Free Drake of Tanith (Chosen Soul) by Heather Killough-Walden Page B

had given her – the Ring of Halcyon – was long gone, taken by the Fae prince along with the dagger that had killed Cruor and the arrow tip that had so gravely wounded Drake more than a month ago.
    It was clear that she no longer needed any help in finding her powers. She’d attacked Astriel in one of the halls of Eidolon. And now the power that flooded her form both scared and thrilled her. It was a killing magic. She knew it in her heart.
    Just as she pulled back her hand to throw the ball of icy death at the beast that whirled and struck, Drake leapt out of the way of yet another dripping claw, glanced in her direction, and paled. His eyes widened. “No, Raven don’t!” he cried.
    But it was too late.
    Raven released her magic and it went sailing, expanding in the dark air between herself and their enormous, monstrous attacker. She had no idea what the magic was, exactly. There had been no thought behind the creation of the spell. It was pure anger, cold and hard and heavy, and it grew as it flew toward its target, a sphere of crackling, swirling ice.
    The monster stopped in its blurred scissor-like attack and straightened, its fire eyes turned toward Raven and the ball of magic she’d just released. Time slowed down. Drake turned and ran toward Raven; she saw him in her peripheral vision, his tall, strong form blending into the shadows and grayed out by his speed. Raven stood still, transfixed by the pulsing sphere of energy as its edge touched down.
    Drake dove for her just as the magic spell engulfed the beast and he roared in inhuman agony. Drake’s body slammed hard into hers, knocking the wind from her lungs. She felt herself go down, felt herself turning in Drake’s arms, and then the world became a chaotic mixture of light, darkness, noise and pain.
    There was an explosion. The strength of it blasted all other sound from Raven’s ears and filled the world with a high-pitched ringing. The blast warped through the air, crushing her into the ground, Drake’s weight above her pressed even more fully onto her body. The air was un-breathable and her lungs wouldn’t work. Her eyes were shut tight against the hellish confusion, her teeth clamped together, her hands curled into desperate fists. The world had been turned upside down.
    It took a long time for her brain to sort out what was what. Little by little, the blanket of trauma was pulled off of her and the world began to compartmentalize once more.
    Her legs hurt. She knew that much. Her right upper thigh and left calf were throbbing. It felt as though the flesh had been flayed from them in places.
    Her ears were ringing as well, but other sound was gradually returning. She could hear crackling, and she could smell smoke. The Autumn forest ground was damp beneath her and had absorbed her impact like a sponge; nothing was broken. But she was in enough pain that her teeth ground where they pressed into each other.
    “Raven.”
    Raven opened her eyes and a shadowy, smoke-haloed form floated above her. She tried again to take a breath, willing her lungs to expand. At the same time, the body on top of her own shifted and lifted its weight. Raven’s chest drew in a thankful breath, and she was almost instantly coughing as a result.
    The air was choked with the black belch of fire.
    “We have to get out of here,” said Drake. His voice rumbled across her skin, licking at her nerve endings. But it wasn’t enough to stay the pain coming from her legs, and she winced. She tried to bend them, to sit up and see what was wrong, but when she did, her skin screamed as if it were tearing, and she cried out.
    “I can’t move!” she said. She took another breath to tell him about her legs, but the air was un-giving and selfish. It wouldn’t fuel her lungs; it only burned. She coughed, inhaled, coughed again.
    Drake didn’t say anything further. Instead, he knelt beside her and then lifted her into his arms. As he did, Raven’s legs stretched, causing her injured