15. Aryn
Aryn
“Hey,” a voice whispers, far too close to my face for comfort. It pulls me from a dead sleep as I shoot upright, eyes snapping open as I reach for my blade.
“Whoa, relax,” Cato whispers from where he’s crouched beside me. “It’s just me.”
“Dear gods, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” I mutter. I blink the last of the sleep away to find him with his lips pulled tight and forehead bunched between his brows.
One shoulder lifts in a sheepish shrug. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Now that my vision has adjusted to the dark, I glance around and find the others fast asleep. The sky is at its darkest, with only the Twin Moons visible. Their position on the horizon tells me there’s another hour until dawn.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
Cato bites at his bottom lip, then scratches his beard before he glances over his shoulder toward the woods. “I keep thinking I hear something.”
I push my sleeping bag back and shove my feet into my boots. “Something like what?”
“I don’t know… footsteps? Maybe?”
“What kind? Animals or people?” I ask impatiently as he leads me away from where the others are sleeping. I shouldn’t be so short with him, but I’m cranky after only a few hours of rest. And, if I’m being completely honest with myself, his dismissive attitude towards me earlier still stings.
Cato tosses an annoyed glance over his shoulder as we approach the edge of the trees. “I’m not sure. I keep hearing the snow crunch, and earlier there were a few limbs shaking. It’s probably just an animal passing through. We’ve seen a lot of different tracks.”
I hum thoughtfully as I scan the trees for movement. “Most dangerous predators won’t make a lot of noise.”
“That’s kind of what I was thinking at first,” he says, scrunching his nose against the cold, “but I keep hearing it from different directions.”
My attention snaps to him. “Like they’re circling?”
“Yeah, maybe. Scouting or surrounding.”
My instincts take over as I let myself go perfectly still, listening for anything beyond the shifting of leaves in the wind.
After a long, tense couple of minutes, I hear it—the soft, rhythmic crunch of snow followed by a barely there quiver of a branch.
It’s so faint, I’m shocked Cato caught it at all.
His eyes meet mine, and I nod in the direction of the sound.
We step into the woods together, and I marvel at the silent way he moves his body.
He steps lightly, pressing his toes into the snow to dampen the sound, and is careful not to brush against a limb or stray branch that might give us away.
He readies his weapon at the same time I pull mine out, and we creep closer to the gnarled trunk that seems to be the source of the noise.
We meet eyes and nod once, then step around on opposite sides.
Nothing.
I glance down at the ground and crouch, inspecting the paw prints pressed into the snow. “Well, it’s not people,” I whisper, keeping my voice low. “That’s a good thing.”
He crouches beside me, measuring the size of the footprint. “Yeah. Doesn’t seem very big.”
“Big doesn’t always mean dangerous,” I retort. “Size isn’t everything.”
He snorts a quiet laugh. “Size is a lot of things, darlin’.”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you?”
He sizes me up for a second before a smirk slides onto his mouth. “A touch defensive, are we?”
I lift a brow and fight my smile. “Compensating much, are we?”
Another huff escapes him, forming a visible cloud of cold air between us. “I’m letting the attitude slide this time since I woke your ass up.”
A sharp sound cracks from our left, and the playfulness vanishes instantly. Cato’s voice drops to an urgent whisper. “Should we follow it?”
I glance back toward the distant silhouettes of the others, barely visible through the trees.
They’re sleeping, completely defenseless out here, and something in my gut warns that splitting up would be a mistake.
“No. It could be nothing, or it could be something trying to draw us away from the group. We’re safer staying together. ”
“Yeah, okay,” he agrees, knuckles tight around the grip of his machete.
We tiptoe our way back toward the treeline, boots deliberately soft against the snow. Another rustle comes, closer this time.
Cato tenses. “Maybe I should check the woods while you keep watch here—”
“No,” I insist, the word coming out sharper than I mean it to. “We stay together.”
He sets his jaw, gaze fixed on the darkness. I brace for the inevitable argument, for that stubborn spark to flare, but he only lets out a long, irritated sigh and turns his back to the woods.
