could hear it all the way in his tower. But nothing stirred in the darkness.
Then a subtle scratching echoed from the cave. Jaxson tensed, and I held
my breath.
From out of the shadows, a dark shape emerged. A massive reptilian head
swung left and right. It flicked out its tongue, searching the garden for the
source of the sounds.
Us.
23
Jaxson
Shit.
I yanked Savannah down behind the ornamental hedge. “Whatever you
do, do not look at its eyes, or you’ll end up like the statues in the garden.”
Amal dropped beside us. “Stay quiet and crawl along the bushes.”
I glanced through the gap beneath the hedge.
The six-legged basilisk moved cautiously, testing the air with its tongue.
Every few seconds, it raised and lowered a frill along its back. It hadn’t
spotted us. That was something. I motioned for Savannah and Amal to start
moving along the hedge.
Something rustled, and I checked beneath the bush again.
The thing had moved twenty feet, and I’d barely heard it. It was now only
a few feet from where Amal and Savannah were still slowly crawling.
My mate. Protect her.
My pulse surged, and a wild madness consumed me. It was pure instinct,
driven by the mate bond. Fuck.
I shot forward like lighting and slammed my claws into the basilisk’s
back. It roared and thrashed as I tore away at its armored hide.
As long as I held on, it couldn’t look at me.
The beast reached the same conclusion and dropped onto its side to roll. I
thrust back before I was crushed and slammed into the side of the fountain.
Dirt and leaves exploded into the air as a massive reptilian claw swept the