Ryn—
I glanced once more at my mate. He was still battling though his head was turned toward me. His anxiety ripped through me, but I’d committed myself. I was determined to see this through. We needed the Phaetyn girl . . . no the Phaetyn needed the Phaetyn girl, and we needed the Phaetyn. More than that, my kinship to her and her mother demanded I do all I could to save her. I wrenched upward, pulling my upper half back into the air as I’d seen Tyrrik do, and I landed on my hind quarters, between the Druman and the Phaetyn girl, poised and ready.
My silent approach must have stunned them, and I seized the advantage. I whipped my tail one way and then the other, lashing out with my spikes. The lead Druman dodged, but I connected with the torso of the second, and he launched into the air, flying far off to the right.
The leader advanced on me, and I snarled at him, baring my fangs. He dodged, advanced, and landed a punch to my left foreleg. Startled by the Druman’s strength, I halted my advance long enough for him to dart past me.
I roared my frustration and twisted to catch him. Snapping a wing out, I caught him on the back of his head. He dropped to the ground, and before he could stand, I stomped my back foot. His bones crunched under the weight, and he thrashed for a moment before his body stilled.
I hoped the Phaetyn girl was running.
Talons, Tyrrik said, reminding me of my other weapons.
You’re supposed to be focused on your problems, I shot back. He still had plenty of Druman to deal with, far too many. I focused on the two remaining Druman before me.
These looked nothing like the Druman in Irdelron’s castle. Those Druman looked human, clean, kempt, civilized. These crossbreeds looked like animals. Their hair was matted and filthy. Their aketons were torn, rumpled, and stained. And the feral look in their eyes made me feel like they were the predators and I was prey. No freakin’ way. I was Drae. A fierce hatred for their kind pulsed through me. I didn’t care if these creatures were slaves to their alpha; I didn’t care if their violent tendencies were enhanced or encouraged. I hated them.
With an earsplitting roar, I reared up. The Druman inched forward, and when I hesitated, they took the bait and rushed me. Just before they attacked, I dropped down, slashing my talons sideways in front of me. Like deadly blades, my claws cut through their flesh and bone as if their bodies were softened butter. Their dark blood gushed, pooling on the rocky ground, and their bodies heaved and then fell still. The Druman stood no chance against Drae. I bellowed my triumph.
Well done.
The strain in Tyrrik’s voice startled me, and I couldn’t help glancing in his direction. He released more flame, but the fire did not extend as far as it had, nor did it burn with the same intensity as it had before. The flames were red and dull, no longer bright and vibrant, and the deeper reds, oranges, and whites were gone. I turned inward, studying the bond between us.
Terror doused me, and I stood ramrod straight. How was that possible? In only a few minutes, the inky black had waned and faded to a hazy gray.
Are you okay? I asked, my alarm holding me captive.
Don’t get distracted.
Too late.
A Druman landed on my shoulder, startling me back to the fight. A heavy pressure pounded on my left and then my right side. The pressure and movement made it impossible to determine if there was one or two of the creatures on me. I mimicked Tyrrik’s earlier movements, bucking and twisting, but the Druman clung tenaciously, and I couldn’t dislodge him.
Tyrrik’s roar rent the air, but he was surrounded by an unrelenting horde and unable to help me.
The Druman crawled up my back; I could feel him pulling himself higher, using the bumps on my spine to aid him. I shook my body, arching and whipping my tail, but he continued to climb. Another Druman appeared and ducked under me to get to the softer side of my underbelly. I shuffled to find him, but he rained blow after blow upon my body. Blistering pain made me see stars, and I screamed.
I fell to the ground, hoping to crush him, but I saw him dart from underneath even before I landed. As I heaved my body up to whirl on him, a root shot from the ground and skewered him through the heart. The Phaetyn girl raced in, hand bleeding, and swiped her hand across his grizzly wound. In the fraction of an instant, black cracks appeared on his chest, climbing up his neck as her toxic blood entered his system. He opened his mouth and vomited black blood before slumping to the ground. When I’d poisoned Jotun, his Drae side had died in seconds, and it was the same for this Druman except, with a wound to his heart, his human side had no chance of surviving.
The Druman on my back reached the base of my neck and wrapped his legs around me. With his feet locked, he punched over and over on both sides. I snarled and boomed in pain. The persistent hammering blows had me seeing red, but I couldn’t find a way to dislodge my opponent and retaliate.
Tyrrik roared in tandem, but he could not reach me. I bent my head to try and escape the Druman, and my vision snagged and halted as I caught my mate’s gaze through the chaos between us. He faced me, frozen at attention, his eyes glowing black. The Druman swarmed him, but he stood still, so distracted by my pain he was unable to fight back. Several of the Druman surrounding him managed to get a rope over his back and then another.
Tyrrik, I snarled. You will not be captured because of me. Fight!
I needed this to be over. One Druman was not going to be my undoing. Out of ideas and unable to dislodge my attacker, I rolled onto my back. My instincts screamed in protest, and I couldn’t hold back the bellow of pain as the fine bones of my wings bore the heavy weight of my reptilian body. I wriggled, still on my back with the Druman pinned, and then repeatedly banged my neck backward until I felt his grip release. I rolled back to my feet and jumped, leaping as high as I could without taking flight. I landed, coming down on the Druman’s head with the full weight of my body, and felt his skull pop beneath me.
“There are no more here,” the Phaetyn girl yelled to me.
I nodded once at her, relieved she recognized me as a friend, while panting to catch my breath. Despite all I’d been told about instincts, I was exhausted by this activity I was so unfamiliar with. How was Tyrrik doing this?
The Druman tossed another rope over Tyrrik, and I took three bounding steps in his direction before pulling up sharp at his menacing words.