Twin points of silver-green light appear in the shadows between the trees. For half a heartbeat, I mistake them for nothing more than moonlight glinting off the ice, but they lunge forward with terrifying speed.
A massive khraelyx explodes from the darkness, its jaws gaping unnaturally wide.
Jagged fangs fill its mouth, gleaming like shards of blackened glass in the moonlight, and midnight fur ripples over lean, powerful muscle as the creature leaps.
It’s longer and far more lethal than any Earth predator, with coiled haunches and a tail that ends in a fan of razor spines.
Those glowing eyes lock onto Cato’s exposed back with cold, intelligent hunger, finally closing in on the prey it’s been stalking.
My tail snaps out on pure instinct, snaring his upper arm and yanking him sideways with everything I have.
Cato stumbles with a startled shout as the beast crashes into me instead.
White-hot pain erupts where its fangs sink deep into my shoulder, tearing through the hide of my coat and ripping into my flesh.
I cry out, knees buckling under its weight as I stagger to stay upright.
Its snarl rips out in a low, rattling growl as those gnarled, lethal teeth sink deeper.
The creature thrashes like it might separate my shoulder from the rest of my body, shaking me until its bite drills straight into bone.
The pain is unbearable, traveling up my spine and spreading through my muscles like it’s shattering every nerve along the way.
My body sways as hot, feverish sweat drips down my forehead, but I lock my legs and fight through it.
I force myself to keep searching the treeline, my heart hammering high in my throat as I remember a very important fact.
Khraelyx are pack hunters.
“Cato!” I bellow as more silver-green eyes flare to life in the darkness. Four additional beasts burst from the trees in eerie coordination, drawn straight to the scent of blood pouring from my shoulder.
Cato roars and swings his machete, knocking one back with a slice across its face.
He whirls to me, impossibly light on his feet, before driving the hilt into the one latched onto my shoulder.
It shrieks as it leaps away, and the impact throws me off balance.
I hit the snow hard, fighting the swarms of light sparkling in front of my vision, but Cato’s battle cry is enough to summon my strength.
I roll to my feet, blade drawn as another launches itself at him.
My tail lashes out, cracking across the creature’s muzzle and throwing off its attack.
“Get back to the others!” I shout, driving my sword through its neck even as the pain in my shoulder screams with every motion.
“No fucking chance,” Cato growls, planting himself stubbornly at my side. Blood drips down my arm, staining the snow dark beneath us as we stand back-to-back with our blades raised. The pack circles us now, moving like liquid shadows along the ground.
“What the hell did I say when we passed through that portal?” he asks, lunging at one that dares to inch closer.
“You said plenty,” I manage through a heavy exhale. “Most of it was complaining.”
A low, determined chuckle rumbles out of him, and he reaches back without looking to give my thigh a heavy pat. “I’ve got your back. You got mine?”
“Always,” I answer.
The largest one—the clear leader—lowers its head, lips peeling back from those cruel fangs in a snarl.
Its warbling yowl echoes through the frozen night, so otherworldly it makes goosebumps lift along my arms. The beast charges straight at us and I rush forward to meet it, pushing through the way my injured shoulder flames in protest. I drive my sword deep into its throat before its jaws can close around me, and blood sprays across the snow as it collapses.
Cato fights like a solid wall at my side, his machete swinging in wide, powerful arcs that keep two more khraelyx at bay.
“Left!” he barks.
I spin without question, my tail whipping out to intercept the one leaping toward Cato’s side. The impact jars my wounded shoulder so badly that my vision blurs for a moment, but I manage to slash downward and open a deep gash along its flank. The creature screeches and retreats into the trees.
We fall into a rhythm like we’ve always done it this way.
He uses his raw strength to batter them back, keeping their attention on him while I dart to finish them.
One khraelyx tries to flank us, but when it leaps for me, Cato snatches it midair by the scruff and slams it into the ground.
Another clamps onto my boot, but I drive my heel into its jaw until I feel bone crack beneath the force.
The few that survive turn and flee into the darkness just as Ronan and Lillith come crashing through the trees toward us. “Are you hurt?” I demand, yanking Cato’s arm away from his torso to check for injuries.
