Chapter 218: Defeat, or Death
RETH
"NO!" Reth bellowed, shifting, and throwing himself over the rockface. In the same moment Behryn whistled and three Avaline leaped out of the trees within the Crevasse, while the equine guards swung over the edge of the crevasse on their ropes, swinging and sliding to the dirt in the same amount of time it took Reth to land on an outcropping halfway down, turn and leap to the dirt floor.
He was able to control the beast enough not to roar and warn the others who were focused on the encampment that the real lion was loose at their backs, but the blood frenzy was on the beast and it didn't hesitate. His beast had swiped through three of the guards and had another's neck in his mouth before Reth wrestled back control and was able to drop the body and leap towards the women.
Lucine was hunched, screaming, over Elia on the ground. As Reth raced towards her, something flashing in her hand. While Behryn's men took out the guards systematically, and Lerrin finally heard something behind him and whirled with the fist of men he'd taken to the front of the crevasse, Reth leaped for Lucine, cuffing her aside with all of this strength. She was thrown across the empty dirt, like a rag-doll.
"Elia!" he cried, scooping her up, whimpering at the copper tang of blood that covered her.
He didn't even look, couldn't bear to know, just curled her into his chest and strapped her to him, then sprinted back towards the rockface again.
Around him, his males, who had engaged the wolves hand-to-hand to ensure none could intervene, were closing in, their backs to him and Elia, their teeth and spears pointed out towards the wolves. But as one, they retreated, protecting their King's back as he climbed the rockface in leaps, snarling, as the Queen sagged over his shoulder.
He could feel a warm wetness spreading down his chest and stomach as he climbed, and he sobbed, "Hold on, my love. Hold on. Please."
Thanking the Creator that the wolves hadn't placed archers in the Crevasse, he reached the top of the rocks and began to run as fast and as far as he was capable, not towards the Tree City as they would expect. But North, towards the river, as Behryn had planned.
He ran, his breath breaking in his throat, surrounded by the birds, swooping and diving before and behind to make sure the path was clear, and ready to cry if a pursuer made it through the ranks.
He ran, unseeing through the forest, heedless of the men fighting for their lives behind him.
He had to get her to safety. He had to.
There was no other option.
*****
The river fed from the mountains, and in this season it was already ice-cold. But Behryn had been clear—get in as deeply as you can and still safely walk, and follow it West, not east toward the Tree City. It would branch a mile upriver, and he was to follow the righthand fork.
Reth's breath tore in his throat, half from the exertion of running with Elia in his arms, clinging to keep her close, to keep pressure on her wounds, half to reassure himself that he had her.
Behind him cries rang out and howls and roars rose, but they soon began to fade, until all Reth heard was the rushing of the water, and his own breath.
"Love, hold on. We're almost there. I will… I will help… just hold on." He had no idea how he would help if—no, he wouldn't think of it. He reached the branch in the river, still running through water thigh deep in places, and took the right fork where the water cut a tiny canyon through rock and dirt, overhung by the brush and trees of the higher ground.
Within a minute he was swallowed, the sun's light blocked so that it was dim and dark. The waterway narrowed and the current became stronger. He was forced to trot along the edge, Elia's back to the rocks and dirt, to make sure he'd have something to hold onto if his feet were swept away.
A high, long whistle sounded, echoing to him through the trees. Reth took a slightly deeper breath, relieved. Behryn had made it out, at least.
Then Elia sucked in a breath, then let it whoosh out. "What…?" she murmured, but her eyes only fluttered and she sank back into his shoulder.
"Elia!" he gasped. "Elia! Wake up!" When she didn't answer, he panicked and pushed harder, though he risked losing his feet.
Why had they placed Aymora and the others so far away? What had they been thinking?
Then one of his feet slid off a rock and he stumbled, his arm dropping into the water. He almost fell, almost pushed Elia under water with his body. Almost lost both of them to the current.
Clinging to her, he found his feet again and stopped, his breath heaving, clinging to the rocks and dirt at the side of the water, his entire body trembling.
"Help," he prayed through teeth chattering more with fear than cold. "I cannot do this alone. I cannot lose her. Help me. Please!"
He waited as wave after wave of fear and rage washed over him. But he continued to pray, to seek the way through this dark valley.
They'd told Aymora and the healer to position over a mile upstream. But when he pulled Elia's head back to check her eyes, her lips were white.
She was losing blood too quickly. He wasn't going to make it. "HELP ME!" he roared.
A whistle, first low, then high, pierced the air and Reth snapped his head around, looking for the source. That wasn't one of Behryn's calls.
"Who—?" he cut himself off. It could be one of the wolves. He couldn't roar again. He couldn't do anything. He had to keep moving. His mate was going to die—
Then, just a few feet up the river, a head appeared between two ferns, peering at him, blonde hair that was silvering, falling down among the branches. "Reth?" Aymora whisper-called.
Thank you, Reth prayed, scrambling towards the point where she leaned in.
Thank you.
*****
FAQ: Will reading the spin-off book, "QUEEN OF BEASTS" ruin "KING OF BEASTS" for me?
Not really! There are a few little things that you'll know, but nothing major. At least, not this early on. There will be a few pieces of information that will give hints to what's going on in BEAST and later on, some plot-points that might be considered spoilers. But the books occur 20 years apart, so as much as I'm able, I'm going to stay away from the plot of BEAST for new readers who come to QUEEN first! So I will do my best not to spoil you!
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