Brynn didn’t have time to feel betrayal as the Wulfwir’s yowling came so close she swore she could feel its hot breath on her neck.
Hróarr crossed the boundary marker and spun around, sword held loose at his side.“Faster!”he yelled back to her.
Brynn was trying.With a last burst of speed, she dove for the line that marked the boundary.
Guin careened past the stones and spun back around, whining at Hróarr’s side.
A claw hooked Brynn’s shawl, jerking her back.
Brynn screamed as she fell backward, toward the beast.She didn’t even have time to cast a spell before an iron grip caught her arm, yanking her across the barrier marked by the boundary stones.
Her shawl ripped off and pain shot through her shoulder as she crashed to the ground on the safe side of the boundary.
Brynn smacked onto the mud, dead leaves, and twigs breaking her fall.Panting, she spun around to see the Wulfwir looming over both her and Hróarr.
Guin let off a little howl, crawling into Brynn’s lap and licking her face.The puppy growled in the direction of the monster.
The misshapen wolf shrieked and howled, pacing back and forth between the boundary stones, but not going past them.The monster prodded and clawed at the earth, but the spells held.Even if the spells felt weak, they held for now.
Brynn crawled onto her hands and knees.She was lucky to be alive.All three of them were.
A great serpent, a she-troll, and a giant wolf,Cenric had said.It seemed that Valdar’s legends were not ready to fade into myth just yet.
Hróarr did not offer to help her up as he sheathed his sword, glaring at the Wulfwir.If Brynn had arrived a few moments later, they would have eaten him, he must know that.
Brynn stood, her shoulder sore from where Hróarr had yanked her across the last few steps.“You knew it wouldn’t cross the boundary?”Had he at least believed her in that?
“No.”
Brynn shook her head.“Then why did you stop running?”
Hróarr tilted his head toward the forest.“Let’s go.”
“What is it?”Brynn demanded, looking back to the squalling beast on the other side of the boundary.
“I don’t know.”Hróarr grated the admission like a curse.
“Your men called it Wulfwir.”
“I…” Hróarr blinked at the aberration on the other side of the stones as if he still didn’t believe that it was there.
“Is it them?”Brynn dared voice her suspicion out loud.“The monsters fought by the First of Fathers?”
Hróarr watched the creature before them.“I don’t know.”
“The child said that the tree had been weakened and that’s how she and the Wulfwir were able to break free and kill it.”
Hróarr went very still at that.He pointedly did not look at her.
“You mentioned Ovrek did something.Could he have caused this?”Brynn would not want to accuse Ovrek of anything to his face, but it seemed possible.
“He couldn’t have.”Hróarr’s voice lacked conviction.
“What else, then?”
Hróarr made a snapping motion with his wrist.“It’s time to go.”
Brynn didn’t move.“Do you believe me about anything?”
