Chapter Twenty-Eight
Skylar Cathal
The golden gaze of the massive roc blazed with fury.
Gilen moved so fast I narrowly dodged being snapped in two, leaping to the right and rolling into a balanced crouched position near the tree line. My knee buckled underneath me, but I gritted my teeth, ignoring the sting of pain, willing it to stay in one piece.
Shit, where did I leave my bow?
I spun, trying to locate my weapon, but Gilen lashed out before I had time to find it. His deadly, sharpened beak cracked inches above my neck as I avoided another assault. My pulse raced as my animal surged within me, feeling the depth of Gilen’s power and fighting back against his will.
“Submit!” Gilen called out.
His command struck me like monstrous waves colliding against the sea cliffs. The force of it alone caused other shifters in the surrounding area to take a knee or drop their heads in a submissive stance.
He was trying to force me into submission, but it would never work.
Pivoting on the balls of my feet, I sprinted toward the safety of the forest at a hobbled run, heading toward a cluster of thick brush along the eastern area of the training field.
I dove headfirst into the mass of vegetation, towering trees providing a layer of protection from overhead, using one of Gilen’s strengths to my advantage.
I heard his roc’s song of frustration skitter across the ferns and brush that encased me.
The thick cottonwoods prevented him from scooping me up with his talons.
He was too large to fit between the trees.
I scurried through the shrubbery, trying to steal a second from his hunt to locate my bow on the training field.
I was a gods-damned moron for thinking it was a good idea to take it off in the first place.
A low vibration began creeping along my senses. The melody of drums… No, correction, it was the pounding of massive wings resonating overhead.
I peered into the sky, searching for Gilen. The thundering of his wingbeats physically took me aback, each powerful flap of golden feathers causing the surrounding foliage to bend to his presence.
I swallowed heavily as I tried to remain calm. Imagining the three-foot talons sharpened to dangerous points did not help. More lethal than a sword or the dagger that I had strapped to my side.
The robust branches overhead created a protective barrier, but I knew it wouldn’t be long until he found an opening. I had seconds, possibly minutes, to figure out a plan.
I needed to find my bow.
“Where the… Ah-ha!” I exclaimed, locating my prize in the clearing. “There you—”
My timeline was shorter than I thought.
Gilen utilized his speed from a free fall and the strength of his armored feathers to break through. The cracking sound of branches followed the body of a massive roc barreling through the treetops.
I was cornered.
Thankfully, two strong cottonwoods with a diameter wider than I was tall stood between us. Gilen reached his head through the barrier and screamed at me. His beak snapped at my heels as I began crawling through the brush.
“Gods,” I cursed with a groan. “Not devil’s club.”
Not only were the stems covered in noxious, irritating spines, but the large palm leaves were as well. Still, I pushed on, crawling to the northern end of the field where my bow lay in wait next to the alpha dagger.
I could hear Gilen crashing through the trees behind me. He was deadly and graceful in the skies in his roc form, but here on land and in the thick brush, he was at a disadvantage.
Seeing the clearing come into view, I surged onward. My exposed skin was irritated from the thorns, but thankfully, my stubbornness didn’t allow it to slow me down.
A rush of magic exploded behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I could no longer see the golden feathers of the roc buried within the trees.
Shit, Gilen shifted back into his human form.
In a heightened state of urgency, I broke through the final layers of undergrowth and burst into the open field. I dove, somersaulting forward as I tried to regain my balance. Righting myself, I located my bow and quiver lying in the tall grass.
“Skylar!” Shaw’s voice rang out in warning.
Gilen was right behind me, retaking his roc form once he cleared the forest. I pushed onto my feet, my boots digging into the dirt as I sprinted for my life.
How fast was Gilen able to shift?
I didn’t have to ponder that question for long because, in my next step, I felt a wave of his magic build behind me as he shifted once again.
Gods above, he was powerful. If I weren’t running for my life in a challenge for alpha, I would’ve paused to admire the speed at which he could transition between his two forms. Gilen’s control over his magic was impressive, but then again, so was mine.
I was only three strides away from my silver bow, three lengths from a weapon I knew I could use to win this. Three steps away from—
A massive shadow blocked the moonlight, like something had reached up and extracted the luminous idol from the sky. The deep pounding of golden wings echoed across the field, ringing in my ears like claps of thunder from above, drowning out the rest of the world.
I was so close.
Bending to lean forward, I extended my hand to curl my fingers around the bow and quiver. Just as my hand slid into place, coiling around my salvation in this fight, something else also found its prize.
The wind was knocked out of me as Gilen’s talons clutched me around my middle.
The sharp talons encased me in a vice-like grip as he shot upward into the skies, with me in tow.
The pressure of his hold dug into my chest, squeezing me tightly as the ground drifted away, my bow and quiver dangling in my outstretched hand.
As Gilen soared into the sky, I watched in horror as the arrows tumbled out of the quiver, skittering across the earth below.
“No!” I rasped as Gilen’s talons attempted to penetrate my chest.
Gilen squawked in protest, hovering as his head tilted down to investigate. With one hand, I held a death grip on my bow as I reached for a dagger with my other.
The honey-colored stare of my childhood best friend was foreign to me. I could see in his eyes that he would not hesitate in this fight. He was ready and willing to kill me. Understanding this, I readied myself and struck true, my blade slicing deep within the golden stare I thought I knew so well.
Gilen roared in pain. The high-pitched howl shattered my eardrums, and I was… Oh Gods, I was falling.
“Ahhh!” I screamed, free-falling through the open sky.
Gods, I wished I had Daxton’s teleporting magic.
This was going to hurt.