Queen of the Fae (Dragon's Gift The Dark Fae #3) - Linsey Hall Page 0,52

could try to blast the lion with some magic, but that would suck. Endangered Species Killer was not something I wanted on my resume.

Cold sweat dripped down my back as Tarron rustled behind me. His magic flared slightly on the air. I couldn’t see him, but I did catch sight of an enormous steak, bloody and red, as it appeared right in front of my face.

Like a huge kitty treat that he’d conjured.

The lion nipped it right out of Tarron’s fingers and chomped it down in just a few bites. Then he stared at me, growling.

“Uh, Tarron?” Aeri said from the very back. “There’s another by your head.”

The second growl came from behind, to my left. Then a third, a little farther back.

“Now there’s one by me.” Her voice was no more than a squeak.

Tarron moved carefully but quickly. I could barely hear him, but I saw two more steaks get set on the rock right in front of my lion.

“Aeri’s lion,” I hissed.

“I’m working on it,” he bit out.

The lion gobbled up the steaks then kept staring at me.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“This isn’t working.” My skin turned icy with fear as the lion leaned closer. “This is so not working.”

I stared straight ahead, frozen. He growled so close to my cheek that his whiskers touched me.

Oh, shit.

14

The lion breathed on my face, hot air that reeked of the meat Tarron had fed it.

Yeah, this was so wasn’t working.

Cats liked big toys almost as much as they liked food. We could feed it until it was stuffed, and it might still want to bat me around like a giant fuzzy mouse or baby bird.

I didn't want to be either.

I drew in a shuddery breath as my mind raced. Cleverness was the only way out of this, and we needed to hurry the hell up.

“Illusion, Aeri,” I murmured. “Antelopes.”

I prayed she understood what I meant as I sliced my finger and let my Dragon Blood well. The magic flowed through me, and I called upon it, crafting the illusion of a fat, juicy antelope right in front of me. I had to do it from memory, so even I knew that the creature looked a bit weird. Like an unskilled painter had created it.

I made the antelope run down the path away from us, its hoofs kicking up dust and its butt bouncing. The lion’s head swung toward it, and I could see interest glow in its eyes.

The majestic beast leapt off the rock to my right and landed with a graceful thud on the ground in front of me. Hundreds of pounds of muscle rippled under gleaming golden fur. His flowing mane was shot through with red that gleamed under the light of the fiery clouds.

In a heartbeat, he was tearing after the antelope, his strong strides eating up the ground.

A second lion, the one that had been right behind me menacing Tarron, jumped clean over my head. Huge claws glinted in the light as they flew in front of my face, and the giant cat raced after the other one, in pursuit of the wonky antelope.

I staggered backward, a year taken off my life. Tarron caught me, and I turned, spotting Aeri’s lion chasing after a third antelope down the back path. It headed down the mountain after a regal-hoofed creature that looked a hell of a lot more like a real antelope than mine had.

“Holy fates, that was close.” Tarron gripped me to him with strong hands, pressing the back of my body full length against his front. I could feel the worry in his embrace. Concern for me.

I leaned against him, absorbing a bit of his strength, as trembling overtook me.

“Good idea, Mari,” Aeri said. “Though your antelope had a bit of an impressionist feel to it.”

I laughed, a shaky sound. “Yeah, he could have gone in a museum.”

“Can they catch those creatures?” Tarron asked.

“Not really. Their claws will go straight through.”

“That might piss them off.”

“I’m hoping they won’t care. They just want to play.” I looked to my right, spotting the blood stain from the meat. “They’ve had a full meal anyway, so hopefully they won’t be too mad.”

Tarron released me, and I stepped forward. “We need to move.”

I nodded, dreading the run ahead but determined to get it over with. If those lions came back, pissed off and fangy, we’d be in trouble.

With a resigned groan, I began to run. We plodded endlessly up the mountain. My breath heaved and my pants clung to my sweaty