Drayce flashed him a broad grin. “Can’t let you look like the saving hero when I’m supposed to be protecting your ass.”
“Get on your feet, Drayce!” Eno roared.
They both rolled their eyes at the same time, and Drayce laughed. But Eno had a point. Lying on the ground wasn’t the best defensive position, and he was there solely to protect Caelan. Drayce rose and helped to pull Caelan to his feet while surveying the scene. Eno had his broadsword drawn and was faced off against two mountain lions who were growling and spitting at him, one paw batting at him like he was a freaking toy.
Rayne was a few feet away from him, his staff clutched in both hands, but there was no missing the shining spear tip. So the advisor wasn’t all books and meetings. He’d had some training, making the royal bookworm lightning quick with his staff and clearly lethal judging by the disemboweled lion lying at his feet. Blood was splashed across the front of his shirt and shining on his hands.
Another big cat was in front of Rayne, ears pinned back and fangs bared in a long, angry hiss. All its muscles were tensed, poised to launch itself at Rayne.
But that was only four. Drayce had shot one in the face. He didn’t see the body right off, but he was positive the thing had either run off or fallen dead somewhere close by. That meant there had to be at least one more.
His only warning was a low rumbling growl like approaching thunder. He swung to his left, lifting the gun in time to see the massive creature launch itself at him. The world slowed down, and his breath froze in his lungs, trapped behind a scream. Too late to run.
Its giant paws were outstretched, curved black claws caught the faint light. Drayce fired into its chest while shoving backward off his heels to avoid being mauled by the beast. The bullets hammered into the cat, tearing through striped fur and slowing its forward progress.
Drayce’s shoulders slammed into a tree, trapping him as the cat narrowly missed. He blinked and Caelan was there, grabbing his arm.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he exhaled, not liking the shaking quality to his voice. “You?”
“Yeah. You’re gonna need to reload.”
“What?” Drayce blinked, trying to make sense of what his friend was trying to tell him.
“Reload. You need to reload your gun. You fired your entire magazine into it.”
Drayce didn’t remember pulling the trigger that many times. Hell, he didn’t remember pulling the trigger at all. He’d just seen the claws, fangs, and that massive body coming for him, coming to tear him apart.
“Yeah, okay,” he agreed. He dug into his pocket with a shaking hand, relying on the tree to keep him upright until his legs could support him. Caelan remained by his side, sword in his hand, almost seeming to dare any of the cats to come toward them.
No, he had to pull it together. Eno was still outnumbered and barely managing to keep them at bay. Rayne was holding his own, but they needed to improve his odds as well.
With the one gun reloaded, Drayce drew the other from his holster and charged into the fray. His heart was pounding in his ears and his breathing was reduced to short pants, but fear had turned into adrenaline and excitement. This wasn’t exactly what he’d trained for, but he felt he was on better footing now.
Caelan was at his side, his sword raised and swinging in smooth arcs, cutting one attacker down before he could lay a paw on Eno. Rayne removed the last cat lion circling him, while Eno took out his final opponent. Smooth as Zastrad silk.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Eno snarled the second the last beast hit the dirt. He whirled on Drayce, broadsword still drawn, and Drayce was hard-pressed not to raise his own guns in his defense.
“What—”
“Your goofing off could have gotten Caelan killed. As it was, he had to save your ass!”
“I wasn’t goofing off!” Drayce shouted. His cheeks burned, and he didn’t dare peek at his friend to confirm whether he felt the same way. Maybe he hadn’t taken the threat as seriously as he should have at first, but he’d not been goofing off. Eno was way off base. The asshole was always looking for a reason to snap at him.
“And blowing through all your ammo on one cat? You’re not carrying an endless supply with you. You don’t know when we’re going to be able to stock up. What good are you going to be when you’re out of bullets?”
Caelan marched up to Eno and gave his shoulder a hard shove, rocking the larger man sideways a little as Caelan came to stand in front of Drayce. “Knock it off. He wasn’t goofing off, and he fought as well as everyone else. He’s fine.”