EMILI
I didn’t answer immediately. Not because I didn’t remember the name, but because I couldn’t get enough air. My mouth was full of blood, my wrists raw, and my body hurt so badly that every breath felt like a knife between my ribs.
“They said her name was Ivanna,” I managed to say. “I don’t know who she is.”
The Lican let out a growl that made the ground vibrate beneath my knees. He turned toward the mangled bodies around us as if considering killing them all over again.
I remained on the ground, unable to move. He was so enormous that even on his knees his head was level with my chest. The creature who had just torn apart three armed men in seconds now breathed heavily in front of me, black fur splattered with blood, those red eyes fixed on my face as if trying to solve a riddle.
