“We should try to keep going,” Milton said from where he was crouched farther down the hall. “How far do we have to go?”
Grady rose halfway, keeping himself below the window. “At the end of the hall. Just keep low to the floor.”
“End of the hall” felt like it was in a wholly different realm. “It’s the second-to-the-last door . . .” I trailed off as a tingle of awareness erupted between my shoulder blades and traveled up the nape of my neck. Tiny goose bumps spread across my bare arms, and there was a strange warmth in my . . . in my chest even though the temperature had dropped, just as it had in the gardens. The hair along the nape of my neck rose. I lifted my gaze to the window above me as I rubbed my chest.
“Lis?” Grady called out quietly. “What is it?”
“I . . .” Intuition was guiding me as I reached up, gripping the bottom of the windowsill.
“Shouldn’t we be hurrying?” Milton hissed.
We should be.
But there was something I needed to see. I rose just high enough to peer over the ledge of the window.
Rae rode past on horses shrouded in black cloth; the wispy mist seeping from openings in their cloaks trailed down the sides of their horses, spilling upon the ground like fog. There had to be well over two dozen of them. Warning bells started to ring throughout me when the Hyhborn rode forward on large reddish-brown steeds draped in indigo banners that bore a crimson insignia of what resembled several interlocking knots. I’d seen the sigil before. It was the Royal Crest and represented all the territories joined to form one.
If this was the Westlands or the Iron Knights, would they ride into battle bearing the sigil of the king they sought to overthrow? I didn’t think so. But if it was the King, why would he have Primvera destroyed? Unless he believed Primvera would be a loss too?
A flash of silvery white in the moonlight drew my gaze. Hair. Long blond hair so pale it was nearly white. Paler than the hair of the lord I’d seen in the Great Chamber.
I recognized him.
Even though I’d been too scared as a child to look him the face, I knew it was him.
“Grady,” I whispered. “Look.”
He turned from me, rising slightly.
“You see him?”
“Yeah,” he spat between gritted teeth. “Lord Samriel.”
CHAPTER 35
What in the world was he doing here? I didn’t know, but I didn’t believe in coincidences. Or fate. My fingers pressed into the windowsill.
“We really need to get out of here,” Grady urged.
I started to move when the Hyhborn who rode beside Samriel turned their cloaked head to the window. Their horse drew to a sudden halt.
“Shit,” I gasped, ducking. My wide gaze met Grady’s as my grip tightened on the dagger. “He couldn’t have seen us. There’s no way— ”
A ni’mere shrieked, sending a bolt of raw fear straight through me.
“Go!” Grady yelled to the others as we half scrambled, half ran along the wall.
Quickly catching up with Milton and Allyson, we raced for the door to the underground chambers, but while my intuition had been quiet seconds earlier, it no longer was. Wings beat against the window. I knew . . .
“We’re not going to make it,” I gasped.
“We will,” Grady argued. “We— ”
“No.” I grabbed ahold of the back of his tunic. “We won’t.”
Understanding flashed across his features. He cursed, yelling for the others while I racked my brain for where we could go. I looked around—
“The library!” I shouted.
Allyson nodded, and darted across the hall, heading for the door I knew led to another part of the manor. There’d be chambers there; they weren’t as safe as those underground, but they were places to hide, and that was the best we could do.
She pushed open the door, holding it open as the feeling of pressure continued to settle between my shoulders. There was no way Lord Samriel had seen us, but something had alerted him to our presence.
Glass exploded as we hit the other hall. Allyson’s sharp scream spun me around. A ni’mere came at us, its wings skimming the walls on both sides. I froze, just for a heartbeat as I stared at the creature’s fragile, doll-like features smeared with blood— the smooth flesh that gave way to small, layered feathers and breasts. Actual breasts. The ni’mere was a female.
And I was never going to unsee this.
“Get down!” Grady shouted.
Allyson grabbed my arm, tugging me to my knees. The ni’mere twisted in the air, about to turn as Milton grabbed the creature by the legs. With a yell, he threw it against the wall.