Chapter 14: I Just Wanted a Nap!

Karina had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Oh, this is beautiful. The mighty Panther King, reduced to awkward small talk with a six-year-old who couldn’t care less.

She could practically see the steam coming out of Leonidas’s ears. The man was used to being worshipped, feared, and admired. He was not used to being ignored by his own son.

Serves you right, you arrogant cat.

Leonidas tried again, but with her this time, seeing as the little Panther cub wouldn’t engage with him. "Empress. I hope the accommodations at my castle will meet your expectations."

Karina didn’t look away from the window. "I’m sure they’ll be adequate."

"Adequate?" There was a note of indignation in his voice. "The castle of Shadow’s Edge is one of the finest fortresses on the continent. It’s not just ’adequate.’"

"That’s nice."

Leonidas’s eye twitched. "Is that all you have to say? ’That’s nice’?"

Karina finally turned to look at him, her expression utterly flat. "What would you like me to say? Shall I gush about your castle? Sing its praises? Fall to my knees and weep with gratitude?"

Leonidas opened his mouth, then closed it again. He looked like a fish gasping for air. ℯℯ𝑙.

Hehehehe.

Valen, oblivious to the tension between his parents, finished his first lollipop and immediately started on the second. He licked it with the focus he had used to devour the first one, his ears twitching occasionally as if to block out the sound of his parents’ bickering.

The hours stretched on. The landscape outside the window gradually changed from green fields to rolling hills, and then to dense forests. The road became rougher, and the carriage jostled with every bump.

Karina felt her eyelids growing heavy. The rhythmic motion of the carriage, the warmth of the sun streaming through the window, the soft sound of Valen’s licking... it was all so soothing.

She tried to fight it, but eventually, her exhaustion won.

Just a short nap, she told herself. Just a few minutes...

She didn’t remember closing her eyes. But she must have, because the next thing she knew, the world was shaking.

Jolt.

Karina’s eyes snapped open. She sat up straight, her heart pounding, her senses on high alert.

"Uh? Wha—what’s wrong?"

Leonidas was already on his feet, or as close to on his feet as he could get in the confines of the carriage. His nostrils were flared, and his eyes flashed as he took a long and deep sniff.

"Stay here," he growled, furrowing his brows. "Don’t move."

"Leonidas, wait—"

But the carriage jerked to a sudden, violent halt, throwing Karina forward. She caught herself on the edge of the seat, her fingers beginning to tremble. Meanwhile, Valen’s lollipop flew from his grasp, clattering against the floor.

"What’s wrong?" Valen’s small voice cut through the tense silence, fear slowly creeping into his eyes. "Why did we stop?"

Before anyone could answer, a blood-curdling scream split the air.

It came from outside. From the driver’s seat.

Oh no.

"LEONIDAS DON’T!" Karina shrieked, but he was already moving. The carriage door burst open, and he leaped out, his body shifting as he moved. Karina caught a glimpse of black fur and sharpened claws before the door slammed shut again.

[SYSTEM ALERT: HIGH ALERT DETECTED]

[Hostile presence approaching. Unknown threat.]

Hostile presence? What the hell is going on?

Karina’s instincts kicked in. Without thinking, she lunged across the carriage and grabbed Valen, pulling him into her arms and pressing his face against her chest. Her body curved around his small frame, shielding him from the windows, from the doors, from whatever was out there.

"Don’t look," she whispered, her voice trembling despite her best efforts to keep it steady. "Don’t look, sweetie. Just close your eyes."

Valen’s small hands fisted in her gown, his body shaking against hers. "I’m scared."

"I know, baby. I know." She pressed a kiss to the top of his head, her arms tightening around him. "But I’ve got you. I’ve got you. You’re safe."

Please let him be safe. Please let us both be safe.

But even as she held him, she could feel the truth pressing in on her. Something was out there. Something had killed the driver. And Leonidas, arrogant, infuriating Leonidas, had just walked straight into it. Her mind wandered to Aldric and Sophie in the carriage behind them. Were they safe? What was even going on?

As if this situation could not get any worse, she caught a whiff of something.

Blood. A lot of blood.

No. No, no, no.

She moved before she could think, pressing her face against the carriage window. The glass was dark, but she could just make out shapes in the forest. Trees. Shadows. And something else. Something large and dark and moving too fast to track.

Suddenly a sound rang out, a roar that made the ground tremble.

Oh god.

Karina held on closer to Valen, certain he could feel the racing of her heart. What was out there? And why now when they were on their way?

Silence reigned for a while, lulling them into a false sense of security. This was before the door was torn open, a massive and bloody hand reaching inside with claws that glinted like iron.

"AHHHH!!!!"