Chapter 70: Why Me?
>>Aelin
The force that had slammed into Draegon wasn’t massive, but it was terrifying. My breath hitched as I caught sight of it—an unnatural creature that looked as if it had been stitched together from nightmares.
Its head was that of a goat, elongated and gaunt, with thick, curling horns that spiraled outward like broken, jagged tree branches. But its face—if it could even be called that—was devoid of eyes. There were only deep, hollow pits where they should have been, as though something had gouged them out long ago. Its mouth was too wide, stretching unnaturally along its jaw, with teeth that jutted out at odd angles, yellowed and uneven.
The rest of its body was grotesquely wrong. It had the frame of a dog, its ribs sharply visible beneath a layer of taut, blackened flesh, but instead of four legs, it had eight—each ending in clawed paws that twitched as if independent from the rest of its body. Its spine curved unnaturally, and it moved with an eerie unnatural way as it lunged at Draegon again.
Draegon barely had time to react. He brought up his arm to shield himself as the creature slashed at him, its claws raking against his scales with an ear-piercing screech. Sparks flew from the impact, and Draegon snarled, whipping his tail around to send the beast staggering backward.
But I had no time to see more.
A sharp, delighted laugh sliced through the chaos.
"Finally."
Ruoxy’s voice sent a bolt of fear straight through me, but I didn’t even have time to think. In the same instant, she launched herself at me.
She moved too fast—her broken body shouldn’t have been able to move at all, but she did. Her form twisted unnaturally as she propelled herself forward. Her nails gleamed, long and sharp, and her mouth curled into a wild grin.
Every instinct screamed at me to move.