Page 12 of Of Nightmares & Fire (Elusive Umbra #1)

Chapter twelve

Astraea

Everything that has happened since the moment I decided I’d leave the castle has played on repeat in my head since I laid my head down on Kyros’ pillow.

The scent of him on the sheets has tried hard to distract me enough to, at the very least, keep the nightmares at bay for a while.

But right now, the thought alone is enough to be debilitating.

It’s not a new feeling, but one I should be used to by now.

Every time I’m alone, especially in the dark of night when I lay in bed…

as my mind wanders the line between sleep and awake, I know the nightmares are waiting to reveal th emselves.

Dark whispers call me toward sleep, an echo of words I don’t understand, but the feeling they leave imprinted on me will likely never leave my soul.

The shadows envelop me, and the rumbling hoof beats beneath me begin.

The same as they always do. My body is thrashed.

Even in my sleep state, I can sense the sweat building on my unconscious body.

The white flashing and screaming cut through my mind like razor-sharp teeth, and the pain causes me to try to break free of its clutches, but without fail, I never can.

Thrashing continues as the laughter and wailing chase me.

The lasso of pain erupts through my center.

Liquid fire pumping through my veins, then I hear something new: a voice far in the distance I cannot make out.

My head swivels as I spin, looking for who or what it is coming from.

I can’t understand the words; they are too muffled. Unclear.

I try to speak, to call back to what I feel is calling to me, but nothing comes from my mouth.

My throat feels as though it is filled with the sands of the Dead Sea, both hot and dry like the burned coals of a fire.

I want to wake up, but I can't. My heart races with my adrenaline at the feeling of claws wrapping around my arm, just below my shoulder, but I am stuck in a chaotic psychomachy.

I need to know what is calling me and compelling me to turn and face the darkness that nearly has its claws sunk into my soul.

My eyes fly open with a gasp filling my lungs as the dark blanches in a flare of light.

“Woah, easy.” A large hand presses me down when I try to sit up.

It’s a gentle press, warm, but my arm aches where it rests.

“You’re ok. It was just a night terror.” A night terror.

It’s what everyone has called them. Well, anyone who has witnessed a glimpse of what is now my nightly routine.

Some nights are worse than others, and this was one of the bad ones.

Even as I slowly peel my eyes open, I can feel the lingering terror in my bones, crawling across my skin, slithering through my mind.

At first I can’t make out the face that the hand belongs to.

A dark silhouette is staring down at me, but as my mind comes around to the present, I notice the long hair loose from its tie and the wide shoulders the ends brush.

Slowly, his face loses its blur of sleep, and I see the man who resembles a dark god reborn.

“Zinya called for me when your thrashing became worrisome,” Kyros says as he removes his hand and stands at the bedside.

Zinya comes to his side then and offers me a tankard.

My mouth immediately waters as my stomach drops thinking of the alcohol I consumed too much of.

Then flashes of what happened when I tried to come to bed.

The realization of who stands before me and the embarrassment floods my senses; crimson heat rises from my chest and blooms feverishly in my cheeks.

“Do you always sleep all day, Princess? I’m starting to wonder if you are a princess at all or a creature of the night. A vampire here to suck the life from the kingdom.” Mavros laughs, and Kyros levels him with a glare.

“It’s just water. You need to drink… heard you were a bit—”

“Wasted.” Mavros interrupts Zinya’s laughter. The throb between my eyes starts its nagging pulse as it always does after my nightmares, and I squeeze my eyes shut trying to force it away. I know it’s futile, but every day, time and time again, I try.

“You two go busy yourselves. I’ll be down after I gather some things.

” Kyros says quietly, and I peek through my lashes to see him still staring at me.

As though I am a puzzle he is trying to piece together.

I don’t like the attention he has had on me.

All last night he watched me. I can’t have him or anyone else realize who I really am.

“Sienna, just… drink the water, ok?” Zinya says with more kindness than I have heard from her, and it both surprises and hurts me.

If she is offering me true friendship, I have already ruined it by giving her the false name.

I can't respond yet with words, so I nod.

Sitting up, I take the tankard with both hands.

Mavros laughs again, strolling from the room, but Zinya pauses at the door, looking between me and Kyros with an indecipherable look crossing her face.

“Go, Zinya. Leave it. ” Kyros says without looking at her, causing my brows to drop a fraction in confusion. She takes a deep breath in through her nose and blows it out her cheeks.

“If you say so.” She returns, glancing between us once more before snapping the door shut, leaving Kyros and me alone.

Every concern I have over the man looking down at me, the two people who just left the room, and the impending doom that is the journey that I face in the future comes to an abrupt halt as my ears finally pick up on what is missing.

My eyes widen at the sudden realization the lack of sound could mean .

