Page 60 of Renegade Queen
Thrashing in her grip, I tried to make enough room to pull the sword free. It was doing me no good where it was now. Killing her clearly wasn’t an option, but I’d like to know how well she’d do if I took off one of her arms or, preferably, a leg.
Not the best thought I’d ever had, but these were desperate times.
Pulling back from her just made the claws on her hands dig deeper. I’d worry about that later, though, because my biggest problem right now was the slow and drawn-out death that was starting to look more and more inevitable. I could almost deal with that if it didn’t mean the guys would share the same fate.
As my thoughts turned to the men fighting behind me, an angry roar filled the air. It was filled with so much rage that a shiver ghosted down my spine in response. But this wasn’t the roar I’d heard echoing around my garage so many times. This one belonged to someone else, and as I realised that, the maiden was torn from my grasp as a flash of golden fur barrelled past me.
I staggered from the sudden loss of her deadly support, feeling the effects of having my magic slowly torn from my body. My head swam for a second, and I sucked in a breath that wasn’t lined with the underlying hint of death that had emanated from the maiden.
Hands came to my shoulders, but these were soft and gentle. I felt a strong grip pull me away, I didn’t fight it. I knew it was one of them and that it was time to run.
But I couldn’t bring myself to look away from the scene before me. The lion started to circle the maiden in front of me, and she bared her teeth, hissing at the animal that had taken away her meal. The lion roared in response, a swipe of his massive paw darting out and colliding with her body.
She staggered to the side, but before she could right herself and try and counterattack, Tank’s bear was on her, and his teeth latched onto the back of her neck, pulling her backward and off balance.
I darted forward, my hands reaching out as I wanted to scream at him how dangerous it was to touch her.
I saw the flicker of a smile on her face as she thought she’d gained the upper hand again. It quickly morphed into a scream as the jaws of Maddox’s lion latched onto her shoulder.
The tearing sound that followed wasn’t one I’d forget any time soon. She screeched and thrashed, but neither man let up until Maddox had torn free the part he’d latched hold of. Only then did Tank’s bear throw her away from them.
The maiden splashed into the water of the swamp a raging ball of anger. But for the first time since this whole thing had started, I could have sworn I saw fear in her eyes.
When she clambered back to her feet, what seemed like an army of skeletons rose behind her. She crouched down, hissing in fury as she sized us up.
I could feel the insistent tug of whichever man was behind me now, and I knew they would try and pull me behind them. But displaying weakness wasn’t the way to go here. We needed to be strong. We needed to show her that this wasn’t a fight she wanted to get into.
I wrenched free of the grip on my shoulder and was surprised to hear Ryder’s muttered curse behind me. He stayed close enough to be my new shadow as I stalked forward, standing between the bear and the lion, facing her down.
The world stood still as we braced for a fight. We were outnumbered, and I was starting to wonder whether I was the one that was the group’s liability. But then the fog wrapped around the skeletons, and they slowly faded from view.
The maiden clutched at her ragged shoulder, casting an evil glare over our group, before she slowly backed away with them.
None of us moved. I could hear the heaving pants of Ryder coming from behind me and found myself leaning back a fraction, seeking the comfort of his touch. When his arm slipped around my waist, I swear my heart started racing for an entirely different reason.
“Let’s not wait around for her to regroup. We need to get the fuck out of here,” Dean said.
When I turned around, I was surprised to see him sliding a skull off his sword and dumping it back into the water, where it sunk out of sight.
“This way,” Fizzle called from overhead, “You’re not too far from the land.”
“Hmmm, convenient that you were up there for all the fighting,” Dean grumbled. Unfortunately for him, it was loud enough for Fizzle to hear.
“I told you this was insanity. Don’t expect me to die alongside you. Anyway, there’s no way I’m getting that filth on my fur,” Fizzle huffed.
He might have been making out like he wouldn’t have gotten involved now, but I knew Fizzle. If it had looked like we wouldn’t survive, he would have done whatever he could to save me. Not sure about the guys, but he’d definitely be on my side.
We moved quickly, wading through the swamp waters. Every time my foot was sucked into the mud, I flinched, waiting for those bony hands to creep up my body again.
Maddox slunk up to my side, and I took the opportunity to sink my fingers into his fur. When his massive head swung in my direction, I didn’t shrink away. I knew the man inside the beast, and he would never hurt me. Of that, I was sure.
His lion was massive, coming nearly to my shoulder, which he gently bumped with his head.
Tank’s bear followed closely behind, and I smiled across at him. Maddox would probably be freaking out right now, and it said a lot that Tank was there to support him through it. I knew he’d been worried about the idea of a pack for the guys and how the shift would go, but I could already see them gelling together as a group. I doubted a pack would ever be something they had to worry about, not when they had each other. Their bonds ran deep no matter what form they were in.
And if we were going to survive this, maybe bonds were what we needed. Even if they were dangerous ones to form.
Chapter 27