Page 148 of Terror at the Gates

His legs twined with mine, and he buried his face in the crook of my neck. “Anything for you, little love,” he said.

I let myself drift in his warmth.

***

The darkness beckoned.

I could feel her prodding at the edge of my mind, her touch as coarse as the desert sand. At first, she was kind.

Dark mother? she whispered, but I did not answer.

Revered queen, she murmured, but I did not stir.

Goddess?she crooned, but I did not rise.

Then all at once, she became a howling wind, whirling around me, shrieking.

Beware the serpent and his poisonous tongue.

He will take your flesh on the steps of your altar.

He will lie in your crimson blood.

Beware the deceiver and his silver tongue.

He will turn your temple into his monument.

Beware the awakening, the heat of this fire.

It will bind you beneath bleeding gates.

I weathered her tide, but even then, I did not wake.

Zahariev

Hold me tighter, Zahariev,she’d said.

If I did, could I keep her from breaking?

Chapter Eighteen

I jerked awake and found someone leaning over me. It took me seconds to realize it was Zahariev and much longer to calm my pounding heart.

“Hey,” he said with a small smile on his face. “I have a few things to do this morning. Coco’s arrived. She brought your backpack and some clothes. I left them on the dresser for you.”

I frowned up at him, partly because my brain was still trying to come to terms with the fact that I was awake. I blinked, fighting the grogginess.

“Where are you going?” I asked. My throat was dry. I swallowed to wet it, though what I really needed was water.

He took a seat on the bed.

“I am meeting the other heads at your house. We’ll be briefed about what the enforcers have found so far, and then I will meet with Dr. Mor.”

He didn’t need to explain that visit. I knew what it was about.

“You’re letting the enforcers investigate?” That littlenugget of information woke me up real fast, and I sat up. “You know they won’t be fair.”

“It’s not my choice, Lilith,” he said. “This is protocol. We’ll hear what they have to say, and if we don’t like it, we’ll go from there.”