Page 76 of Of Nightmares & Fire (Elusive Umbra #1)

“We have nowhere else to go.” Colette’s voice is so small, smaller than I have heard it in a very long time. Her chin wobbles, and I shake my head, denying that she is right. Snatching my hand out of hers, I stand abruptly. Mavros goes to stop me, but Zinya grabs his arm.

“Let her go. She can’t go far. She needs a minute to come to terms.” She hisses at him, and even as he looks at me warily, he nods before I turn and run.

My feet dig into the sand darkened by the night above.

The stars seem to have hidden the moment that realization hit.

I was never running. I was a prisoner , led to believe my captors cared for me.

My mind is now playing so many things on repeat: conversations I overheard and conversations I was a part of.

How could I not see what was right in front of me?

I am a fool. Always used. I am a pawn. Betrayal burns my eyes and eats at my heart. It was all a lie.

I get far enough away that the pyre is just a beam of flame in the distance through my tear-streaked vision. I drop to my knees in the sand. My head falls backward as I bare my soul to the nonexistent stars. Why? What did I do to deserve this life?

The sand around my knees begins to vibrate and pulse.

Each second it continues, it seems to intensify with ferocity.

Then I recognize the feeling, the rhythm.

My eyes snap forward and blink rapidly to clear the blurry tears from my vision.

Not far in the distance are horses carrying soldiers who wield sharp blades.

The deadly curved blades I would recognize anywhere glint in the moonlight.

My father’s men.

They found me.

I’m at an impasse. Do I run back to the evil I know, no matter how much I despise him?

Or turn back to the man who has lied to me since the moment I met him?

Just the thought of going back to my father makes my already aching heart break.

My soul is pulling me back to the others, to Kyros. My mind is at war with emotion.

I clench my fists at my sides before pushing up from the ground.

This isn’t a question about who to trust or who to run to.

It’s a choice I was never able to make on my own, and now that I can, I realize that someone I’ve almost never chosen is me .

When I decided to leave Eathian, I chose myself at that moment, and tonight I will make the same choice again.

I chose me, and I chose the people who can’t choose for themselves, like I haven’t been able to my whole life.

Shula Morana; Death Flame.

I turn back the way I came. I need to—

Screams.

Awful, bloodcurdling, and terrified screams fill the space between me and the pyre.

Smoke plumes from the pyre and obscures the star-streaked sky with bleary darkness.

I’m running through the sand before I even think to make the decision.

Toward the screams and the cloud of what appears to be smoke.

As soon as I get close enough to see the people running frantically, I realize that it’s not smoke at all but rather a dark, powerful magick.

Magick that I’ve seen before. It caresses my skin like a shaken lover.

Raw elation floods me as the shadows blanket over me in a protective second skin.

The magick trembles, as if the energy itself could exhale a sigh of relief. Relief that intertwines with my own.

A loud clicking growl breaks my momentary lapse of attention; I swallow as I force myself to keep moving.

Quickly, I unsheathe the blades that were a gift from Kyros.

They hum in my grip with the same anticipation I feel in my gut.

A Cerkin steps forward and tilts its monster-like head at me.

Don’t let them touch you. Kyros’ warning from the last time I faced one of these creatures echoes through my mind.

Easier said than done I’m sure… He’s not here this time.

You have to protect yourself. I grit my teeth and settle my path toward the beast who stands in my way, ready to face the fight it will undoubtedly give.

A sudden shrieking cry sounds close above me, and my head snaps back just in time to see a Thunderbird dip into the darkness.

It dives right into the Cerkin that has its sights set on me.

Though the Cerkin is a giant, the Thunderbird is no small creature.

Its deadly clawed feet pierce through the barrel of the Cerkin’s chest with enough speed to spear it all the way through.

Powerful downthrusts of its wings a moment later leaves black blood raining from the sky as one monster carries away the other.

Another shriek, another thunderbird, another Cerkin, and another dead—dozens come into view.

