Only I didn’t want to do it.
That knowledge did little to calm my racing heart. I started pacing and didn’t stop until a honey-haired draken arrived with supper. Davina silently placed the covered dish and wine on the table. She didn’t even look in my direction, and I had no idea if it was because she had learned of my betrayal or not. Davina had never been the friendliest draken.
“Has…Nyktos returned?” I asked.
She arched a brow at me, said nothing, and stalked out of the room. I was alone once more. The food was delicious, but I couldn’t remember what it was as soon as I placed the lid over the dish, eyeing the door that connected my chamber to Nyktos’s.
Was it still unlocked?
I stood, taking several steps toward the door before stopping myself. Pushing out a deep breath, I returned to the chaise and tucked my legs under me. I wastired, and a seed of concern took root, despite all the many valid reasons explaining why I would be worn down: the lack of sleep. Feeding Nyktos. Taric’s bite. Learning the truth about the embers, and, well…the stress of everything else. That’s what I told myself as I closed my eyes. It was the only way I could fall asleep—something I needed ifI was going to figure out what to do. Because if I acknowledged the other reason, that it was the Culling, there would be no rest for sure. Because the Culling ended only one way.
With my death.
A deafening crack woke me, and it took more than a couple of moments for me to remember where I was.
Slowly sitting up, I looked around the chamber lit by a lone wall sconce by the doors. Had it been thunder? That didn’t seem right. I didn’t think it could storm in the Shadowlands.
I started to rise but stopped myself as a soft blanket slid to my waist. Frowning, I sank my fingers into the plush material and glanced at the basket it had been rolled up in—now empty. I didn’t remember getting the blanket before sitting down.
A sudden intense light flashed from outside, lighting the entire space. I jumped to my feet, my heart thumping as I went to the balcony doors. That was way too bright for lightning, but the boom of thunder followed, just as the chamber doors swung wide.
Orphine rushed inside, her crimson eyes as luminous as polished rubies. “Do not go out there.”
I took one look at the unsheathed sword she held at her side and spun around, throwing open the doors.
“Godsdamn it,” Orphine growled.
The breath I took immediately choked me. Smoke filled the air and smothered the starlight, stinging my eyes and burning my throat. Shouts echoed from the courtyard and the massive Rise surrounding the House of Haides as I rushed to the railing.
Gripping the cool stone, I leaned out and gasped. What I saw shocked me. Deep within the Red Woods, silver flames rippled and lit the night sky, burning through the crimson sea of leaves. A tree popped, exploding in a shower of silver sparks.
A sudden gust of wind tore across the balcony, whipping away the smoke in a frenzy. My head jerked up as a tan drakennearly the size of Nektas flew over the courtyard, heading straight for the Red Woods.
“Fuck,” Orphine snarled. “You’re going to get your ass back inside right now.”
The draken in the air released a funnel of silver fire, striking the woods just outside the Rise. Flames shot up high, stretching above the Rise itself, briefly highlighting the guards. The fire blew back—
I staggered into Orphine as the embers in my chest heated and throbbed, and screams of pain rippled through the night sky.
“Oh, my gods,” I whispered, rooted to my spot by horror as…thingsfell. My burning eyes tracked their flaming descent to the ground below. The fall took mere seconds, but it felt like an eternity as my palms heated in response to the death.
The tan draken fired on the Red Woods again, hitting the same spot as before. A crack of fiery energy hit the ground, shaking my bones.Thatwas the sound that had woken me.
“Inside,” Orphine snarled, grabbing my arm. “Now.”
Another draken swept over the courtyard at breakneck speed, flying so fast I could barely make out the reddish-brown scales as Orphine dragged me toward the door. The draken latched onto the tan one’s back, digging talons into scales and flesh. The tan draken shrieked, twisting sharply as it tried to shake off the much smaller draken—
Orphine shoved me inside, slamming the door shut behind her. Heart thumping, I stumbled around, snared by shock and confusion. My stomach hollowed as I tried not to breathe in the bitter scent of smoke that had followed us into the bedchamber. I couldn’t process what was occurring—what I’d just seen outside.
Another thunderclap of fiery eather hit the ground and rattled the entire palace, causing the glass chandelier above me to sway violently. The realm outside the palace turned silver once more and shattered the surreal numbness.
I faced Orphine. “Is that one of Kolis’s draken?”
“I don’t recognize it.” Orphine turned halfway back to the balcony doors, her chest rising and falling sharply. “It could be his or another Primal’s.”
I turned to the adjoining door, knowing without a doubt that Nyktos was out there somewhere, in the smoke and fierynightmare.
Where I should be.