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CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

Renwick

“Who was that?” I breathed, surging toward the small space of grass Oralia had passed through.

“Ren,” Asteria called, her tone a warning.

“ Who was that?” The words came out as a growl as sweat broke out on the back of my neck.

It had been only a moment, barely enough for me to make out their features alongside my mate, but they had raised their hand in greeting to us. They had seen us. And if they could see us, then perhaps it meant they could help us.

“It was Samarah.” Hands closed over my upper arms, the flare of her wings halting my progress. “Only Samarah.”

I froze, cursing under my breath, while my hands clenched around empty air. Samarah, the God of Nightmares, one of the Great Mothers who had made the world. She had disappeared millennia ago along with the others who had left due to my father’s madness.

“I thought she would be in Iapetos,” I murmured, relaxing in my mother’s hold.

Asteria gave a soft laugh. “Of course, she was not. Samarah was never one to follow the herd.”

Yet she’d abandoned us—abandoned me—when I needed her most. I could have used her terrifying power on the battlefield. Her ability to bend reality to her will and fill her enemies with their greatest fear was incomparable. It was as tangible as my and Oralia’s shadows and ten times more terrifying.

I stared at the place where they’d stood for less than a heartbeat. It was Oralia I’d been focused on until Samarah had raised a hand—the fighting leathers she’d worn, my axe strapped to her chest, the haunted look in her dark green eyes.

“I need to get to her.”

“To Samarah?” Asteria clarified.

Shaking my head, I turned toward the direction of the castle in Infernis, though here, it was merely another shadowy mountain in the distance. “Oralia. I need to get to her.”

It was more or less the same thing I’d been saying for however long I’d been trapped here. But now Samarah had thrown her name into the fire. She was unpredictable at best and dangerous at worst. If Oralia had crossed paths with her, then that meant…

That meant she’d shown my mate her greatest fear.

It was enough to make the strongest of us go mad. My blood ran cold at the thought of what she was having to endure, trapped within the confines of her mind. I knew better than most what a horrifying place her thoughts could be, how she could retreat within herself. Now, she would add this extra stone to her back to weigh her down when she already had so much to bear.

I closed my hand over the shard of kratus bark, slicing through my skin with the point I’d sharpened. At once, the mist filled my lungs. The scent of asphodel flowers and mist were heavy on my tongue. A hum of voices reached my ears, and I blinked, the castle appearing in place of the darkened mountain.

Samarah stood beside Oralia, a possessive arm around her waist. But it was my mate I observed, the firmness of her mouth, her shoulders scrunched up to her ears. The God of Nightmares had never been understanding of boundaries, not with one foot in the in-between.

In the in-between.

Violet eyes flicked up to meet mine, and a slender auburn brow raised. Silvery magic dripped between my fingers as we stared at one another through the space between Horace and Aelestor. Dimitri’s heavy steps thundered down the staircase, attention fixed upon Samarah.

Oralia looked up at me, mouth popping open in surprise. She jerked, restrained by the arm around her waist. Samarah leaned forward, lips brushing her ear, whispering something before Dimitri stepped forward, a blade held to the God of Nightmares’s throat.

Stars , Samarah considered such a thing foreplay.

Oralia’s gaze did not leave mine, but something flickered there, a shadow crossing over her pupils. The surprise on her face turned to wariness, the hope to anguish, until she crumpled, shoulders rounding in on themselves. Samarah frowned, releasing her as the others stepped forward. I watched helplessly as my mate was crowded, trembling hands rising up to cover her eyes, fingers pressing into her ears.

“Get back,” I yelled, voice swallowed by the wind. “Get away from her!”

Samarah’s gaze caught mine, and I saw an expression on her face I had not seen often: concern. She crouched, covering Oralia but not touching her, speaking in a low tone to the others, who backed away slowly.

My feet were heavy on the ground, the power drying on my palms, but I pushed through the deepening mist. I needed to get to her, to release the pressure on her soul.

“Bring her to me,” I growled at Samarah.

Her lips parted and fear tangled with the worry on her features.

“You owe me this.” I slipped between Dimitri and Horace.

They jumped, sucking in a sharp breath, but I was reaching for Oralia, ready to pull her into my arms.

Before they vanished in a sudden gust of wind.