Grabbing the handle of the door, I looked over my shoulder and my legs almost gave out on me.
What had snuffed out the light of the moon and stars was something straight from a nightmare— creatures with a wingspan of over seven feet and talons longer and sharper than the claws of a bear. They looked as if a lowborn had been fused with a giant eagle.
Ni’meres.
They dived from the sky, faster than a charging horse. Those still on the lawn had no chance of escaping them. The ni’meres’ talons ripped into flesh and bone, tearing open backs and shoulders and piercing even the skulls of those fleeing.
Horror seized me as a ni’mere lifted a man high into the air. He screamed, beating at the talons tearing into his bare shoulders. The ni’mere let out a terrifying sound, somewhere between a shriek and laugh, before releasing the man. He fell, plummeting back to the ground—
Another ni’mere caught him, its talons sinking deep into the man’s stomach, splitting him open.
Gagging, I spun away and flew into the receiving hall. I didn’t understand why the ni’meres were doing this— had a Hyhborn been attacked? There was no time to figure it out.
My other shoe, slippery with blood, fell off as I dodged pedestals holding tall vases of summer flowers. I raced down the wide hall, heading for the solarium, where I’d last seen Grady. When I was halfway through the hallway, doors all along both sides burst open. Lowborn flooded the chamber in a panicked tide, toppling pedestals and spilling petunias and daisies across the marble floors. In a heartbeat, I was swallowed in the crush.
Someone slammed into me, spinning me around. My feet slipped. I fell into another, knocking them aside as wings beat upon the walls of the manor.
“Sorry,” I gasped, reaching for the woman. “I’m so— ” I choked as she turned her head to me. Deep gouges scoured her cheeks.
She had no eyes.
“Help me,” she rasped as I jerked away from her reach. “Please. Help me.”
“I . . . I don’t know how.” I backed up, bumping into another. I twisted to a man— a man who was undressed but covered in so much blood he appeared to be wearing a sheath of glistening red. I pressed my hands to my chest. “I’m sorry.”
Chest squeezing, I turned away and pushed forward, desperately trying not to look too closely at those around me, trying not to hear the screams as I yelled for Grady, but it was impossible. I saw flesh shredded and hanging in tatters as if they were strips of nothing more than silky garments. Cheeks split open. Limbs hanging and attached by strands of sinew. There was so much gore that my stomach cramped.
“Grady!” I yelled, straining to see above those crowding the hall. “Grady!”
The doors leading to the Great Chamber and the rest of the manor appeared miles away as bodies pressed in; bodies slick with sweat and blood crowded mine, and it was too much. Something was happening in my mind as I stumbled forward. Dozens of strings formed in my mind, stretching out and connecting all around me and all at once. Their thoughts pressed against the inside of my mind as strongly as their bloodied bodies did.
Why is this happening? a voice screamed in my head, jerking me around before quickly being taken over by another shrieking Where is Julius— did he make it inside?
My wide eyes darted from a pale face to a crimson-streaked one in confusion. I should’ve helped her. I just left her there— I left her out there.
Get up. Gods damn you, get up. If we stay here, we’re going to die.
“Leave me,” the wounded man pleaded out loud. “Just leave me.”
“Like hell I am,” another man grunted.
Their thoughts— oh gods, I couldn’t block them. I couldn’t sever the connection as I pushed through the frenzied bodies, my heart thumping as the moans of the dying became final words in my mind.
It’s too soon.
This isn’t happening.
Why me?
I can’t feel my legs. Why can’t I feel—
They merged together, making it impossible for me to tell exactly how many I was hearing, if it was one or many.
I’m dying.
Oh blessed gods, save me.
I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead.
Gasping for air, I tripped over something— someone. I caught myself on a still-standing pedestal, my stare fixed on the man’s face. His mask hung from one ear, his lips parted as if they had frozen mid-inhale. His throat . . . it was torn wide open. Through the mess of snapped bone and jellied flesh, I could see the floor— see the blood streaming through the gold veining of the marble.