Page 141 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

The nahashim seemed to know this. It charged, sliding through the grass, the ground rumbling with its approach.

I reached for the Valalumirs on the straps of my belt, ripped one off, and threw it, using everything I had left to power the throw. The star spun through the air and gashed the snake’s eye. It reared back and howled, as I reached for another Valalumir. Praying I aimed true, that the goddess still supported me, I threw the second star, watching wide-eyed as it sliced just below the nahashim’s head, cutting its side—enough of a wound to infuriate the snake but not to slow it down.

The ground shook, as it moved faster and faster, charging for me. Onyx scales gleaming as its body shifted.

I reached for another star, my fingers almost numb. I could barely find the grip I needed or strength to rip it from the leather, but with a grunt, I got it off, hearing the strap tear.

But I was too late. The snake was upon me, roaring and hissing and gnashing its fangs. Blood and pus oozed from the eye I’d destroyed.

I clenched the Valalumir between my fingers, knowing I had one shot.

Its breath blew hot in my face as its head came down toward me. I punched the nahashim in the throat, the Valalumir tearing through it, until there was a gurgling, strangled hiss. Black blood oozed down my arm, as a fang slipped into my exposed bicep just below the golden seraphim feathers.

I screamed in pain, my arm burning anew. Not with kashonim. Not with power. But venom.

In that exact moment, my kashonim flamed out, and I was left exhausted. Powerless, and drained.

The poison in my arm was spreading fast, as was my exhaustion. Injuries I’d barely felt before were now coming for me ten times over. Just as they had when I’d called on Rhyan’s power in the arena.

The snake fell, dead, and pulled me down with it.

Sweat poured from my forehead as my arm, still inside the snake’s mouth, went numb. I used my left hand to grab at the grass, at clumps of dirt, at anything I could, to pull me out of its grasp.

I just barely freed myself before its jaw closed, and my arm hung limp and useless at my side.

“LYR!”

“Rhyan!” I yelled into the stone against my neck.

“Lyr! Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I killed them. All of them. But one got me. The venom…. I’m…I….”

I couldn’t speak. The paralysis was taking over. My jaw was tightening, and my skin felt hard. I could barely move my mouth.

“I’m coming back for you! Lyr, I’m coming! Just hold on! Cover yourself with your cloak until I get there. I’ll find you, I swear. As soon as I recharge. You hear me? I’m coming! Just hold on!” He was frantic, his accent heavy again, his words rolling together.

My head hit the grass. I pulled the cloak from my belt and dragged the materials over my legs, watching as they blended into the green of the ground. But I couldn’t get to my face. Just that one movement left me breathless.

There was a voice in my head, one I instinctively knew even though I’d never heard it before. The first and only time I’d called on my kashonim with Rhyan, it had bridged a connection between us, letting me momentarily into his mind. And now, as my kashonim was ending, I could hear Asherah speaking.

“Do not head for the stars. What you seek is with the moon.”

The sun revealed my secrets, so I hid them with the moon.

The engraving hidden on the statue of the seraphim.

I know, I thought. I’m heading there.

But she only responded with the same words, her voice even more urgent: “Do not head for the stars. What you seek is with the moon.”

We unlock for blood, soul, and key. Power is restored, with these three.

Our soul, our blood, and the key. We had all three.

I know, I thought again.

The ground rumbled, and the wind blew, blowing back my cloak. Ashvan horses were running across the snow—but ashvan horses didn’t run on the ground, not unless they were too old or too young to fly.