Page 57 of Full Moon
Chapter 27
Easton
My mate has losther mind.
I don't know what's worse—knowing I can't help until the very last moment, or that I honestly think this plan is going to work. Anxiety gnaws at my insides as I watch Feray's wolf creeping closer to the cavern, her fur blending in perfectly with the landscape the farther away she gets. Each silent step she takes feels like a heartbeat, drumming in my ears. When she's several hundred yards from the opening, she barks. The sound echoes across the frozen wasteland, a stark contrast to the eerie silence that preceded it.
We wait.
Breath held tight. Every muscle in my body coiled like a spring. The suspense is unbearable. Suddenly, a rumbling starts deep within the earth.
My heart skips a beat as several yards to the right of the cavern, the worm breaks through the ice. It rises, towering a good ten feet into the air, emitting a strange, unsettling trilling noise that vibrates in my chest. The sound is wrong—alien and hungry.
I watch in horror as Feray shakes her head several times before taking off running. The sight of her tiny figure against the vast, icy expanse fills me with dread.
Run faster. Please, run faster.
The worm doesn't hesitate. It slithers across the tundra after her—a monstrous, undulating mass of pale flesh and frost. We got lucky. This one looks like a juvenile, only about twenty feet long.
Only.
As if twenty feet of death isn't enough. It strikes several times, narrowly missing Feray each time. My heart lurches with each close call. One hit. That's all it would take.
She barks, and I see Khal's head whip in her direction. His basilisk rises up, angling its head down. Feray slams her eyes closed. I feel a tickle at the back of my head—our bond flaring to life.
Keep going straight, then stop.I direct her telepathically.
She follows my instructions perfectly, heading right to Khal's tail. He pulls her into his coils with practiced precision. Within seconds, the worm is turning to stone, petrified by the basilisk's gaze. The trilling cuts off mid-note. Relief floods through me as I see our mate safe within Khal's protective embrace. Finally out of harm's way. My legs nearly give out beneath me.
When Khal deems it safe, he opens his coils, releasing Feray. She trots out head and tail held high, moving from behind the rock to look at what was chasing her. I watch her cock her head from side to side, studying it before returning to Khal's side.
She remains shifted, her massive form shielding Khal from the howling winds as he shifts back and hurriedly gets redressed.Her body quivers slightly with the force of the gale, but she stands firm until he's fully clothed. As soon as he gives a nod, we walk around the rock to inspect the frost worm.
Feray shifts back into her human form and circles the worm, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "It has such tiny eyes," she remarks, climbing up the rock to get a better vantage point. "How in the world did you lock eyes with it?"
I can't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Only Feray would be curious about the monster that nearly killed her.
"Can you get down, please? Some of us need to get out of the wind and cold," I remind her, tightening the scarf around my neck.
"Ooh, shoot, sorry." She leaps off the rock with feline grace and lands in a crouch. "Let's carry on." Feray takes the lead, moving alongside Torben, guiding us toward the ice cave. The snow near the mountain has a frozen top layer, making it crunch louder underfoot.
Occasionally, the sled gets stuck, and we all have to push before we can continue. What should have been a quick journey stretches into an unexpectedly long trek. Finally, at the mouth of the cavern, Feray stops and glances at the eggs nestled within before stepping inside with Khal at her side.
That's when everything goes wrong. Another worm darts out from the tunnel, aiming straight for them. My heart leaps into my throat.
No. No, no, no?—
Khal reacts with lightning speed, pulling Feray behind him. I watch in abject horror as the worm closes in, its maw openingwide enough to swallow them both. But inch by inch, the worm's skin petrifies. Khal's stone gaze is apparently just as effective in his human form as it is shifted. The worm turns to stone mere feet from his face.
Mereinchesfrom Feray.
"That was close. You okay, Precious?" Khal asks, turning to check on her.
"I'm okay. It has to be the other one's mate," Feray says, her voice steady but her eyes wide.
"I'm pretty sure you are correct." I kiss her temple in passing, needing the brief contact, the proof that she's still here, still breathing.
I turn my attention to the worm, studying it closely. Its tiny eyes glisten in the dim light, and I notice the barbs on its sides—likely used for propulsion underground.
