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"No!" Aylin snarled, her fangs flashing, her blue eyes fla "I… need… to do this"

Blood streaash in her temple, and he was pretty sure her left arers around the sharp end of a time-bleached bone With a roar, she twisted her body and stabbed the bone beneath the creature’s fingernail as its hand closed on her ankle

An eerie shriek shattered the air The hand released Aylin, but another burst through the rock, and then a massive snout punched upward Almost in slow an to pull itself onto the bridge

"Aylin, run!"

The creature lunged, catching Aylin’s foot in its gaping ’s chin as Aylin screaony Another raw screa from him

Hunter had felt helplessness before… as a child witnessing his father’s harsh punishainst enemies, clan members, and even Hunter’s mother Later, as an adult, he’d learned that there were a lot of things out of his control, but he’d never accepted powerlessness well

But this… this orse than anything he’d ever experienced, and as he prepared to release the post and fail the test, he reluctantly accepted the fact that he wouldn’t be having children He wouldn’t sacrifice Aylin’s life – or that of any child

He was going to help her

"Hold on!" he shouted "I’th and willpower to sood foot into the beast’s snout It jerked back in surprise, yanking her with it She used the e the sharp bone deep into the creature’s soulless eye

The sound that eed from the deepest trenches in hell, and Hunter swore he felt the very air around hile and both of her feet led so badly he didn’t kno she could walk, let alone run,and stue The moment both feet crossed the threshold onto solid earth, she dropped Hunter cried out in both relief and fear, released the stone, and rushed to her

Terror round on his knees and pulled Aylin’s tre body into his ar’s ass"

"I told you," she moaned

"Dammit, you could have died" He brushed her hair away fro extra careful where it was stuck to her skin with blood – so to the creature but most of it hers

"I was supposed to have died at birth," she rasped "Every day beyond that is a gift If I die today, I still would have lived decades longer than I should have"

His heart quivered There was so very special about this female, and the more time Hunter spent with her, thelike Rasha

A sinister tingle spread across the back of Hunter’s neck like a rash, and a heartbeat later, Saratulations," he said, all cheery and shit "Nearly a fifth of those who take this challenge fail"

Hunter had to clench his teeth to keep fro out at the demon’s casual attitude "Did they fail because they released the post or because the monster killed the feed "Every trial is different They’re all tailored to what the fe in her eyes, Aylin glared "Because I’ve never been afraid of a giant hand popping out of the ground to grab me before But hey, thanks, now I am"

At Aylin’s flippant response, Hunter casually shifted to shield her frohed "I was skeptical about Hunter’s choice of co" He sobered, seeht "Or not Whatever On to the next test"

"She’s in no condition to continue" Hunter gently probed her distorted ar his best not to hurt her She tree midway down her humerus She had what Nicole would call a closed fracture, but all it would take was one wrong move, and one end of the broken bone would puncture the skin And her feet… holy hell, how had she walked on theht foot had to be crushed, and the left ankle was shredded along with the bloody boot "She needs time to heal"

"Time?" Sa at your door"

Alarh Hunter "We’ve only been here for a couple of hours --"

"Not in the human realm It’s been days"

Hunter sucked air between his teeth Days? Shit "Send me to the next test Let Aylin rest"

"Does an injured elk rest when the wolf is nipping at its heels?"

How did the demon know Hunter liked to spout that particular bit of Cherokee wisdo as shit

"Then give us a few hter in an atte body Her pain radiated froive her the kind of relief that would only co his blood She wouldn’t heal fully without rest, but at this point, anything would be better than nothing

"No" Saht, Hunter was ripped away fro a few feet away, as she threw back her head and screah Aylin as the bones in her arether like so pain tore into her muscles and skin, and for a brief second, she wondered if she was being flayed alive

Distantly, she heard Hunter’s voice calling her na The world was a black hole ofthe torht light and Hunter’s handsome face filled her field of vision She wobbled as the earth beneath her solidified Hunter reached out to steady her, but his hand on her biceps wasn’t needed She found her footing quickly and, aly, without pain In fact, she felt no pain froazed at her in astonishone"

She looked down at herself, and sure enough, all evidence of her being attacked by a giant, clawed hand had vanished Every cut, scrape, and broken bone had healed, and even her clothing had been repaired Not a trace of blood reered, as if he wasn’t sure of what he was seeing and was afraid she’d keel over at any reat, alht "Where’s Saoing through that healing process" Hunter looked out across the sandy landscape, which was yellower in color than the last place they’d been A green oasis sprouted out of the sand, and in the very center was a lake of the bluest water Aylin had ever seen "Now, if we can just figure out what he wants from us in this test, we’ll be set"

Hunter started toward the water, but she’d taken only a dozen steps when she realized so was gone She stopped Squeezed her leg from hip to knee No tenderness, no knotted ers probed deep, and her heart stuttered

Her feht