Mira reared then lunged forward, aiming straight for her. Ava couldn’t comprehend what was happening, and her hands refused to raise her sword. Time seemed to slow between raindrops as the sound of Mira’s hooves thundered louder and closer across the sodden earth. The drone of growls and snarls faded and mingled into a distant rumble. Muscles rippled under Mira’s raven hide as Ava watched each reach of those powerful legs propel the deadly horn nearer to her heart. She inhaled and realized each breath was now counting down to her last. Another few hundred feet and the force of the horn would crush through her sternum, break her ribs, and impale her heart.
“Raise your sword,” Mira said in her mind as the distance between them closed. “Trust me.”
Ava at last found her voice. “Trust?! Like hell!”
She could feel small tremors along the ground from Mira’s pounding hooves. She raised the crystal sword, took her stance, and yelled her rage.
A flash erupted in her mind as Mira threw a memory at her in those last fateful seconds.