was hurt than she was.
He grimaced as a Ker ripped at his left wing, hit her with it and banked right, away from her, his gaze scanning ahead of them. His eyes locked onto something.
“There is an opening. Two… maybe three hundred feet away. I need you ready to seal it as soon as we are through.” He didn’t glance at Calindria, just kept his eyes on the opening that was starting to look far smaller than he had first thought. It was going to be a tight fit.
“I will be ready.” Her words were muffled by his chest, but he was damned if he was going to loosen his grip on her.
He cried out as a Ker landed on his back, pressing her feet into his lower spine, and sank her talons into his right shoulder. She hissed and clawed at him, held on tight even when he rolled and tried to shake her. He bellowed again when the female lunged and bit into his left wing, tearing through the muscle, weakening it.
Ahead of him, the tunnel loomed closer.
He swept lower to the ground, rolled over and beat his wings as he descended further. The Ker hissed and grappled with his shoulder as he dragged her along the ground, her bloody wings battering his as she pressed against him and tried to force him upwards.
His eyes widened as another Ker dropped towards him, her glowing white-blue eyes fixed on Calindria, talons stretched towards her.
On a vicious roar, he clutched Calindria to his chest and forced the Ker on his back into the dirt, clung hard to his precious cargo as he crash-landed on top of the death spirit and tumbled. A cry burst from his lips as his wings bent at painful angles, one of the bones in his left one breaking, and curled into a protective ball around Calindria as she screamed. They bounced and rolled across the black earth together for what felt like an endless amount of time as he feared Calindria would be hurt. The moment he stopped, he lumbered onto his feet with Calindria still tucked close to him and ran, using his one good wing to propel him forwards, increasing his speed.
The Keres shrieked and shot towards him.
He pumped his legs harder, pushed himself far past his limit, desperate to reach the opening that was only a few feet away now.
Behind him, the death spirits suddenly screamed.
He peered at Calindria where she had pulled herself up in his arms again, her face and golden hair dark with dirt on one side, her blue eyes shining bright with fury. She held her right hand out over his broken left wing, rage written in every line of her face as she used her powers against the Keres, buying him the time he needed to get them both to safety.
Thanatos didn’t slow, not even as he ran into the tunnel. He unleashed another bellow of agony as jutting rocks caught his limp wing and snagged his right. Pain blinded him and he lost his balance, tripped and staggered and managed to twist with Calindria so she landed on top of him instead of being crushed by his weight.
His rapid breaths filled the tense silence in the gloom, mingling with Calindria’s as she swiftly leaped off him, moving to his feet. Relief flowed through him, easing some of his pain, as the shrieks of the Keres grew muffled and he felt them remain at a distance.
Their path blocked by Calindria’s vines.
“Thanatos.” She dropped to her knees beside him, feathered her fingers over his brow, and he cracked his eyes open and looked at her. “Oh, thank the gods.”
She sank against his chest, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He flinched and sucked in a breath and she was quick to jerk away from him.
“I’m sorry.” She looked away and then back at him, guilt shining in her eyes as they lowered to his shoulder and then his wings. Her brow furrowed and she reached a hand out, slowly ghosted it over his feathers. “Oh gods, Thanatos… your beautiful wings.”
He grimaced and tried to sit up, dropped back against the dirt as his body failed him, the pain too much for him to handle. He would rest a while and then perhaps he would be able to move without fear of blacking out.
“They’ll be fine.” He sounded tired, slurred those words. “Just going to rest here a while.”
The concern in her eyes only grew as he stumbled and