Savage King: New Worlds - Milly Taiden Page 0,8

group hug. This one needed much more than the previous.

Lilah stammered through tears, “Oh my god, Wren. I thought you were dead—”

“When the petals closed. . .” Daphne said, “Oh my god, Wren.”

“And the tiger,” they said together.

“It came from fucking nowhere. I swear.” Lilah pulled back to look into her face. “I thought it was going to attack us while some damn plant ate you.” Lilah smashed her against her again.

“The tiger actually saved me.” She lifted her arm to see tiny sucker indents in her flesh.

“What?” Daphne said.

“Come on,” Lilah tugged on her. “We should keep going. The tiger could still be after us.”

Wren looked over her shoulder, searching for a flash of color. She didn’t feel the same about the animal as her cousins. There was something about it that wasn’t normal.

Its eyes. . .white lines starburst from the black pupil, they looked at her as another person would—with purpose and intelligence.

“I hear water,” Daphne said, and they changed direction. Wren was happy Lilah was guiding her. She was still partially in a daze from the near-death experiences.

Her world rocked again by the sudden change in environment. She went from overgrown plants, to tree trunks stretching too damn high for her to see the tops. The lowest “leaves”—fern-like fronds—were ten feet up. She could almost see a line where the trees started and the jungle ended.

“There’s a creek,” Daphne hollered. Lilah pulled her down a gradual slope.

“We should follow it,” Wren said.

“Why?”

“Because people congregate around water for basic survival. Somewhere we will see a town built up around it.”

“That’s smart. I agree,” Lilah replied.

It wasn’t that it was “smart.” To Wren, it was common sense. All her towns and homes in her historical stories had a creek nearby. She glanced over her shoulder again, seeing jungle butt up to trees. No tiger. Disappointment touched her heart.

What the hell was wrong with her? That tiger would’ve eventually eaten her. It was a wild animal. When it lunged at her, it probably just missed and bit down on the tongue. A shiver raced through her, thinking of the snake-ish thing.

Daphne led them, following an existing trail. Wren couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the tiger. Was it okay? She shook her head. Of course, it was okay. It was fighting a plant. A plant that ate people. And spikes with poison dripping out of them. Shit. She came to a stop, turning.

Dread filled her. Something bad was happening. Something she had to stop.

“I’m going back,” she hollered on the run. Her flip flops made movement a bit difficult, but she hadn’t lost one yet.

Behind her, she heard her friends yelling at her. No, she didn’t know what the hell she was doing. Following her gut was as close as she could call it.

Shortly, she saw flashes of color between bare trunks. She slowed, making sure the animal wasn’t tracking them. Peeking around, she didn’t see anything, so she continued. Getting closer to where they had come out of the jungle, she glimpsed the tiger lying on its side beside the creek.

It was injured. She didn’t know how she knew. More gut feelings. Her feet slowly moved her closer to the tiger. She’d swear an invisible thread was pulling her directly to the beautiful creature.

Over halfway to the flowing water, she heard Lilah whisper yelling her name. She waved for them to stay back, not taking her eyes from the beast. Its chest rose and fell quickly as if panting after a long run. If the animal had to fight that much, then she would’ve been toast. As she approached, its breathing hadn’t slowed. Something felt wrong.

Just a few feet away, she saw the problem. One of those needle-like things was stuck in its side. A blue stream colored the pale fur from the puncture to the ground. She had no idea what the blue was, but she had no doubt the spike wasn’t good.

Approaching behind the tiger’s body, she couldn’t see its face. And she really longed to see it. It chuffed, jerking its body. She froze.

“I won’t hurt you,” she stepped forward, “I promise. So please don’t eat me.” She wasn’t sure why she whispered. It was as if she didn’t want her voice to bring more pain to the creature.

“I’m right here, so don’t be afraid.” Was she talking to an animal or herself with that line? She crouched next to the furry back. The fur looked so thick, so soft. Temptation almost had her running