Fireborn Champion Read Online Free

weight nearly crushed his back as the third wolf dove after the others. Iron shut his eyes. One more. Please. Please .
    Heavy paws thumped on the granite beside him. A howl rode the wind and faded downhill. Iron cracked an eye and stared at the massive alpha of the pack. He smelled its sweat on the wind, heard its hot breaths puff into the cold.  
    Then, the wolf leapt off the outcropping and followed his mirage. Iron watched the four black creatures chase a comet of smoke darting at an angle to the east, away from home—hopefully for good.  
    He struggled to his feet despite their throbbing. His knee ached mightily. Cuts and bruises stained his forearms where he’d hit the ground. His spell had camouflaged his body against the rock but the effect quickly faded. With it, so would his illusion.
    The rabid howl down below confirmed the spell’s end. He edged to the outcrop and looked down. Glittering eyes glared hungrily from black forms working their way uphill. Iron sighed and bent his head, pressing his palms hard against his temples.
    He inhaled and wiped snot dribbling from his nose. Turning, he faced the mighty wall of the thundersnow. The cloud was so massive, it filled one end of the horizon to another. Sander always said the gods built the Everfrosts as a monument to their might, but facing the titan storm, Iron couldn’t help but think that this was the true testament to the Six’s power. Such majestic destruction.
    Iron sighed. He crossed his arms over his face. “Here we go…”
    The storm smashed against him with all its fury.

    They called it a thundersnow. Standing in it, Iron thought thunder glass more appropriate. Each flake of snow or speck of ice cut against his forearms. He sucked in his breath and gathered what magic remained within him. He bent his head and turned so the wind was at his back. Somewhere below, those cursed wolves still stalked him.
    Where do I go? I’m never going to find Sander in this .
    Magic enveloped him, and some of the painful storm abated. He couldn’t drop the spell unless he wanted to end up frozen or worse, but it sapped his strength. Snow and ice swirled from all directions. Iron held a hand before him. His fingers faded against the storm’s dark veil.
    Great .
    The doe had asked for forgiveness. Was she his mother, come back from the grave to warn him? Sander never told him much of what came before their arrival in Skaard, and Iron didn’t remember anything besides the frozen wasteland of their home.  
    A branch caught his jaw and cut flesh. Pay attention!
    He shivered, realizing he could barely feel his feet and his hands. Maybe now wasn’t the time to sit down and ponder what was turning out to be a very odd day.  
    He still faced the ledge—he hoped. If he was lucky, the wolves were working their way toward him. With the winds at his back and his body a good deal lighter thanks to being mostly mist, he might gain some distance between them. Keep facing forward, power through the thundersnow, and he might live long enough to survive the brutal front. It would only last a few minutes if the Six blessed him.
    Iron backed from the edge. He crouched, wincing once again at his knee. Then, he charged. He left the ground with a grunt and spread his arms. Wind roared around him, shearing long ribbons of his ghostly body before him.
    His time in the air continued long enough for him to wonder if he would ever touch the ground again. At first, he feared spearing himself on a frozen branch launched by the storm or getting his skull crushed by an airborne rock. That fear gave way to a new thought. The thundersnow might carry him off into the distance and drop him somewhere in the wilds, somewhere Sander had never taken him.
    You’re riding a thundersnow. A thundersnow! Why are you afraid of anything?
    Iron’s fear evaporated with his excitement. He inhaled, slowly spreading his arms to the winds. He flew above the lower reaches, above the trees, above the rocks, above