In the Wake of the Wicked (The Veridian Empire, #1)

by V.B. Lacey

My eyes were glued on the remaining man, and I almost didn’t hear Ragnar’s cry. “Rose!” A growl erupted behind me. I whirled to find myself face-to-face with the snow leopard, mouth ajar and teeth glinting. I bit down on the amaranth still clinging to my tongue and threw up my hands, muttering, “Aegesis nova!” The sensation of air being ripped from my lungs and pulled taut as a bowstring fell across my skin as the snow leopard leapt toward me. He instantly slammed into an invisible barrier, and I watched in both horror and morbid fascination as my spell took its effect. Chunks of flesh tore themselves from his shoulder, as if caught in the snare of his own sharp jaws. He yowled and collapsed to the ground, blood oozing from the wound as he struggled to find his footing.