Page 26 of The Faceless Queen

I spotted Finlay from the corner of my eye, sitting on a log with Thomas, trying to console him.

“Sam?” Finlay yelled. He blinked, taking in my strange eyes and limbs. “Sam!”

But I kept running. I didn’t have time. The power I’d called on would run out soon. I had to reach the chimera before it did.

Geoffrey’s Tavern was on the edge of Batron, right where the town met Kalder Forest. The trees grew close together there, and the terrain was full of loose soil and rocks that made travel dangerous, day or night.

But I could see with my enhanced eyesight that the chimera had already come through the forest. Trees were knocked down in its wake, falling in every direction, with rocks and dirt kicked about.

I ran faster, dodging a tree trunk and leapt over a pile of bramble. I pumped my arms, willing my feet to pick up speed, to go faster and faster, as I was swallowed into the black of Kalder.

My breath came in short, labored gasps, my heart thundering, calves burning, until I made it into a small clearing—along with the chimera.

It slowed, stopping at the edge of a lake. Silence surrounded us. Not a single bird chirped. The snake tail unraveled, releasing its hold over Brennan, who lay prone across the chimera’s back. Then the chimera bucked its bull-like body, and Brennan fell onto the grass, his head face down.

“Brennan!” I yelled out, running forward.

The two wolf heads snarled, their gazes turned toward me.

Azete.

Red embers glowed in its nostrils, its eyes beginning to flare red. One leg moved back in warning, preparing to attack.

Brennan stirred, lifting his head off the ground. The chimera kicked. He let out a grunt of pain, rolling over to his side, his eyes barely registering my presence before they closed again.

The chimera huffed.

“Don’t touch him!” I growled.

You want him? The chimera’s words echoed into my mind. More embers burned in the dark. It was preparing. Gearing up to release its firebreath again. And while an Azete was a lot of things, I could not withstand flames. Not in this form. Not unless the Azete was at full strength, in its true beastly form. A form I could not take tonight.

The chimera pawed the ground. Come and get him.

“Leave him alone,” I said. “Fight me.”

Fight you?

It stepped forward, taking slow, measured steps, until its entire body hovered over Brennan’s. Fuck! I couldn’t attack. If I ran forward now, the chimera would either burn me alive, or crush Brennan beneath its weight.

Unless he got away, unless he moved.

Get up. Get up! I thought. Brennan, please get up.

For several long seconds, nothing happened. Then slowly, as if he heard me, Brennan lifted his head, and his eyes opened. They were so green, even in the dark of the clearing.

He drew his eyebrows together and frowned, his face pale in the moonlight as he stared back at me, finally seeing, understanding that I was there. That I hadn’t stayed safe in my room. I had come for him.

His immediate fear for me was strong. He shook his head, his eyes urging me to run before looking back at the chimera above him. Slowly, he slid his hand down to his belt, reaching for the hilt of his sword.

“Come on! Come after me, you coward,” I yelled, my voice shaking with rage. I took a step forward, and then another. I needed to draw its flames to me. It couldn’t burn me if I outran its fire. If it followed me, Brennan had his chance to escape. “Stop stalling and fight.”

Both wolf heads cocked to the side, back and forth. Its front leg slid back, hoof pawing the ground.

Brennan brandished his blade as he rolled to his back, ready to strike. But he wasn’t fast enough. The chimera sensed his movements. It dashed forward, guarding Brennan from me.

“Get away from him,” I snarled.

As you wish, it thought. Its hind leg kicked back, and Brennan yelled out in pain as the impact of the hit threw him into the lake with a single splash.