While I was busy berating myself, Morgan made a sudden dash for one of the closest apple trees. The lions leapt after her, charging with predatorial grace. Every muscle in my body coiled, and I leaned against my prison wall as I watched, air frozen in my lungs. With her pursuers just ten feet behind her, Morgan flung herself into a diving roll, twisting as she rose to fling her knife with exacting precision into the neck of one of the lions. It reared up upon impact and made a rumble of surprise while its partner continued to surge ahead. I was aware Morgan had been trained in combat, but her agile skill was mesmerizing. Her flawless movements were calculated and efficient. The knife hadn’t been the throwing sort, yet she had done so as if it were a perfectly weighted throwing knife. I fel
