Page 141 of Where Darkness Falls

Before the Minotaur can react, Emyr slashes the creature’s throat once with the bloodless sword. I expect to hear the sputtering gurgles of the dying foe. Instead, the Minotaur simply vanishes in a smoky haze.

What in all Celestae is imbued in Emyr’s sword?I ask Saoirse.

His abilities, my dear,she replies.The ancient blade is called Scrisis. One slash of its steel against flesh and you are sent immediately into Eternity.

Holy Celestae.

How was Emyr entrusted with such a blade?I ask.

Siorai gave it to him as a boy,Saoirse replies, as if the answer was obvious.

The clashing sounds of battle redirect my attention to Laisren and Virgil as they work in tandem. Virgil’s shadows envelop the ghastly creatures while the beast version of Laisren shreds them apart. They’ve destroyed three in a matter of minutes, and the carnage is unlike anything I’ve witnessed before. I’ve only seen the violence of the soldiers inAurelius, but even their torture wasn’t to this magnitude. The contents within my stomach threaten to rise.

Suddenly, Danté stomps his hooves and whinnies loudly. Apparently, the poor dear doesn’t enjoy watching the scene before us either. “Hush, Danté,” I whisper, stroking the horse’s mane. “Everything will be over soon.” Despite my best efforts, my placating words don’t affect him.

As I whisper to Danté, the sound of Emyr vanquishing another Minotaur cuts through the clearing. He looks like death incarnate as his gaze roams for another creature, daring them to attack. However, there aren’t any other creatures charging forward from the shadows of the woods. Laisren, Virgil, and Riordan also search, but again, no creatures emerge.

I point to the Galrosan soldiers. “Look, Danté,” I coo. “The creatures are gone. There’s nothing to fear, boy.”

My words only make the poor horse whinny louder.

Apparently, I’m not great at taming wild beasts.

The quartet of soldiers walks in our direction, red stains freckling along their faces, as the bloody remains of the Minotaurs lie on the ground.

Emyr smirks as he looks up, only for a wild look to replace it. I furrow my brows as he charges toward me, his shadows spinning like a vortex around him. The rest of the Cadre follow him, waving their arms frantically.

“MAEVA!” Emyr yells.

I grimace, wondering if they’re upset with me for not calming Danté by now. It’s not like I didn’t try to?—

Then, a hot, foul breath rustles my hair at the nape of my neck. Before I can react, a large arm twists around my abdomen, pulling me off of Danté, and against their enormous body. Danté stomps wildly in protest, while the Cadre yell obscene threats at my captor.

“EMY—”

The creature’s ax rests against my throat, silencing me. The sharp metal bites into my skin as he applies slight pressure. “If your shadows so much as touch me,” the deep, somber voice rumbles, “she dies.”

We were soclose to reaching her before the menace, but unfortunately, not fast enough. Slowly, I lower my arms to my sides as I glance between Maeva and the hulking Minotaur that dares to touch her. Her face grows more pale by the second, her body trembling as she stops struggling against its embrace.

Don’t stop fighting, Rosey.I internally plead.

If there wasn’t an ax held against her neck, I’d rip the creature’s head off with my bare hands. Danté tried to alert me that something was near her with his frantic whinnying. Now my foolishness has rendered me incapacitated. I’m unable to free her without potentially harming her. The Minotaur has the upper hand, and I must appease him.

“If you release her immediately,” I say, “I’ll let you walk away alive.”

Well, I obviously didn’t acquire my father’s silver tongue in the gene pool, as this doesn’t sway the Minotaur in the slightest. Ignoring me,the brute leans down, inhaling her scent. For a moment, the creature looks at Maeva with a quizzical gaze. “Your scent is intriguing,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve smelled the likes of you before.”

She usually smells like fresh wild flowers or roses. Has it truly been that long since this creature experienced such?I wonder.

His grip on the ax loosens, revealing a small nick where it sliced her skin.

“Well, traipsing through the woods and being chased by a band of creatures would have anyone perspiring,” Riordan interjects.

“It isn’t her perspiration that I smell, you foolish Galrosan,” the brute growls. “It’s her blood that lures me in. It’s something more…” The Minotaur trails off as if deep in thought. Furrowing his brow, he spins Maeva as he studies her. “Show me your ability, girl.”

I take a step toward the pair. “No,” I snarl. “Maeva, you can’t.”

Fire courses through her eyes as though my trepidation over her safety were a nuisance. “You don’t speak for me, High General,” she answers.