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 draken nearly 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…things fell. 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. That was 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 fiery nightmare.
Where I should be.
“Do you know if it’s just the draken, or are there dakkais?” I went and grabbed the shadowstone dagger from the arm of the chaise.
“I have no damn clue. The attack started less than ten minutes ago.” Her nostrils flared with anger as I started for the chamber doors. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What we should both be doing.” I glanced at the now-dark space beyond the balcony doors as an eerie wail echoed from outside. “I’m going to help.”
Orphine’s fingers opened and closed around the hilt of her sword. “Absolutely not.”
“If there are dakkais out there, you know that Nyktos won’t be able to use eather against them.”