The wielders are coming, and they're ready for violence.
With a cub in her arms, Arietta James, a dedicated vet technician in training, flees for her life and the life of the little shifter she's ready to die to protect. Her escape lands her right i...
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Black, churning smoke weaved through the trees. Arietta flew as fast as her feet could take her. She wasn't a runner by nature—or at all, really—but in that moment, a bundle clutched close to her chest, she flew.
Fire licked at her back, heating the shadows of her footsteps and swallowing them whole. She choked on her own breath, the smoke in her eyes. She was running. Running desperately from her own death.
The crackling roar of fire behind her drowned her eardrums.
She pressed the delicate bundle closer to her chest, bringing it as close to her as possible.
"It's okay. It's okay," she soothed. She put on a new burst of speed. There was a river a mile ahead that marked the border into Shifter territory. While it might not be any safer, at least the water would slow it down and give her more of a chance.
She just had to make it there.
"There she is!"
She scrambled impossibly faster, her heart going a million miles. "No, no, no, no, no," she muttered. She couldn't hide behind the trees. Couldn't make use of the caves near the river.
The flame hounds—burning dog-like beasts composed of fire magic—barked behind her. Their snaps turning to crackling growls.
She was going to die here.
Rapid pops sounded out behind her. She gasped, took a hard left and weaved through the trees. She didn't have an out. Nothing besides the hope that the river would halt those chasing her.
The sun had begun to set, but the fire behind her was still bright enough to sear her retinas. Her mind was more alive than ever, the adrenaline like lightning in her veins. She scanned the trees, the ground, looking for anything. Truth was, even if she outran the people chasing her, she couldn't outrun the flame beasts for long. She didn't have the stamina. Not like them.
"It's okay, it's okay," she told the bundle. And herself.
And then...
A bright miracle.
The river! Putting on a burst of speed despite her exhaustion, Arietta hopped a fallen log, her shoulder catching hard on a thick branch in her path. She shifted the covered bundle, holding it for all she was worth.
Another round of pops echoed around her. She zigzagged, darting through the brush. Her breaths were an entirely different flame in her throat.
Something sharp cut her shoulder. She wheezed, almost stumbling. Get to the river.
Otherwise, this would be the last thing she'd do.
It was right there, the clear sound of water rushing over rocks despite the roar of cracking flames at her back. 30 yards...
