Page 252 of A Warrior's Fate

“Go get Ameera and Rhydian. Tell no one else. Now.”

He moved without another word, and Isla wasted no more time. She shifted. The sounds of her snapping and cracking, groaning and knitting briefly filled the cavern. Enough so that she knew a bak’s keen ears would detect it. They’d be coming back soon.

Stretching out her wolf’s limbs was hopeless as her new larger form took up most of the space, but she shook out her fur, let the power and strength and peace overrun her body before the ferocity did.

There was a tap at her mental wall.

Oh no.

Another tap—then a pounding.

Bracing herself, she brought the barrier down.

“Isla.”

She nearly broke hearing his voice, edged with panic. Over her or—

In an instant, she felt Kai shift too.

Any opening ceremonies and formalities must’ve ended. The fight was about to start.

“Kai.”

“Where are you?” His tone was a growl.

If she told him he’d try to leave, he’d worry more. It would distract him, and she couldn’t describe it if she tried. Rhydian and Ameera would get here if worst came to worst. It would all be okay.

“They’re coming,” the killer muttered, tightening their hold on their blade.

Isla tried to keep herself as calm as possible. “It’s just a run,” she said. “I—I couldn’t sit in there.” Horrible. She should’ve been in there to support him. “I love you.”

Something changed within the bond before she could say anything else. Overwhelming and powerful, it nearly stole her breath away.

It had started.

He was fighting.

He would walk out alive or die right there. She may never see him again. Never hear him. Never—

The hurried scrape of nails against stone cut her panicked thoughts off, and Isla slammed that mental door closed and launched herself from the passageway’s mouth.

The bak weren’t expecting them at all or from above. With the element of surprise, both Isla and the killer made quick work of two of them, a clean deep slice from their blade and a ferocious tearing from Isla’s maw. Black blood sprayed, splattering on her fur, among the crystal, and then became a steady flow down the rock. But as she spat out the acrid flesh of the first beast she’d killed, Isla saw, to her horror, that they’d gained a friend.

Two more stood before them.

You only said three! She wanted to scream at the killer but knew they’d never hear. And there was no time to be upset about anything.

Quick, quick, quick.

Isla had faced the beasts more times than many by now, and though it was still a challenge, she was growing used to the rapid thinking, the movements. How they always swept down with their claws, never up. How they rooted themselves to lunge for their attacks. How they couldn’t see past a certain point in their vision. Their weaknesses.

While Isla’s wolf was large, they were even grander, and the crossroads had limited space for the four of them all to fit. So, Isla lunged, forcing her bak to fall back into its companion, leading to enough of a slip that she found her opening.

She leaped for the monster’s throat, sending it toppling back, making it ram into the other, pushing it to the side.

A mistake.

A horrible mistake, she realized while tearing through her bak’s neck.

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