At the base of the hill, a beast stood out from the trees, crowned with a pair of long, once-majestic horns. If not for the jagged break on the left one, it might have even radiated a regal presence.

Horny had arrived.

The two Darkclaws froze in their tracks. A new contender had entered the fray, and their supposedly easy prey, which had already proven itself far more troublesome than they anticipated, had just became even more challenging.

“Horny!” I shouted, relief and excitement bubbling up as I watched him climb the hill.

He let out a ferocious growl in response, sending a shiver down my spine. It wasn’t directed at me, but the sound alone was enough to make my hair stand on end. The closer he came, the more menacing his horns seemed, and If I was honest, I wasn’t sure who I should be more worried for—the Darkclaws or us.

I’d faced off against those horns more times than I could count. Well, not that I kept track, but even so, Horny had never seemed this terrifying during our training sessions. In hindsight, it made sense, but it still caught me off guard.

With frightening speed, he passed by me and into the Darkclaw that was heading for Mira.

The Darkclaw was taken aback by his appearance but by now had managed to regain composure, and with an ugly roar of its own, launched itself down the hill at full force, ready to meet Horny head-on.

Before they could clash, a powerful gust of wind whipped through my hair, warning me just in time. I rolled aside, barely evading the swipe of a massive claw.

My opponent had found the opportunity to not only stand back up on his feet, but also attack me while I was distracted.

“Lyon!” Mira’s voice cut through the chaos, tinged with panic.

“I’m fine!” I shouted back, trying to reassure her, though the pain spreading through my back made it hard to sound convincing.

I winced as I tried to balance on one knee, my entire back throbbing. Reaching carefully with my hand, I almost jumped when the pain flared up, my fingers coming in contact with my skin instead of cloth. At least there was no blood in them.

Feeling angry mostly at myself for getting distracted mid fight, I completely ignored the resounding sound of the clash and the two following bestial growls a moment later between Horny and the other Darkclaw.

I had to focus on my own fight.

After my last stunt, I needed some time to recuperate my quint reserves, and with nowhere to run or hide, that meant that I was forced in a head on fight against the creature.

The Darkclaw didn’t give me a moment to catch my breath—neither to adjust to the pain nor to process what was happening just a few meters away. It lunged at me with savage determination, a blur of muscle and claws. Every swipe came with the force of a boulder crashing down, each slam of its paws shaking the ground beneath us.

With every attack, I scrambled, ducked, or twisted out of the way. But it wasn’t enough. The gap between us was overwhelming—its massive frame dwarfed mine, its reach extending far beyond what I could hope to cover.

More than that, while it was simply using its paws, something it could do on day’s end, I on the other hand was forced to perform all sorts of different movements to escape its grasp and was already growing tired.

If only I had a moment, just a small pause — a heartbeat’s worth of time to catch my breath and think.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

But there was no pause.

While our battle hadn’t lasted more than a few minutes, three at best, every second seemed to stretch and snap like a taut string.

And through it all, a single thought—the same one that crept into my mind ever since I had thrown myself on top of the beast, was gnawing at every other thought, consuming all the options I might have considered.

A sudden rush of wind snapped me back to the present. The Darkclaw’s claws whistled past my face, the cutting air grazing my cheek.

My movements were getting slower, heavier, like my body was sinking into quicksand. Each gulp of air burned my lungs, but it still wasn’t enough.

The Darkclaw roared—a savage, primal sound that shook the ground beneath me.

And then my vision blurred.

The thunderous pounding of my heart stopped, the roar of blood in my ears faded away, and everything fell into darkness as the paw came crashing down at me.

I gasped for air, my blood running cold—but nothing happened. The paw never struck. Only the sensation of it did.

And then, like a single droplet rippling through the still water, clarity hit me. There was no other option. There never had been. Only one path remained.

A heartbeat later, the paw slammed down—the real one this time—but I was already moving. My body acted on instinct, slipping past it at the perfect angle, close enough to feel the beast’s fur graze my skin.

The untapped quint I’d been building up throughout the fight bubbled up inside me, hot and wild, begging to be unleashed. I could feel it thrumming through me, making my fingers tingle at the sensation.

A spark flickered and the fourth and most destructive of the elements came to life at the tips of my fingers.

The light from the fire made the beast hesitate, its eyes widening as it took a few nervous steps back.

I blinked, and suddenly, the creature seemed to blur and waver in my vision.

Dispelling my confusion, I prepared myself to act, but before I could, my hands were gently forced closed, snuffing out the flames.

“Thank you for holding on,” Mira murmured, her voice soft but strained. She held my hands in a touch warmer than the fire itself.

Still caught up in the heat of the moment, it took me a few breaths to notice the dense fog swirling around us. The gray veil had appeared out of nowhere, and only then did I realize it must have been the spell she mentioned.

The Darkclaw was now nothing more than a shadowy figure, its outline distorted by the mist.

“Quickly, let’s get out of here.”

“W-wait!” I stammered, thrown off by how fast everything was happening. “What about Horny? We can’t leave him behind!”

Just as I spoke, a low, menacing growl echoed through the haze. I spun around just in time to see a Darkclaw burst through the mist, its claws poised to rip us apart. But before it could strike, Horny lunged out of the fog, ramming into the creature mid-air. His horns pierced deep into the beast’s flesh, driving it back into the shadows.

“He will be fine. Now, let’s go, the fog won’t last for much longer. We need to act swiftly.” Mira urged, her voice firm and focused.

There was no time for chatter. Guided by Mira, we sprinted through the mist, the growls and howls of the Darkclaws echoing behind us, but I never looked back.

Once we broke free from the fog and into the dense forest, we picked up our pace. I felt horrible for leaving Horny behind, but I trusted Mira’s words. He’d be okay, and besides, we weren’t safe yet.

There was another Darkclaw out there, and judging by the low tremors beneath my feet and the growls rumbling from the direction of the cave, it was getting closer—and angrier.

Mira led us through the woods with an expertise only someone who knew every path could possess. And yet it wasn’t enough. In a blur of movement, the Darkclaw appeared before us, its eyes blazing with fury.

Surprisingly—or perhaps not—I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t panicking. If anything, I was angrier than it was.

Today was supposed to be perfect—a day I’d plan for Mira to enjoy. To give her something back for all the things she’d done for me. Instead, it had turned into a disaster, putting both her and Horny in danger. No, I wasn’t afraid of the beast standing in our way. I wasn’t simply angry. I was furious.

Gritting my teeth, I let go of Mira’s hand and stepped forward, channeling all my remaining quint. I needed to end this, and fast, before something even worse showed up.

Flames erupted in my right palm, the heat surging up my arm. I wasn’t planning on holding back. “You’re angry?” I snarled, my voice low and venomous. “I’ll show you angry.”

With my ears filled with the charcoal sound of fire, Mira’s worried shout never reached them, sounding nothing more than a blur. I raised my left hand, igniting it in a blaze of fire. The flames grew and grew, feeding off my fury until they couldn’t expand any further.

Then, with a fierce shout, I clapped my hands together. The impact sent a shockwave of flames rippling outward in every direction. Fear shined in the Darkclaw’s eyes before a wall of smoke could rise, hiding it completely.

The buzzing in my ears was finally silenced as the howl of the Darkclaw echoed.

But there was another cry.

A painful, heart wrenching scream, came from behind me.