GABRIEL

The moment the ground gave way, I knew we were lost.

The creatures’ claws dug deep into my arms and shoulders, their touch like ice, pulling me down into the black mire. Mud surged up around my chest, thick and suffocating, burning in my throat each time I tried to breathe.

Beside me, Catriona screamed, her hands clawing at the air as if she could catch a hold of something—anything. Abriel was thrashing wildly, his tiny body pinned beneath a talon, his cries muffled as the sludge tried to swallow him whole.

Not him.

With a snarl, I wrenched free one arm, ignoring the talons that tore my skin...