Chapter 5743

He drew a long, ragged breath, forcing the ache down to a dull throb. The road was his own choosing. However brutal the climb, he would take each step himself.

A faint whimper-almost a howl-snapped him back. The small fire unicorn peeked over the crater’s rim, its tiny body singed but largely spared by the aftershock of Jared’s power. Dizzy, yet determined, it tottered down and began licking the blood from his cheek, worry brimming in its wide eyes.

Jared’s chest warmed. He stroked the creature’s fiery-soft head. “Easy, little one. I’m all right.”

The tenderness lasted only a heartbeat before the air shifted-warmth replaced by a reeking gust loaded with menace.

A guttural snarl boomed behind him, riding that fetid wind. Instinct overrode pain. Jared whirled, blood roaring in his ears.

A black-furred giant ape-taller than a two-story house, muscles knotted like mountain stone-bared crimson eyes and a cavernous maw.

It launched, talons broad enough to cleave cliffs, aiming straight for the wounded man who had barely found his feet.