Chapter 23 #4
As if I needed one more problem, the heavy flakes slowed, revealing a gigantic gray wolf, his fur tipped with brown.
I’d seen ponies that were smaller than this thing.
My breath shuddered in my chest as my nightmare from the night before came flooding back.
The wolf growled again, low in its throat, as it balanced on the ledge. And then it leapt.
My scream died in my throat as, just like in my nightmare, it leapt over me.
Snarling, snapping, it surged back and forth in front of me, as a dark shape materialized through the blizzard.
Hufen. As I went to stand, the wolf whipped its head over its shoulder, its orange eyes flashing as it snapped at me, as if telling me to stay down.
The hufen swiped at it and it leapt back, never leaving its protective stance in front of me.
The sounds of the battle were muffled by the falling snow. I had no idea what was happening beyond my immediate vision.
“Lexa!” I heard Griff’s fear in my head. How did he do that?
But there was no time to ponder as I reflexively tugged on the thread connecting us, hoping he’d feel the bright link and follow the path.
Ideally, before the wolf decided to eat me.
As if it heard that thought, the wolf glanced over at me, something in its expression causing me to stay down.
It continued bobbing and weaving through the deep snow, confusing the hufen.
The battle sounds increased and then Griff was there, twin swords flashing through the snow to decapitate the hufen in a single movement.
As soon as Griff appeared, the wolf turned and came toward me. Instinctively, I raised a hand toward the wolf, even as my brain screamed that it was about to be bitten off. It nudged my hand once, its snout surprisingly warm, before bounding off, silently disappearing into the blizzard.
“Lexa!” Griff was searching around in the snow, shouting my name. The blizzard was so thick now that I could barely make out his shape.
“I’m here!” My mental voice was weak, but I gave another tug on that thread.
I made it mostly to standing, clinging to a small tree to remain upright, the blow from the rock still scrambling my balance.
He reached me in a heartbeat, sweeping me off my feet and into his arms. The abrupt change in position made my already dizzy head ache. His eyes raked over me, assessing instantly where I was hurt.
“Where’s the wolf?” I asked, dazed.
“Wolf?”
“There was a wolf. He was here. Protecting me.” I knew I was babbling but couldn’t stop it.
“Finn!”
My head hurt with Griff’s mental scream. A second later, Finn crashed through pine trees to us and reached for Griff’s shoulder. Instantly, Griff spun us away, and we were home.
We landed hard in the yard outside the castle, shaking snow loose. Finn stumbled a bit before righting himself, but Griff was solid. Unmoving. But I could tell underneath everything he was deeply disturbed.
The courtyard was busy, people going about their everyday business, unbothered by the three snowy figures that had appeared in their midst. As though it was a common occurrence for the princess and her two companions to appear out of thin air, frozen solid and breathing heavily.
Everything here at the castle was just how we’d left it, as if we hadn’t just been fighting for our lives in a blizzard.
The change of temperatures was a shock to the system.
Even though it wasn’t warm at the castle, it was certainly more comfortable than where we had just been.
“What the fuck happened back there?” Finn said, staring at the two of us in shock.
Griff gently lowered me to standing. I moved out of the cradle of Griff’s arms, stumbling, and he was right there next to me again, arm around my waist. I shook my head to clear some of the dizziness.
“I had been hoping you’d know,” I said.
Finn shook his head. “That’s a few times now that one of the hufen has been cognizant of what is happening, rather than the usual mindless killers.”
“It’s happening more and more,” Griff said quietly. “And no one knows why or how. Clearly, they’re not hufen. They’re something else.”
Finn scrubbed his hand through his hair, dislodging clumps of snow.
“I’ll look into it. We must have a record somewhere of what this is.
” He hit me on the shoulder, and I stumbled heavily into Griff, who caught me and glared at his brother.
“That was some masterful casting, Lexie. Even I barely felt the wards you flung over us as we entered the cabin.”
Finn the teacher was back, and I was appreciative of the normalcy it brought.
“I’m just glad it worked,” I said softly.
Finn pursed his lips and let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know about you guys, but that’s enough for one day. I’m getting drunk.”
As the adrenaline drained out of my system, I felt unnaturally light. Clearly, alcohol was what I needed. “Drinks sound good.”
I glanced up at Griff to gauge his reaction. The smile he offered me didn’t meet his eyes, preoccupied with the death of another friend. “I’ll follow you, Princess.”