The beastmen tightened their circle around Altair, their wooden spears aimed squarely at his chest.
Ren stood frozen against Vex, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. The sharp tip of Vex's claw remained pressed to her throat.
"Altair, run!" Ren shrieked, struggling against Vex's grip.
But Altair didn't even flinch. The Golden Eagle Prince stood his ground, a monument of muscular perfection. Unbothered, he raised his fists, his silver eyes narrowing at the approaching threat.
"Take the bird!" a scarred boar beastman bellowed, charging forward with his spear leveled like a javelin.
Altair pivoted on his heel with the fluid grace of a dancer, letting the spear sail harmlessly past his ribs. In the same breath, his hand shot out, grabbing the boar by the tusks. With a CRACK, Altair delivered a knee strike straight to the boar's snout. The three-hundred-pound beastman lifted off his feet and flew backward, crashing into a thick oak trunk and slumping into the dirt.
