock. Breath heaving, I turned fast and braced myself at the edge.
Silus flew toward me, carrying Elara, his face red with strain. His dark, feathered wing hit a stalactite. He hissed but powered upward while bracing his feet against a thick ridge on the wall below the ledge. Elara reached for me, and I grabbed her arms and dragged her onto the ledge with a clumsy yank.
“Your ankle!” Elara exclaimed.
“It’s fine,” I rasped. Heat flared through my foot, and the bandage warmed like blood was spilling into it.
Briar, what the feck are you doing? You’re injured!Vad’s horror blew right through me.
Helping our sister. Don’t worry about me—focus on setting a trap.I flung myself back toward the edge just as Quen’s wings sliced into view. She shoved both oil lamps into my hands. “Take these,” she cried.
The glass burned my palms, but I jammed them safely into a nearby crevice. As I ducked back, my head slammed into an outcropping of rock. Stars sparked behind my eyes, but there was no time to react. My pulse thundered in my ears, loud and erratic.
I struggled back to the end of the ledge just as Thalen shoved Myantha through the opening, but her hips and legs remained dangling over the edge. His right wing clipped a stalactite, anda sickeningcrunchechoed. He groaned, blood spilling from the joint of his wing. “Climb over!” he barked through clenched teeth.
Myantha seized the end of the ledge. “Thalen!”
His face twisted and reddened as he fell backward and kicked off the rock. He crashed back onto the path we’d come from on the other side of the abyss, then pushed himself up slowly, grimacing.
Elara grabbed Myantha’s arms and tried to drag her up, but she started to slide with the added weight. Myantha yelped and dug her fingers into any crevice she could reach.
I jolted forward, my ankle screaming as I wrapped my arms around Elara’s waist, preventing her from sliding further. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but my hold didn’t falter. Elara and I leaned back and pulled Myantha to safety while my muscles screamed in protest.
I hate that you’re always getting hurt.Vad tore through Quen’s bag and pulled out the razor wire and pinchers. He darted back toward the bend in the tunnel and looped one end of the wire around a thick stalagmite. With no anchor on the opposite side, he had to stretch the coil diagonally to another stalagmite farther back. Using his claws, he wove the wire between jagged points, tightening and twisting the line fast with quick, brutal movements.
