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And then Kipp gave a heavy sigh. ‘She’s right, Cal…’

Below, Seb was still frozen in place, his wide eyes now watching them, suddenly calculating.

‘Cal…’ Thea said gently, reaching for him.

With a rage-filled roar, Cal shifted his bow and shot his arrow clean through Seb’s shoulder.

Falling to his knees, Seb screamed, the sound echoing off the cliffs as blood seeped from the wound.

‘You deserved a fate far more gruesome than that.’ Cal swore viciously and stormed off.

Kipp gave Thea a pained look and went after him.

But Thea lingered at the edge of the Thezmarrian cliff and crouched there, taking in the sight of Seb, who was clutching his bleeding shoulder, whimpering in pain.

‘Do not mistake our mercy for weakness,’ she told him, her voice cold. ‘When we beat you, everyone will be there to see you fall,’ she promised. ‘And that’s two life debts you now owe me.’

With that, she walked into the Bloodwoods to find her friends.

As the trees closed in around her, an icy shiver washed down her spine. It was enough to make her draw her sword again.

‘Cal?’ she called out. ‘Kipp?’ They couldn’t have gotten far.

She trekked deeper into the forest, sure she would hear their voices up ahead at any moment.

‘Cal? Kipp?’ she shouted again, her voice a little higher this time. ‘It’s not funny —’

No sooner than the words had left her lips, black shadows swept in and suddenly it was almost pitch-black.

A strange, guttural hiss pierced the silence and Thea leapt back, recognising the sound as the one that stalked her nightmares and the scent of burnt hair filled her nostrils.

She felt movement nearby, the hiss close enough to vibrate against her skin. Shaking, Thea inched forward.

Blood sprayed.

Herblood.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Arheguld reaperwas here.

Claws tore through Thea’s shoulder and she screamed as she was sent hurtling through the air, colliding with a tree and sliding to the forest floor with a muffled cry. But she had seen what happened to those who didn’t move fast enough. Biting back a yelp of pain, she sprung to her feet, ripping the shield from her back and bracing it in front of her, scanning the darkening forest.

Where are you?Pain blazed at her open wound, hot blood gushing down her arm, but she staggered forward, clutching her sword, trying to peer through the black shadows that swam around her.

How it had gotten to Thezmarr undetected didn’t matter right now. She just had to survive. She had to find Cal and Kipp and escape —

A roar rattled the forest, loud enough that she felt it in her bones.

And there, the reaper appeared, towering amongst the trees, making the earth beneath her boots quiver.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.How in the realms was she going to manage this? She’d seen what they were capable of in Delmira. She’d seen what they’d done to Lachin and the others…

Keep a cool head,she told herself, pressing her back to a nearby tree and ignoring the searing agony at her shoulder. Was there more than one? Had they already attacked her friends? The fortress?Wren?She pushed the barrage of questions from her mind and adjusted her grip on her sword, the blood trailing down her arm making her hands slippery.

Focus, she commanded.

There was a flash of white and suddenly Thea’s blade was sliding down a long, sharp claw, blocking it from slicing into her face. Gasping, Thea parried with it, using her shield to trap the attacking limb. She whirled away, avoiding the rapid slash of the creature’s other claw, already gleaming with her blood.