they noticed their partner twisting in the sand and no apparent attacker in sight.
You’re next, assholes!
I flew closer as they kept their pursuit of my aunt. I was about to cut one of them at the knees when he suddenly stopped, reached out, and took hold of my arm. Surprised, I didn’t have time to react as he pulled, throwing me off balance.
I hit the ground at full speed, and my momentum carried me forward. I tumbled head over heels, sprays of sand shooting in every direction, filling my mouth and stinging my eyes. The sword flew out of my hand. I slid to a stop in the dirt.
Before I could rise, the guard jumped on top of me, pinning me down, crushing my wings with his weight. I frantically blinked sand out of my eyes. My attacker was a blur above me, but I saw the moment he reached for his gun.
Panicked, I went for my knife, and, as he took aim, I stabbed him in the gut.
He jerked, and the shot went wild, hitting the ground a few feet away from my head.
I twisted the knife. The guard groaned and fell limp on top of me.
I pushed him off me and dizzily got to my feet. I swayed in place, trying to get my bearings. My hands flickered on and off as I struggled to remain invisible. That was when the remaining guard noticed me and aimed his gun straight at my head.
Chapter Ten
I stared at the gun barrel, my heart pounding. Once again, a trigger-happy guard was ready to end my life. He stood twenty feet away, close enough to take my head off with his large, metal pistol, and from the menacing look on his face, it seemed he’d decided on murder.
He wanted me dead, that was clear.
I held out a hand, hoping to stall. The others were close. If I bought them time, they could help me. “Don’t shoot—”
He sneered and pulled the trigger.
I heard the sound of the gun going off, saw the explosion of fire in the tube aimed right at me. The bullet sped out, ready to take my life.
I dove aside far too late. As I sailed in the air, I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the punch of the bullet, a feeling I’d experienced just the day before and didn’t want to replicate. I waited for the thud of metal to burn through my body.
But it didn’t come.
Instead, a muffled yip sounded as I sensed something large dive in front of me.
Flinging my eyelids open, I spotted the large, brown shape that had appeared between me and the guard.
Vaughn.
He ran, pouncing just before he got to the guard. The surprised man tried to squeeze off another round, but he was too slow. Vaughn’s huge paws planted on either of the guard’s shoulders and took him down. A thump and a crunch were followed by a garbled moan. Then, Vaughn pulled away and circled toward me.
“I’m fine,” I said, waving the wolf off until I noticed blood trailing down his massive shoulder. “You’re shot!”
He’d taken a bullet for me. Of course, he did. My panic blotted out all thought as I started toward him.
The wolf shook his head as if telling me to leave it alone. I stopped. He could heal from a non-magical bullet. Still, all the blood... I bit my lip, having a hard time not rushing to his aid.
“Tally, Vaughn!” Antonio waved at us from the tree line. Beside him stood Vinya and Kiana.
“They’ve got her,” I said, feeling both relief and anxiety about speaking to my aunt for the first time since everything that had transpired. I’d betrayed her. She’d betrayed all of us. There was a lot to deal with.
I didn’t have much time to mull over what I might say because the thundering sound of tires rumbled down the beach. We’d taken out the guards here, half a dozen of them, but the Habermanns had sent reinforcements. Likely more than those we’d scattered around the beach. Lots more.
We had to go. Now.
“Hurry,” Vinya said, making a circling motion with her hands.
With a glance at Vaughn, we both took off in their direction.
As I flew beside the galloping wolf, I kept glancing at the bullet wound. It already looked better. Less blood oozed out, and the hole seemed smaller, but it was little consolation to the fact that Vaughn could have been killed trying to save me. If that bullet had hit his heart…
I stopped