Kaelen barely held his footing, each swing of his blade heavier than the last. The three creatures circled him like predators, their glowing eyes unblinking, their guttural growls reverberating through the forest. The air felt alive with tension, crackling like a storm about to break.
Seraphina crouched behind the twisted roots of an ancient tree, and could hardly breathe. She clutched a jagged piece of rock, her knuckles white. Kaelen's shouted command to run echoed in her mind, but her legs wouldn't obey. She couldn't leave him. Not like this.
The largest creature lunged, claws flashing in the dim light. Kaelen sidestepped, twisting his blade upward in a desperate arc. The strike landed, carving a deep gash across the beast's shoulder. It howled in pain, staggering back, but the other two closed in.
