Unstoppable (Their Shifter Academy #6) - May Dawson Page 0,26
of weather. My hands were already shaking from the cold—or maybe the adrenaline of the jump—as I pulled on the gloves.
“Maddie?” It was Jensen’s low, rough voice calling me through the trees, and a second later, I heard the muffled sound of his steps.
“Right here,” I said, catching a glimpse of those golden-yellow eyes shining out of the darkness before he stepped out. He covered the distance between us in a few strides, then wrapped his arm around me in the briefest of hugs, as if he had to touch me to know that I was really all right.
“Which way?” he asked, glancing back and forth; Rafe should be behind us, since he had jumped first, and Silas should be further along toward the tracks.
“Rafe first,” I said. “He’s the one who’d need us.”
Not that he’d appreciate the sentiment. But this was Silas’s world, and as much as he got himself into trouble here, he seemed to know how to get himself out too.
Jensen nodded. He pulled on his own gloves as we walked, then the two of us gripped each other’s hands.
I didn’t want to lose one of them in this strange world.
Chapter Twelve
Tyson
* * *
Raura, Arlen and I moved swiftly through the woods, moving in tandem to track down the monster.
The monster, helpfully, was stalking us as well.
The Ravager suddenly darted out of the forest, all claws and teeth; it was closest to Raura and it struck at her. She jumped unnaturally high, with the ease of a winged Fae, and its jaws closed harmlessly in the air where she’d just been.
As Raura caught a branch of the tree above, the Ravager twisted, looking for its prey. Its narrow, reptilian eyes searched around, then fell on Arlen and me as we moved toward it. It seemed to smile with that mouthful of broken, jagged teeth.
“Raura, no,” Arlen started to call, but she was already dropping; she landed on the Ravager’s back. Her blade gleamed in her hand as she wrapped one arm around the monster’s neck, and then she drove the blade into its eye.
The Ravager let out a scream as it jerked around, bucking her off; she sailed through the air, her wings snapping out from her back too late with the sound of fabric tearing. Her wings were wide open as she slammed into a tree nearby.
Arlen and I made short work of the Ravager now that it was blinded, and a few seconds later, our swords were coated in slick greenish-blue blood and the Ravager lay at our feet.
“How many times have I asked you not to play piggyback with the Ravagers?” Arlen growled as he turned to face her.
She was still lying face down, her wings askew and trapped against tree branches. I ran to help her, but as I did, she turned over with a groan and sat up. Her wings twitched as she seemed to shake them out.
“How many times have I ever listened to you?” she asked lightly.
Arlen ran his hand through his hair in exasperation and then turned and strode off through the woods.
“You shouldn’t go alone!” she called after him. “You might get eaten!”
“I’d be better off,” he grumbled, then he was gone, swallowed up by the mist.
I offered her my hand, and she grabbed it so I could tow her to her feet. “What happened between the two of you?”
“Arlen and I are always fighting.” She began to dust herself off, then frowned at the heels of her hands, which were scraped and bloodied. She held her hands out to me with a smile. “You need practice.”
I scoffed at that but raised my hands above hers, letting my healing golden magic seep through her skin. The oozing wounds closed, angry and red, then faded to pink.
“You are so useful,” she said, examining her hands. “We should keep you.”
“It’s different now,” I said, refusing to let her change the subject. “You and Arlen aren’t usually fighting like this.”
She pulled a face. “On second thought, if you’re going to try to make us all talk about our feelings, maybe you should go back to your weird mortal world.”
The two of us headed through the woods together, back toward the castle. When was I going to go back? Attacks like the Ravager had just launched against us were already rare; we’d been rooting out Turic’s old portals and destroying them, and killing the monsters who had come through. That was all I’d said I would do before I went home.