I’d failed her.
Lies.
Desperation drove me forward with relentless fury, and I ripped and
raged and tore until a patch of pale skin appeared between the roots.
Savannah.
She was bound and wrapped in roots, fully restrained and covered with
blood with the Soul Knife clutched limply in her hand.
The sight of her sent me into a frenzy. I seized the knife and began
chopping away, but as soon as I severed some of the roots, they shifted, and
she started to sink again.
I grabbed her arm before she slipped out of sight, and her eyes shot open.
“Jaxson…they’re pulling me back!” Her voice was weak and strained with
pain.
My chest rumbled, and I slashed through the great root that had wound
itself around her waist. The tension on her body eased, and another tremor
shook the cave. With one hand around her, I carefully sliced the remaining
roots that had entangled her body and pulled her, cold and naked, from the
knot.
“You have the knife,” she murmured. Then she waved her hand, and it
vanished from my grip. “No one should have that knife.” She wrapped her
arms around my neck. “I almost made it to you.”
“You did,” I growled as I lifted her up.
The root-infested tunnel shook, and more rocks clattered down around us.
Time to go.
I turned and climbed up the tunnel with Savannah in my arms. My legs
were exhausted, but the faint beat of her heart against my chest drove me
forward, giving me strength.
“I killed him,” she whispered, her words fading into almost nothing.
“Your pack is safe…”
“You did well,” I said softly as I pushed my way back up the tunnel.