Page 55 of Forged By Heart and Claws
More wolves barreled around the bend. Four. Six. Eight. Too many.
“Come on, big man!” Thalen motioned with his hands. “Everyone else, get ready to grab!”
I dropped flat, bracing one arm, reaching with the other. My eyes flicked between Veralt and Vad. I knew Vad would be last. I understood why. But I still hated it.
Veralt ran, boots striking hard on stone, then pushed off Vad’s hands and launched. He hit the ledge hard, his ribs and forearms colliding with the rock. His legs kicked above the drop, and his fingers clawed for purchase but found nothing.
He slid, and we lunged.
Thalen and I dove first, our bodies snapping forward. His weight yanked me painfully down, my bandaged ankle scraping the jagged rock.
Silus dropped beside us, knees slamming into the stone. He caught Veralt’s other arm just as Rhielle flung herself across my back, her hands locking in Veralt’s collar. Her gasping grunts matched the panic blazing through the bond.
Vad was still below.
We heaved together, bodies straining, dragging Veralt over the edge so he wouldn’t block Vad’s path.
Cold tendrils of fear choked me as I linked,Come on!
The bond ignited, Vad’s fear mixing with mine, sharp as a lightning strike. His focus locked on the wolves spilling over the second razor-wire line. One vaulted cleanly over the wire with its claws shrieking against stone as it landed in a crouch. Another followed, yellow eyes burning bright.
As soon as Veralt was clear, I twisted free and flung myself forward.
“Vad!” I screamed, stretching both arms out. “Now!”
He leapt, wings flaring wide just as a wolf lunged and snapped its jaws around the thick leather of his boot, thenslipped with a sharp yelp down into the pit. The jolt knocked Vad sideways, throwing off his flight mid-beat. His wings pumped, strong and desperate, once, but it was too late.
He slammed into the rock face below the ledge with a guttural grunt, his claws raking stone, desperate for a hold. But his boots slipped.
The bond drowned me in rage and terror. His. Mine. One wild, pulsing flood of emotions between us.
I caught his arms, and his hands locked around my shoulders. He pressed his palms flat, keeping his claws from tearing into me, but his weight pulled me down like an avalanche. My ribs ground against the stone. My ankle screamed as it jammed against a jagged rock.
Thalen shot past me in a blur of silver-streaked feathers and caught Vad’s shoulder. Silus lunged in, looping an arm under Vad’s other side. They braced and lifted, wings trembling, muscles corded tight.
“Pull!” Thalen roared.
I hauled with everything I had. Stone shredded my arms. My body burned with strain. Silus’s jaw locked in a grim snarl as we dragged Vad over the edge, one brutal inch at a time.
The wolves barked louder, their howls scraping across the stone walls like a curse. Veralt grabbed my hips and anchored me, grunting from the effort. With one final heave, we yanked Vad up and over.
He collapsed beside me, breath sawing through his chest. I rolled onto my back, gasping, my muscles shaking. Thalen and Silus staggered back, wings half-spread for balance and blood dripping from torn feathers. The shadows from our single oil lamp danced across their strained faces, turning them sharp and hollow.
Below us, the wolves growled, pacing and snarling—too many to count, too angry to back down. One edged toward theledge and sniffed the air, head tossing. Another charged halfway and skidded to a stop just before the wire.
More would come, especially with all the blood here.
Weapons and gear littered the ledge around us, along with two bags and the oil lamps.
I forced myself upright, ignoring the pain flaring in my feet, legs, chest, and back. My body screamed for rest, but I shoved the feeling away and crawled to Vad. My arms wrapped around him tightly. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” I breathed into his neck.
That goes for you as well. You need rest. Don't try to tell me otherwise.His jaw flexed. The ghost of a grin, half snarl, half relief, touched his lips before vanishing. “We need to keep moving.” He spoke loudly, trying to be heard over the ear-shattering noise below us. “We don’t know how many more are coming.”
Silus touched his injured wing, grimacing. “We don’t even know how they’re opening those portals. If they cut us off from the forest?—”
Quen whimpered.
Vad cut him off. “Then we find another way. But we tend wounds first. This is as safe as it’s going to get for now.”
