Page 122 of The Faceless Queen

I jumped back, meeting Brennan’s eyes, just as another growl sounded in the air.

Fuck! Rowan had said there were three. They’d killed one. And so had I.

But the third approached.

“Get behind me,” I yelled. “Quick!”

Brennan didn’t hesitate. He ran for me. But the chimera came out from behind him, charging through the forest, and knocked him to the ground.

“Brennan!” I yelled and ran for the beast. I leapt into the air, using all I had, using too much. I sent magic through my legs to make me jump higher than was natural, and I landed backward on the beast’s back. The snake that was its tail rose and with a hiss, it struck.

I screamed, not fast enough to block the first bite. But its fang only pierced my cloak, leaving little more than a scratch against my skin.

Sweat beaded my forehead as I dodged its next attack.

When it reared back, its fangs out, its poisonous venom dripping, I lunged and sliced it in half.

Brennan swung his sword, slicing into its hind leg. The chimera bucked, and I toppled over, my claws retracting into my hands as Brennan reached out to catch me in his free arm. With a surprising amount of strength, he hugged me to him and lifted me up, dodging out of the chimera’s way, just as it charged back for us. The moment it roared past, he stumbled toward a tree, bracing his back against it and set me down, his chest heaving.

I tried to find my footing on the uneven terrain, before I pushed back from him.

“What are you still doing here?” I yelled. “Go! Get back to the camp, your guard is out looking for you. You’ll be safe.”

“No!” His eyes slid side to side, searching for the chimera in the dark. He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you,” he yelled.

“You don’t even know me,” I shouted.

“Don’t I?” he asked, his green eyes blazing. “You knew my name. Do I not know yours?”

“No,” I said.

He let out a shaky breath, so much emotion rushing toward me. “Is it not Samara?” he asked.

I froze, and my heart thudded to a stop. But before I could formulate an answer, the chimera growled. It was coming from behind me. I turned slowly. This one had the head of a goat and a lion. And it was ready to kill.

“The eyes, right?” he asked, coming to stand beside me. “That’s how you do it? Take out its eyes, its weakest point, and then its heads.”

I nodded. He’d learned that from me after the last chimera fight. “You always have to destroy the heads. All three. Or it finds a way to survive.”

The chimera stopped then and backed away from us, moving with the slowness of a predator. It was a trap.

Leave him, a gravelly voice spoke into my mind, leave him and you’ll live.

I seethed. Or you leave before I kill you.

The goat and lion heads shook back and forth with laughter, while its bull-sized leg began to paw at the ground, kicking up dirt.

You were offered the chance, Azete. Our brethren told you more would come, it hissed into my mind. We warned you.

That was what the other chimera had told me. More will come.

I shifted my body forward, angling in front of Brennan. “Stay close to me,” I commanded. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Then I met the chimera’s eyes. All four of them, dark and tinged with red, the whites of their eyes cloudy like fog.

Why warn me? I asked silently. What do you want?

The goat laughed again and spoke into my mind, its voice gravelly on its own. Not what. Wrong question. It’s who. Who do we want? Go on. I know you want to know the answer. You’ve always been curious. Ask. Ask us.