A low growl rumbled from Kane as he shifted his weight to his back paws. I knew what he was going to do and I was prepared for it. The mountain lion leapt at me, claws extended as he aimed for my upper body and face. At the exact moment, I fell flat on my back. Pain screamed through my system as I smashed my wounded wing into the ground with my body weight, but I pushed through it as the mountain lion overshot me by nearly a foot.
As his paws hit the earth on either side of my head, I plunged one knife deep into his stomach and pulled upward, opening up a long wound. I pressed the other knife against his throat with enough force that blood splattered down on my forehead. If he moved the wrong way, I had the ability to gut him and slice his throat all at the same time. He was trapped.
“Do you yield?” I asked in a deceptively soft voice. The clearing had becoming eerily silent as I held the life of their leader in my blood-covered hands. Kane growled softly at me but didn’t move a muscle. “How are you going to call this one, Locke?” I called out. “If he moves the wrong way, I will kill him before he can get a tooth or claw on me.”
Locke paused for only a moment. I didn’t know if he was either communicating telepathically with Kane or honestly weighing whether he wanted his leader to live. A few quick slashes from me and he could not only claim leadership of the animal clan, but also consort to the next queen. Luckily, Locke didn’t strike me as the power-hungry type. Otherwise, I don’t think Cynnia would have offered herself up so quickly to what could become a very dangerous situation.
“The fight is over,” Locke declared in a loud voice. “You have defeated Kane.”
With amazing slowness I withdrew both weapons from where they were pressed within the mountain lion. However, they were still tightly clenched in my hands and held at the ready as Kane looked down at me with his narrowed gold eyes. He was not happy about the outcome, and I was waiting to see if he would abide by Locke’s declaration. He paused over me for a tense moment, then limped into the center of the clearing.
I painfully pushed up into a seated position in time to watch Kane shift back into his natural form. There was a long cut along his stomach, while a second wound stretched across his neck, leaving his front covered in blood. There was a low murmur of conversation among the other naturi surrounding me, and none of what I could catch sounded good. Kane was the one that had demanded this fight. He had promised that his people would help Cynnia if I were to win. Now they seemed extremely reluctant to accept that I had beaten their leader.
A frown pulled at the corner of my lips as I tried to weigh my next plan of attack. If the rest of the animal clan attacked, I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to fight. I wouldn’t be able to take to the sky and I still couldn’t run, so I would be forced to fight every last one of them, along with any animals in the area they might summon.
Call forth your wings. I don’t trust Kane, I whispered across Rowe’s brain.
You can’t fly, Rowe countered.
I’ll manage.
Pointing to the bearskin draped over the chair, Kane waved to Locke to bring it over to him as he pushed to his feet. The beast of a man was still shaking his head as he walked over to his throne. He wrapped the warm bearskin around him and resumed his seat before his eyes finally fell on me. I had yet to rise from the ground, and my face remained smeared with his blood.
“You have lived up to your reputation,” Kane said with a heavy sigh and a slight groan as he shifted in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable spot, considering his wounds. “You are fearless, quick, and smart. And despite the . . . zealous nature of some of my people, you also kept it a fair fight. I didn’t think the Dark One was brave enough to allow the whip to leave her side.”
“At Aurora’s command, I put aside what honor I had so I could abide by her wishes,” I admitted. “I am now trying to take a little part of that back each night. The whip would not have been a fair weapon in a fight that was not supposed to be to the death.”
Kane smiled broadly at me. We both knew he would have killed me the first chance he got. I was just lucky that I was a little faster and maybe a little smarter.
With a laugh and a clap of his hand, Kane announced, “You have won back a shred of your honor tonight. You have beaten me, and we will join Cynnia in her fight against Aurora as I promised.”
I regained my feet with some struggle and returned my blades to the sheaths along my body. I felt broken and sore in too many places. My right wing hung limp on my back, while my left wing was folded forward around my left shoulder as if protecting me. Kane’s blood had soaked into my clothes and covered my exposed hands and face. I was a mess, but I had completed one of my tasks for Cynnia. However, as I glanced over at Rowe, I wasn’t sure that I had completed all of my tasks. The powerful naturi still needed to be won over to the young princess’s side.
“Thank you for your promised assistance, Kane,” I said with a bow of my head. “Please bring your people to the outskirts of the city called Savannah, where the Fire Starter makes her domain. Rowe and I will meet you there. When I sense you have arrived, I will arrange a meeting for you with Cynnia so the proper planning can begin.”
“Agreed,” he said, thumping the arm of his chair.
I bowed my head to him one last time and started to limp across the clearing toward Rowe. I was exhausted and sore in too many places to count, but we had to get out of Kane’s immediate domain before sunrise if we were going to find a safe place to spend the daylight hours. I didn’t think Kane would send his people after me, but I didn’t trust some of his more zealous followers not to come looking for me.
“You’re leaving?” Locke demanded, surprise filling his voice.
“It’s best that we make some further progress tonight,” I replied. “We will make camp at sunrise.”
“We are comrades now!” Kane declared, pushing carefully to his feet as the last of his wounds healed. “We will fight Aurora’s army together! That means that you will make camp with us tonight. You must heal so that you are at full strength when you continue your journey.”
“We are traveling at night when I am at my strongest,” I hedged.
“Then we will protect you both while you sleep during the day, and have food for you when you awaken tomorrow night,” Kane quickly offered.
I resisted the urge to look over at Rowe, who was now standing beside me. If we were staying in the animal clan camp, I wouldn’t be able to use the sleep spell on him or they would know he was my prisoner rather than my comrade in arms. In my moment of weakness, I might not only lose Rowe, but also the assistance of the animal clan.
I’ll behave myself for now, Rowe promised as if reading my thoughts. Besides, a weak you means that I don’t have proper protection. We rest. You heal.
“We are honored,” I said, forcing a weak smile on my lips as I looked up at Kane. “We accept your offer. Cynnia will be most grateful that you have looked after us during the daylight hours.” I just hoped that we survived without any new problems.
Eleven
My right wing screamed with pain as I tried to fully extend it. I had walked nearly a quarter of a mile from the main camp of the animal clan to a wide stream. Stripping off my clothes, I tried to rinse out some of the blood before stepping into the icy water myself. In the center of the stream, the water rushed past my calves, numbing any lingering pain I might have felt in my right ankle. Now I was only left with the wound in my right wing, which seemed reluctant to fully heal. I knew it would be completely fixed by the following evening, but I didn’t want to wait that long. I wanted to go to sleep at sunrise knowing I was back at full strength.