Chapter 42: Flight or Fight
>>Aelin
The scream tore from my throat before I even realized it, raw and desperate. "Ariston!" It was an instinctual movement as I turned and ran. The monster bit the air as I narrowly escaped, the bite was a mere millimeter away from me. I felt a few strands of my hair get pulled, probably by the monster’s bite but I didn’t stop and kept running.
It came after me.
I could see Ariston atop the massive beast, his spear buried deep in its skull, dark ichor dripping down its twisted form. For a fleeting moment, I thought he had it under control—that we could finish off that monster since his blade was pierced where the core was.
But the sound of my voice caught his attention.
He turned his head toward me, his expression sharp with concern. "Princess?!"
That single moment of distraction was all it took.
The monster let out a roar so deep and guttural that it seemed to reverberate through the very air, shaking my bones and sending a shiver down my spine. The sound was almost alive, vibrating through the stone walls of the dungeon and amplifying the chaos all around us.
Before I could fully process the sheer terror of that sound, it moved. Despite its massive bulk, the creature surged sideways with horrifying speed, its grotesque form slamming into the wall like a battering ram.
"Ariston!" I screamed, my voice raw and desperate as I saw him perched on the monster’s head, spear still lodged in the back of its skull.
The impact came too fast. The creature’s immense body crushed him against the unforgiving stone, the sickening crunch of bone breaking echoing in my ears. Blood burst outward in a gruesome arc, splattering across the rough surface of the wall like an obscene painting.