Page 49 of Her Silent Knight

Blinking rapidly, he stared in the direction he’d heard the creature fall. He couldn’t make out its features. He could, however, make out its form. He swiped his claws at what he hoped was the shrieking creature’s neck. Those shrieks changed into gurgling sounds. That’s what he wanted to hear.

Listen.

The sound of wind shifting again. This time to his right. Kaede caught the foot aiming for his face seconds before it would’ve cracked his nose. He twisted the foot until he heard a snap that caused the shredder to howl in pain.

I love that sound.

“Me too.”

He shoved the foot away. The creature crashed into the snow. His leg that was caught in the front shredder’s grasp was released. Kaede sat up. Too slow. A fist slammed into his nose. Cracking it. Fuck.

Move faster.

He caught the other fist before the shredder could repeat his actions. He twisted the hand until he got the cracking noise he was listening for. The wind shifted. A swooshing noise sounded to his right.

He caught the shredder’s other hand before the creature could punch him in the jaw. He twisted it. Snap. He shoved the creature away. Good thing shredders didn’t heal as quickly as other creatures did.

Kaede pushed against the ground and rose to his feet. His movements were swifter now. Not as fast as usual or as he’d like, but faster than before. Fast enough for him to take out three shredders.

Blinking, he stared down at their bodies writhing in the snow. His vision was now clear enough for him to see their features. They glared at him. Drool dripped from their mouths as they gnashed their teeth at him.

Despite being in pain, they still wanted to feast on him. Their insatiable hunger was the reason he couldn’t let them live. They’d caught scent of his mate’s blood. They would hunt her down until they found her.

Kaede swiftly ended all three. Another shriek pulled his eyes back in the direction he’d come from. His mate. Kaede took off running toward her cottage. Anger fueled his steps.

“Flame up.”

Almost all of the poison is gone. Give me a few more minutes.

“We may not have a few minutes.”

Make a few minutes.

Growling, Kaede pushed himself to run faster. He raced through her gate and down the path that led to her cottage. Flames and black smoke rose from her home. His heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest.

Another shriek rent the air just as he leaped onto her porch. Inside the cottage, he quickly made his way to the back room. The smoke didn’t bother him. He inhaled it and it billowed from his nostrils.

It’s making us stronger. Breathe it in.

Kaede inhaled deeply as he raced to the backroom. Bodies littered the ground. Shredder bodies. Where was his mate? A piece of burning wood fell from the ceiling and dropped in front of him.

Stepping over it, he continued forward, walking through the blaze surrounding him. His mate could survive this. She was a fire witch. Fire was her friend. She could survive this. She had to survive this.

Kaede stepped over the bedroom door that he’d closed earlier. What was left of it was now on the ground. He scanned the smoke-filled bedroom, searching for his mate. Stepping over two more bodies, he strode into the room.

The window was open and a badly burnt shredder was trying to climb out of it. Kaede quickly ended the creature’s life by banging its head against the windowsill until the shredder stopped writhing.

Shoving the body out of the way, he peered outside in time to see Rhen climb onto his snowmobile. Fuck Rhen. It was the female seated on the back of Rhen’s bike that Kaede cared about. His mate. And she was wrapping her arms around Rhen. Kaede saw red.

The poison is gone. Destroy him.

“Flame up,”Kaede roared as he jumped out the window.