The Thunderbirds are not attacking the Neer people, but their savage beaks pierce through the deadly herd of Cerkins that have been let loose to ravage the gathering.

My head whips from side to side as I spin in circles, watching as the Thunderbirds seem to come to my aid.

“Kyros and Mavros of Diemos! Release my daughter or pay the ultimate price!” I hear a familiar voice bellow from behind me.

My heart beats at a thunderous rhythm as my attention shifts from the carnage unfolding before me and now towards my approaching father.

Dread coils around my spine at the sound of his voice.

I scan the surrounding area desperately for a way to escape.

But an odd wave of relief floods me as I see someone I recognize coming from the direction of the pyre.

Mavros . Even though seeing him makes the hurt caused by their lies surface.

Seeing him charging forward on his horse, alive and well, makes me realize I’m still relieved that he is ok.

Zinya sits backward on the saddle behind him, arrows flying and meeting the flesh of men and beast alike.

Trailing behind them is another horse in a streak of gray, mounted by two more riders, Viltarin with Colette behind him.

Her hair whips out behind her like a crimson flag of warning, as she too wields a bow and arrow.

Pride fills me to see my friend look so rightfully placed.

She’s always been a warrior in my eyes, and now she finally is able to wield the weapons that will strike down anyone who aims her harm.

Although my heart aches with betrayal, I still find myself hoping that Kyros too is okay.

I’m afraid to call out. The last thing I need right now is to bring attention to myself.

I am in the center of two powerful forces and frozen with fear.

My feet are leaden with doubt, though, as I see my father swing a blade through the air.

Blood rains over him from the Thunderbird he just slain, and bile rises in my throat .

The remaining Cerkins left standing are halted at once.

The Thunderbirds fly higher in the dark sky and cry out in a chorus of panic as a shuttering, forced movement takes over all of the Cerkin, making all of their unseeing eyes turn toward me in unison.

It’s beyond eerie and sends a coldness to slither down my spine.

A vortex of dark matter begins to swirl in the center of the dunes of ruin.

A crackle of fire ignites the churning smoke as it now spreads into a portal, just as when Kyros renders one.

The Cerkins that have stopped turn their flesh and bone bodies fully to me now.

Each one letting out a horrendous echoing howl.

I imagine this is what it would feel like to have your soul brought to the demons that guard the entrance of the damned.

As the vortex continues to open, the creature that has haunted my nightmares steps from its center.

Chaos, blood, and death emanate from him, and he is even more terrifying in this moment than any of the other times I have seen his bone-covered face.

I notice movement and see Cadoc as he rides up to my left, just beyond where my father sits with his fancy armor better suited for books than actual battle.

His slack-jawed expression would be priceless, though, if not for the dire nature of the situation we are all now in.

Both of their eyes finally see me, where the monster has set his sights.

Their gazes drop down to the blades in my hands, the leather wrapping around my body, fitting me like a glove.

Cadoc says something to my father that I cannot decipher, and then he points back at the nightmare creature.

Quickly, I spin back to face the creature of my nightmares, but what I see instead causes more confusion.

The portal does not close; the vortex continues to be active, and another figure now steps through it.

My heart pounds in my chest, and I have to forcibly stop the tears from falling from my eyes.

I have had plenty of experience in having to do so; it’s not nearly as hard to do as it used to be.

Although, with all the emotions that have been storming through me recently, it is notably harder.

My father is screaming demands, and the Thunderbirds are screeching in the sky.

The fighting continues on, and the wind feels unnatural.

It’s even harder to keep myself strong staring at the scene before me, but I must.

“Stop all of this.” I bite out under my breath as tears breach the barrier of my lashes and streak my face and wet my lips.

My tongue comes out involuntarily, causing me to taste the salty weakness.

The bitter tang of them causes anger to thrum in me once again.

The figure who was coming through the portal is now visible.

When the rendered portal snaps shut, it's like we are thrust into a bubble of calm, though the scene around us is anything but.