Chapter 15: Panther Sickness

"AHHHHH!"

Karina’s vocal cords practically tore as she scrambled backward, pressing Valen tightly against her chest until her spine hit the far wall of the carriage.

The carriage door was violently ripped clean off its iron hinges, flying into the forest like a piece of useless cardboard. Shoving its massive, terrifying head into the opening was a panther. But this wasn’t some majestic beast of the wild. It looked absolutely deranged. Its eyes were rolled back, milky and unseeing, and thick, viscous foam dripped from its yellowed fangs. It let out a guttural, gargling hiss, swiping its massive claws blindly into the carriage, desperately trying to reach them.

Karina squeezed her eyes shut, shielding Valen with her entire body. This is it, she thought. I survived college diarrhea just to be eaten by a rabid cat!

Just as the beast’s claws grazed the hem of her emerald traveling gown, a blur of darkness slammed into the side of the carriage.

CRASH!

Leonidas, in his full, towering Shadow Panther form, collided with the mad beast like a freight train. He shoved the deranged panther entirely away from the carriage, sending them both tumbling into the brush with a series of earth-shattering roars and the sickening sound of tearing flesh.

Inside the carriage, Karina and Valen were left shaking. She was vibrating so violently her teeth rattled. Valen was clutching her bodice, his little panther ears pinned completely flat against his skull.

Aldric, Karina thought, her eyes wide with terror. Oh my god, Aldric and Sophie! Are they okay?!

She wanted to run out, to check the carriage behind them, but her legs refused to cooperate. She was simply too terrified to move an inch.

After some time, and sounds of wet gurgling and tearing, Leonidas stepped into the frame.

He had shifted back into his human form. And thankfully, to Karina’s immense relief, he wasn’t naked. Somehow, his magic or beast-shifting logic meant he was wearing his black doublet and trousers again. However, he was completely drenched in blood. Dark red splatters coated his face, his chest, and his hands, dripping onto the carriage floor.

He gripped the edge of the broken doorframe, his chest heaving. His vibrant purple eyes were wide, darting frantically around the carriage before locking onto them.

For the first time since she had met him, the arrogant, stoic Panther King actually looked... terrified.

"Are you hurt?!" Leonidas demanded, his voice cracking with an emotion that sounded dangerously close to panic. He leaned in, his gaze fixed intensely on Valen. "Answer me!!!!"

Valen, still shaking in Karina’s arms, slowly turned his head. He looked at his father’s blood-soaked form, his little jaw tightening. Then, he deliberately turned his face away, burying it back into Karina’s shoulder. He didn’t even acknowledge him.

Leonidas flinched, the rejection hitting him visibly harder than the rabid panther had.

Karina blinked, her brain finally rebooting. "No... I..." She swallowed hard, finding her voice. "Aldric!"

She practically threw herself out of the carriage, ignoring Leonidas’s outstretched hand as she scrambled onto the dirt path. Her knees felt like jelly, but she forced herself to run toward the second carriage.

"Aldric! Sophie!"

The door of the second carriage swung open, and General Aldric stepped out, looking perfectly unharmed but completely frazzled. Sophie was peeking out from behind him, clutching her lavender skirts, her face pale but safe. Thank goodness.

"General!" Karina gasped, leaning against the wooden wheel of the carriage to catch her breath. "Why didn’t you come out?! Were you attacked?!"

Aldric let out a heavy sigh, running a hand down his face in exasperation. He looked incredibly relieved to see her, but also deeply annoyed. "I wanted to check on you immediately, Your Imperial Majesty. I had my sword drawn the moment we stopped."

"Then why didn’t you?!"

Aldric shot a dark glare over Karina’s shoulder toward Leonidas, who was now walking toward them. "Because His Majesty here explicitly threatened to kill Lady Sophie if I dared to leave her side."

Karina’s jaw dropped. She spun around to face Leonidas. "He did what????????"

"I gave him a direct order to guard the weaker liabilities," Leonidas said flatly, wiping a streak of blood from his cheek with the back of his hand.

"Liability?!" Sophie squeaked from the carriage.

Karina was furious. The sheer audacity of this man! She marched right up to Leonidas, ignoring the blood dripping from his clothes. She swallowed her lingering terror and pointed a trembling finger squarely at his chest.

"My son has no business being here!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the trees. "If this is what a trip to Shadow’s Edge looks like, you are completely out of your mind! So you knew this would happen?!"

"Of course not!" Leonidas roared back, his own temper flaring. He ran a bloodstained hand through his raven hair, looking stressed. "I didn’t know they would make it this far out! There is a sickness affecting some panthers in the outer regions. An illness that drives them feral. We do not know why yet!"

Karina’s eyes widened. "You have a plague and you did not think to tell me???????"

Leonidas scoffed, a sarcastic smirk pulling at his lips despite the grim situation. "Oh, my apologies, Empress. I must have forgotten to mention the classified kingdom security crisis over our lovely dinner."

"You arrogant, insufferable—"

"Enough," Leonidas interrupted, his expression hardening. He looked around the dense forest, the shadows growing longer as the sun began to dip below the tree line. "It is getting dark. The scent of blood will attract more of them. We must go. Now."

Karina threw her hands in the air. "Go where!!!! Our carriage door is ripped off, and the driver is dead!"

She pointed to the front of the carriage, where the poor driver’s mangled remains lay draped over the reins.

Leonidas didn’t even blink. "I know the way, don’t I?" He stepped past her, walking toward the lead horses. "I will drive. Get in the carriage."

Karina swallowed hard, a cold knot of dread settling in her stomach. "How far?"

"The journey to Shadow’s Edge takes three days," Leonidas said gruffly, taking the reins and moving the deceased driver aside with startling efficiency. He paused, turning his head to look at her, his purple eyes softening just a fraction. "I swear on my crown to protect you both. We will find an inn before nightfall. Just... get in the carriage, Karina."

She was terrified. Every instinct told her to turn around and run back to the capital. But she looked at Valen, who was currently glaring daggers at his father from the carriage steps, and reluctantly agreed.

She climbed back into the drafty, doorless carriage and pulled Valen into her lap, hugging him tightly. Three days of this. Three days of blood, beasts, and an emotionally constipated Panther King.

I am definitely underpaid for this, she thought, burying her face into her son’s soft hair as the carriage lurched forward into the darkening woods.