it in dark shadows, all except those glowing white eyes and the teeth flashing at her. She stumbled back, her arrow dropping free to the cavern floor at her sudden retreat. She noted its fall with dismay but didn’t take the time to stop and retrieve it. She shied away, uncertain in the face of his fury, her mind desperately trying to grapple with the sudden change that had overcome him.
The male who faced her was a stranger to her. His hand tightened around his sword, his face a terrible mask of fury. This was not the same male whose hands and mouth had studied every inch of her body, or who held her close to his chest. In his eyes, she was a threat, and his reaction was terrifying. Her breath escaped her in a small cry as she noted that her attempts to evade him had successfully back her into a corner of the cave with little opportunity to escape.
Desperately she cast her gaze behind him. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but she immediately stilled as she saw a woman grinning triumphantly. Her crimson lips were stretched inhumanely wide, her large yellow eyes gleaming in the dark like a predator. Diana was out of time.
With a roar, Silvas leaped forward, his sword arcing through the air. A cry tearing from her lips, Diana tugged sharply on the bond between them as she raised her bow to block the downward swing of the blade. Power flooded her, and she pushed every bit of it through her as the weapons connected violently. The resulting crack of the strike from where the bow slapped the flat side of the sword was thunderous as power unleashed and rolled, bringing loose rocks falling to the cavern floor. Diana’s eyebrows winged upward as the sword, knocked free from his grip, skidding loudly against the rocky ground some distance away.
Silvas’s head turned, his gaze tracking the movement of the sword only briefly before he turned back toward her with a furious roar. Diana, possessing a good idea of the source of her sudden strength, whispered an apology as she yanked on their bond again, infusing herself once more with incredible strength. Without hesitation, she raised the tip of her bow, striking him full-strength against the cheek, providing the opening to dart out of the way with an unaccustomed burst of speed.
She teared up, knowing that she wouldn’t get far. Already she could hear Silvas’s snarl and the slide of his boots across the floor as he headed toward her, preparing to attack again. She was under no illusions. She would not be able to hold out in a long-term fight against him. She ran blindly, knowing that at any moment Silvas would catch up to her. It was humbling to know that if he hadn’t finished bonding with her, she would already have been caught. She could hear his boots getting louder as he quickly closed the distance between them.
“Destroy the intruder!” the woman screamed, her voice rising into a terrible shriek. Another burst of mist shot from her mouth and thickened as it hit the air.
Diana felt something within her stutter, and then her perception sharpened as she focused on the woman. There seemed to be a shift in the air around the lithe figure that almost reminded Diana of a mirage. She was not what she seemed, and she was using Silvas. This had to be the sorcery of the strix. The woman’s mouth parted impossibly wide, jagged teeth showing between the perfect lips in an enormous, devouring maw. Immediately she could envision the child-eating creature hiding behind the beautiful illusion.
“Eat this, bitch,” Diana bit out as she pulled a new arrow from her quiver.
Pressing her lips together, she raised her bow and pulled the string taut. Her breath still in her. Sighting down her arrow, she took aim, and released the arrow as she exhaled. The sharp snap of the string sounded overly loud to her as it sent the arrow soaring toward its target. She watched it fly free as a hard body slammed against hers. The rake of claws burned where they dug into her flesh, but she smiled as a pained cry filled the air.
The weight above her shifted and Silvas bellowed loudly as if in agony.
Chapter 26
Anguish filled Silvas as he watched the arrow slice through the air toward his mate. Her cry shattered through him as it hit true, burrowing into her chest. A