The arrow whistled through the torchlit chaos like a silver streak of death.
Kael saw it first, his wolf's heightened senses locking onto the deadly shaft the instant it left the string. Time slowed. The bond screamed in his chest, Seren's terror and exhaustion flooding him in a raw wave. He lunged forward with a roar that shattered stone, muscles bunching beneath dark fur as he crossed the blood-slicked chamber in three impossible bounds.
His massive, clawed hand shot out. The arrowhead grazed his palm, drawing a line of fire, but he closed his fist around the shaft and snapped it in two before it could reach her heart. The broken pieces clattered to the ground.
Seren stood only feet away, swaying on legs that no longer obeyed her. Her small hands, now tipped with delicate, half-formed claws, clutched at the air for balance. Her eyes, wide and golden-flecked, met his for one heartbeat before her knees buckled.
Kael caught her before she hit the stone.
