ATASHA’S POV
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I thought he would lunge at me like a beast ready to rip me apart.
But he didn’t.
<b>72 </b>
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Cassian’s eyes shifted past me, and in the same second, he kicked out of the saddle and hit the ground with a heavy thud. His hand moved, and a de shed. I didn’t even see where it came from. One moment his hand was empty, the next a sword glinted in the moonlight. Maybe it was left by the soldier who rode this horse earlier, but I hadn’t seen him take it.
Only then did I hear the growl behind me.
I spun halfway, but Cassian was already moving. The creature darting out of the shadows wasn’t like any wolf I had ever seen. Its body was long, low, and sleek, built for speed. Its spots reminded me of a leopard’s, but its legs were shorter, faster, its tail whipping for bnce as it sprang. Its jaws opened wide, showing two fangs so long they barely fit in its mouth, dripping with a fluid that gave off a sharp, chemical stink. Poison.
Cassian met it mid–air. His sword carved across its shoulder, the impact loud enough to make the beast yelp and crash to the ground. It hit the snow, rolled, andunched again with frightening speed. Cassian didn’t back up. He caught it with his free hand by the scruff of its neck and wrenched it up like it weighed nothing.
The beast screeched and twisted, ws raking across his arm. He ignored it. His grip tightened until the sound turned to a choking hiss. Then he mmed it down into the snow, hard enough that the ground shook.
I staggered back, dagger clutched uselessly in my hand. How is he… so strong?
The animal kicked and writhed, but Cassian yanked it back up and flung it sideways, straight into a boulder. The crack of impact was sharp, bones snapping, but he didn’t stop. He hauled
it
up again and smashed it into the ground, then swung it against the opposite rock. The body whipped back and forth like a rag, each strike spraying more blood across the snow.
It wasn’t red.
A dark, blue–ck liquid burst from its mouth and wounds, sttering across the rocks, across him, across me. The smell was acrid, bitter, and it stung my nose. The beast’s insides were spilling, thick chunks tearing loose as he continued to thrash it against the earth. By the time its body finally hung limp, its shape was almost unrecognizable, just a torn sack of flesh leaking poison into the snow.
Cassian let the carcass drop at his feet. His chest rose as he looked down at the mess as if it
<b>12:01 </b><b>Wed</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>10
were nothing more than trash in his way.
:
<b>72 </b>
5 vouchers
The scene before me made me freeze. My throat locked, and my dagger hung useless at my side. I hadn’t even noticed my hands were shaking until I saw the de trembling in my grip. The snow around us was soaked with streaks of that foul blood, steaming in the cold, the stench clinging to my tongue.
I had no words. Not one.
Then he turned towards me. Was he going to attack me now?
My chest tightened. A moment ago, I thought I could fight him. I thought I had at least a chance to put up resistance. But after seeing what he did to that beast, how easily he ripped it apart, I knew better. If he decided to wring my neck, it would be over in an instant. I might not even feel it.
Is this how it ends?
My grip on the dagger loosened. My arm felt too heavy to lift. I swallowed hard, bracing myself for the strike that would end me.
He came closer, boots crunching into the snow with every step. His eyes glowed red, fixed on me, and that grin stayed stered on his face. My chest tightened. Then I realized, I couldn’t hold his stare anymore. I squeezed my eyes shut, shoulders locking up, bracing for the moment his hands would close around me.
But nothing happened.
The air shifted and I could feel it. He was right there, close enough that I could feel the heat rolling off him. His shadow fell over me, his size blocking everything else, but his hands nevernded.
I forced myself to open my eyes.
He was standing right in front of me. His size swallowed the space, his broad shoulders blotting out everything else. His eyes still burned red, and that cruel smirk hadn’t left his face. And I… I couldn’t breathe<i>. </i>
Then his hand caught my chin. His grip wasn’t crushing, but it left me no choice but to look up at him. My heart mmed so hard against my ribs I swore he could hear it. My lungs refused to draw air, and all I could think was one word. Live.
Survive.
But how? I was standing in front of Cassian. I was standing in front of a beast!
His gaze pinned me in ce. And for a moment, he didn’t blink, didn’t move, just studied me
<b>72 </b>
5 vouchers
like he was deciding whether I was worth keeping alive. My knees wavered, but I didn’t dare move. Perhaps, pretending to be dead is better than this.
For what felt like forever, he held me like that.
Then, suddenly, a sound left him. A low, sharp, almost like augh cut short. He snorted, and the smirk deepened.
Before I could react, his arm wrapped around my waist. He lifted me clear off feet as if I
my weighed nothing. My stomach lurched as I tightened my hold on the dagger in my hand. The next second, I was slung over his shoulder, hanging upside down like I was nothing more than a sack of grain.
Heat radiated from him, the hard press of muscle and the solid weight of his frame impossible to ignore. My face burned where it brushed against his back, and even through fear, my body betrayed me with a rush of awareness. His hold seemed unshakable, impossible
to escape.
I pressed my palms against his back, torn between pushing away and clinging tighter. My heart still pounded against my ribs as he started moving.
What is he going to do? My eyes widened as realization hit me. Is he going to… feed me to the
beasts?
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