“No… no, Aryn, I’m fine. We need to—”
“What happened?” Ronan demands as he reaches us, nostrils flaring and pupils widening at the sight of blood steadily dripping from my arm into the snow.
The cold sinks deeper into my bones until I can’t hold back my shiver.
“Khraelyx… a whole pack…” Exhaustion makes the world move in slow motion, my breath roaring in my ears as I fight the urge to close my eyes.
I should feel heavy after the fight, but my arms feel like they’re floating and my heart that should be pounding slows beneath my ribs.
I toss my head back and forth, my thoughts sloshing together. “They’re gone now, we… we…”
“Aryn!” Cato shouts as the world goes fuzzy.
My knees buckle as the ground tilts beneath me.
Strong arms catch me before I can fall, and Cato hauls me against his chest. His body is solid against mine, powerful enough that I know he can handle my weight.
The thud of his heart booms against my ear, pounding so heavily that I can feel it through both our coats.
“Hey, I’ve got you,” he mutters, voice rough. “Got your back, just like I said. Stay with me, okay?”
I clutch weakly at his sleeve, trying to push myself upright, but my legs refuse to hold.
Cato shifts me more securely against his side, his words growing distant even though his mouth is right by my ear.
“He was bitten. It got his shoulder pretty fucking bad. He lost a lot of blood while we were fighting.”
Someone shouts for Taryn and calls for a fire, but I only press deeper into the warmth of Cato’s chest. “Cold,” I mumble against him.
“Can you walk?” he asks. I nod, but when I try to take a step, my legs turn to jelly beneath me. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Up you go.” There isn’t enough strength left in me to protest as he lifts me into his arms and carries me back toward camp.
“Thank you… for not leaving,” I manage, the words barely more than a breath.
“And let you have all the fun? What kind of hero would I be if I left the damsel there to fend for himself?” His voice carries its usual teasing edge, but it’s sharper right now—forced and afraid.
“Fuck you,” I rasp with a weak laugh, only for it to cut off in a groan as fresh pain lances through my shoulder.
“Although, if I’d known how heavy you were, this might’ve gone another way.”
Another vicious stab arcs down my spine, bringing with it a flash of memory. I grip his shirt tighter, breath hitching. “Venom,” I gasp. “Their fangs…”
“Shit. Okay—Ronan!” Cato calls out, far more panicked. “He says their teeth are venomous.”
Ronan curses sharply. “Fuck, I’d forgotten…
Aryn.” His face is suddenly much closer, voice urgent.
“There’s an antidote, right?” I give a weak nod, the world already slipping into a hazy fog around me.
“I don’t remember what it is,” Ronan growls.
“I need you to help me here.” His palm cracks against my cheek, the shock of it forcing my eyes open again.
Pain flares like lightning, racing down into my fingertips as Cato yanks me tighter against his chest. “Don’t fucking touch him!”
“He has to stay awake, Cato,” Ronan argues, steady but strained. “He’s the only one who knows the antidote. Unless he can tell me what to look for, we’re going to be in real trouble.”
I try to lift my head, to focus on Ronan, but the image doubles and sways.
My eyes slip closed again as dizziness rolls into nausea.
“There’s a…” I swallow hard, my tongue thick and clumsy in my mouth.
“Under the bark of the trees. A lichen. Dark brown… with yellow tips. Make a poultice and… and a tea.”
“On it,” Taryn’s voice answers, footsteps already crunching away through the snow.
I tug weakly at Cato’s shirt, pulling him closer as consciousness flickers. “Rha khor…”
“What was that, darlin’?” he asks, the words spoken against my hair. “All that shouting and showing off earlier, and now you’ve lost your voice?”
A frail laugh escapes me. “Show off… you’re the show off.” Another violent shiver tears through me, leaving me trembling against him. “Cato… I’m cold.”
His arms flex around me as he draws me in even tighter, instinctively trying to share his warmth. “We’re getting the fire going right now. Stay awake for me, alright? Can you do that?” I groan, eyelids too heavy to fight as they drift closed.
“Hurry the fuck up!” Cato bellows into the night. “I’m losing him!”
“Fire,” I mumble into the solid heat of his chest. “Wildfire…”