The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,105

metal armor caved with ease beneath her bite, and the man went down in a spray of blood.

Before the first Sentinel could prepare himself, she turned back to him. And lunged. She snared the man’s head between her teeth. It gave with a sickening crunch, and the body went limp in her maw. Shaking her head, as if in disgust, she backed away from the soldier and sauntered back toward us. She plopped on her haunches and began to meticulously clean her wound.

Relief rushed over me, and I sank to the ground as the last of my strength left me. “Thank goodness they didn’t kill you.”

She paused midlick to give me a bored look. I nearly laughed. Oz and Kost moved to join me, wary gazes locked on the beast before us. She tilted her head their direction for a moment before returning to her cleaning.

“Is it safe?” Oz asked.

“Yeah, I think so. We’d be dead already if it weren’t.” Maybe I was riding a high from escaping the Sentinels, but this time, I did chuckle. My nerves were fried. We still had so many problems, so many urgent problems, but I couldn’t help myself. My body trembled as my adrenaline subsided.

Oz crouched beside me, brows raised. “Okay, then. Let’s take a look at that ankle before the rest of them show up.”

“Quickly,” Kost said, voice tight. “We have no way of knowing when they’ll appear.” After a moment, his gaze slanted to the Nix Ikari. “Why is she still here?”

“I don’t know.” I glanced up at the beast. Her eyes were trained on Oz’s hands as they assessed my ankle. I let out a groan when he stretched it to the left, and her ears stood at attention. Slowly, she leaned forward so her wet nose could kiss my cheek. Rosewood light fractured from my hand and showered us in a soft glow. Connected. The tether surged between us, and a soft purr started in the back of her throat.

My mouth fell open. “What? Why?”

She licked my neck. Right where the Sentinel’s blade had nicked my skin. I didn’t know anything about the taming process for a Nix Ikari. No other Council member had one, and they were so scarce that I’d only heard of the beast in passing. My brow furrowed. I’d provided her easy prey in a desolate landscape with the Azad. Had that been it? No. She would’ve bonded with me then. Other than that, all I did was stop her from attacking Felicks. She’d sunk her fangs into my shoulder and held steady, waiting to see what I’d do.

Something warm sparked in my core. The Sentinel had held his sword against my neck too, and threatened my life. My family’s life. And I’d stood up for them. That was when the Nix Ikari had appeared and chosen to defend me. Just as I had defended Felicks.

“She’s chosen me.” I let out a weak smile.

At that moment, Kost’s expression lit up. Bright eyes raced over the Nix Ikari, and then he turned his gaze to me. “Can she teleport us?”

I nearly kicked Oz from excitement as I jolted in place. “Maybe. I mean, I hope so. Let me send her back to the realm so she can heal and my bestiary will update.” Flexing my hand, I channeled my power and opened the beast realm. She went willingly, and I quickly closed the door behind her. Touching my finger to my pendant, I opened my bestiary and immediately flipped to her entry.

My heart swelled as the script bled to life against the night sky. “Yes. Yes, she can.” My eyes flew over the text. “Normally, she only teleports in short bursts, but it says here that she can travel great distances, though it expends all her energy. She’ll have to recuperate for some time before she can travel more than a few yards again.”

Oz braced his hands on his knees, finished with his work on my ankle. “This will be sore for a while. Once we get our things from Tok, I can wrap it.”

“There’s no need.” Rolling it side to side, I winced. “I can manage. We have to get to Noc. The Fabric Spinner likes to take her time with her prey, but there’s no telling exactly when she’ll attempt to make a meal out of him.”

“Not to mention the Sentinels still hanging around here somewhere.” Oz stood and scoured the horizon. There were no signs of life, but that meant little when it