Page 78 of In The Dark
“Are you always like this?” I snap. “No, I don’t want youbackon my saddle, you snubby, arrogant king.”
As soon as the words leave me, Sable shuffles and stomps her feet, leaving me to palm my daggers in an instant. Rydian’s expression shifts, the hard lines of his jaw feathering as he scans the area in a slow circle, palming his own daggers. Sable becomes increasingly more agitated, throwing her head up and down. I throw Rydian a menacing glare just as she enters my mind.
“The air is different here,”Sable says, huffing.
“I fucking told you,” I tell Rydian, quietly hopping off the saddle to meet him at his side. “Do you believe menow?”
“We don’t know if it’s anything yet,” he says casually, but the way his body is rigid and taut tells me he doesn’t believe his own words. That he’s only trying to calm my unease.
But it’s not working. I’ve felt this type of unease before, and that was in the Twin Valley with the Grokees. I wouldn’t besurprised if more creatures venture out and into the Whispering Woods. We’re close enough to the valley that it could be possible.
Evening creeps in, leaving a nasty bite in the wind as clouds of my breath form around my face. A dense fog settles at our feet, winding through the trees as hues of blue and orange cast a soft glow across the forest floor. Then a light crunching sounds to our right.
We whirl toward the noise, but after a few minutes of waiting, nothing happens. I grip Sable’s reins to keep her calm when I catch Rydian’s smug smirk peering down at me, and I roll my eyes.
“See, it’s nothing,” he says.
Then suddenly, a loud screech pierces the air and something crashes into both of us, throwing us forward and into Sable with a hard smack. I cry out as my face connects with the edge of the hard leather. My right cheek stings just as Sable throws her head back and whinnies, rearing on her back legs, front hooves slicing through the air.
“No!” I shout.
Rydian grunts behind me, and Sable’s sudden movement has me grappling for the reins. Without warning, a sharp sting travels down my left calf and I cry out, losing my grip on Sable. Then she’s gone, galloping down the path, leaving me to hope she finds her way back to Alvonia.
Whirling to face the creature reaching for me again, I dart back from its shocking appearance. It’s nothing I’ve ever seen before.
It’s gaunt and as large as any Fae, looking as if it used to be one with its pointed ears. Only this one is pale with milky white eyes. It looks as if it’s been starving its entire life by its thin appearance, razor-sharp claws, and tattered clothes. Skin is missing in places, exposing bone along its arms and jaw.
Just like the Grokees.
Its thin lip suddenly curls into a snarl, screeching again, the sound slicing through the air. I wince, fighting the urge to cover my ears. My breath catches, and I scramble as it begins crawling toward me on all fours in a blur of frenzied speed.
Oh my gods, why is it crawling?
It throws me off guard, but I quickly twist, barely missing its claws and sharp teeth as I lunge forward to stab it through the temple before it reaches me.
“What the fuck?” I pant as it slumps on the ground, and then I whirl to find Rydian fighting off three more. On instinct, I quickly throw a dagger, hitting one in the eye as he cuts down one and then slices through the other with a pained cry.
“Are you okay?” I exhale, stumbling toward him.
He pants, breathing ragged, but when he turns to me, I notice the raw, jagged gashes marking his shoulder and forearm. Blood drips to the ground in uneven splatters. My eyes go wide as I assess him, and that’s when I feel the pain throbbing in my leg, forcing myself to ignore it. The wind howls in the distance, the orange glow of the sky continuing its descent. Evening has made its final appearance.
“We need to get out of here,” I say.
He gives me a slight nod just as another ear-piercing screech cuts through the air behind me, eyes going wide with fear. I pivot in time to watch as the creature flies toward me, right for my face.
Within a breath, I’m suddenly yanked into his chest.
Everything goes black as nausea suddenly rises, my stomach twisting in a whirl of movement as we enter the Veil. But before I can make sense of what happened, we both land near a small cave by a river with a quiet groan and a loud thud.
Rydian holds me tight against his chest, but the weight becomes unsteady when he releases me, stumbling back to brace himself against the stone of the cave.
His skin is pale, breathing labored. I glance down—his rightshoulder and forearm are shredded, leaving his clothes bloody, hanging off him in pieces.
Gods, it looks terrible.And as if the emotion is involuntary, panic rises in my chest, and I bend down to meet his gaze, inspecting him. Even though I know that he can’t die, I find myself mentally praying to whatever fates who listen that he lives through it. My heart skips as I realize that I would be devastated if he died.
“Rydian,” I get out, gripping his chin to hold his gaze as my other hand attempts to stabilize him. “Where are we? We need to get you to a Healer, and we need to do it now.”
He only shakes his head, closing his eyes. “I just need… rest. We’re near Arcan.”