“Did the rain—” My voice trails off as I continue to listen for the telltale puttering on the clay roof, the rolling thunder across the sandy terrain outside, and the tumult of inconvenience in the tavern downstairs.

“It stopped nearly an hour ago.” Kyros says, watching me with an overly keen eye, and my heart stops.

“You know, I don’t think I ever asked. Where are you headed?

” Where am I headed? Where am I headed? The question replays over and over.

Without answering, I throw the blanket from my body and rush to the only window in the small room.

My head swims at the sudden movement, and my heart sinks further; buried deep, the thump in my chest ceases to exist when my eyes fall on the sight below me.

“Shula?” Kyros says, crossing the room to stand by my side. “It’ll be a little while before the sands—” His words stop short when he sees what has me in a stupor.

My father’s battalion lines the mud-heavy streets, and the sun crests the horizon as the night settles over the kingdom, but the darkness is lit by a never-ending sea of fire. Torches glint off the silver armor as they move through the city.

“What is that about?” Kyros asks under his breath. I risk a glance at him out of the corner of my eye; his brow is dipped low, pulled down by the frown overtaking his face.

“I have to go.” I rip myself away from the window and rush to the door.

Tripping over my boots, I curse. Snatching them up by the laces, I wrench the door open.

Mavros stands in front of the room I need to go into, and I pay him no mind as I dip under his arm and run in to swipe my dress off the chaise .

“Princess?” Mavros says, confused.

“Did he do something?” Zinya asks as she pushes past Mavros to come in. Before she can enter, though, I slam my body into the wood. The door latches between us.

“He didn't do anything. Just—give me a second.” I call out. I have to get changed and leave this place. I have to get away before they catch up to me. All of these people here are now at risk because of me. If they catch me with them, they will all just be more skeletons in my closet.

Stripping off the borrowed clothing, I step into the dress, and just as I pull the fabric to cover my shoulder, the door bursts open, and Mavros, Kyros, and Zinya storm in. Their faces are all an array of questions I need to avoid.

“Did I just miss you naked?” Mavros groans, and Zinya hits him with the back of her hand across his chest. “Stop. Hitting. Me.” He growls at her with a wicked smile.

Kyros is silent, watching me as usual, but now his eyes keep flicking over my shoulder, out the window, and to the damn army that is hunting me down.

Their metal clangs loud with each stomp of the feet, the sound alone alerting the people of Eathian that there is hell to pay if anyone is to stand in their way. Shit. Shit. Shit.

I ignore Kyros' gaze and Mavros and Zinya’s back-and-forth bickering, thanking the divine that my dress is nearly dry.

Only the thickest areas across the waist and the bottom of the skirts are still damp.

I skirt the other two people in the room and yank the cloak from the hook on the wall, not wasting any time.

I throw it over my shoulders and rip open the door, ready to make my run for it .

I don’t know where I’m going to go, but anywhere has to be better than in the direct path of my father’s men.

I don’t make it far, though. As I run from the room, I’m caught by the tail of my cloak, falling backward from the momentum of being yanked back.

I land on my back, eyes round with shock, and my breath is knocked from my lungs.

Kyros stands over me with a furious glint in his dark eyes.

“Do you want to explain why you are running from the king’s guard?

” He growls, his hands balling at his sides.

I cough as I suck air back into my lungs, and he releases my cloak from under his foot with a huff and lets me get up on my own.

Mavros and Zinya come barreling out of the door after him.

Everything is now happening so fast. If I wasn't already dizzy, I would be now. I meet their eyes and shake my head.

“I’m so sorry,” I say before turning around and sprinting.

As I round the corner at the top of the stairs, there is a blockade of bodies congesting the only exit.

My teeth grind with frustration, and I close my eyes, pulling in a steadying breath.

Then I hear Kyros’ rumbling voice calling after me and ordering Mavros and Zinya to find me.

“That is not going to happen.” I whisper, pushing my body into the mass of people and finding my way to the exit. When I finally push through, it’s Ruby I come toe-to-toe with.

“No one can leave, girl. The king's guard has issued a sojourn edict. No one leaves.” Her words are pleading, and as I look to the side, I see two men closing in on the exit. Her muscle .

“I am leaving, Ruby. Either you let me go…” My words trail off, but she narrows her eyes on me. The threat is easily read with what I'm not saying. She looks behind me and then to the side where her men approach.

“I can't let them all see me just let you go. It will be my death, and you know it.” She says under her breath, a secret and a plan passing between the two of us. She keeps her eyes flicking around the room. I nod in understanding.

“Then I’m sorry for this.” Her eyebrow twitches, but she nods the slightest before I shove her hard enough to make her fall.

She curses loudly, and chaos breaks out behind me as I run from the tavern.

My boots sink into the waterlogged sand and squelch with every lift of my legs.

I will get away. I’ll save these people from the deaths that await them if I am caught under their hold, and I will save myself from the wrath of my father.