Page 17

A tall, dark figure, taller than he should be, faced the city below, and curling from its head were two spiralling horns.

I inched closer. The beast didn’t move.

I hugged the wall close to the door, nearing the patio. It didn’t know I was there.

Another roar shook the Guardian Palace from within. My fingernails scraped the wall as I clung to it in fear as the beast on the patio roared in tune with the monster in the hall, covering the sound of my gasp.

I sank against the wall, afraid to move forward.

Smoke surrounded the half-beast. Its skin was a kaleidoscope of shadows, shifting from stark white to pitch black, as if it couldn’t decide whether to be a beast or a man.

But it was not like the shadows I had seen before.

They were not like the magic he had. He could disappear from sight, become the shadows. These shadows were something else. These were churning smoke. Like the aftereffects of a fire where the embers were too dull to see.

It was the magic of the Aspis. Not the Night-leg.

Beyond the patio, the city below laid in ruins, nothing but buildings crumbled to ashes. Night birds filled the sky, flying in circles over what remained of the dark, silent city.

An ice-cold gust of wind blew back the half-beasts torn clothes to reveal a body wound with muscle, its skin swirling black and white. It rested its palms on the balcony rail, exposing its torn, burnt flesh.

A soft cry escaped me.

The half-beast whirled around.

Breathe. Hold. Breathe.

Citrine eyes locked onto me.

That’s when I ran.

The glass patio doors shattered behind me as I darted through the bedroom, past the divider. I ran into the back of a chair and tumbled over it. The heat of the fire added to the sweat collecting on my brow as I landed on my ass and scurried back, bumping into the second chair behind me.

The half-beast prowled forward, slowly, patiently. It entered the fire’s light, smoke swirling around the floor, reaching out into the room before the beast made its appearance.

I was frozen in place.

His face. This time, it was his face. No slits for a nose, but those weren’t his eyes burning a bright yellow as vertical pupils held me in place. Its clawed hands reached for me, and its kaleidoscope skin reflected in the light as it entered the living room.

I scrambled back, heading to the main doors.

Which monster would kill me first? The half-beast before me or the one outside.

The beast cocked its head, horns tilting to one side.

“Please,” I whispered.

My back hit the doors, and my foot slipped as I tried to stand. “Please don’t hurt me.”

The half-beast paused, giving me time to find my footing, scanning me from head to toe.

I held myself against that door, keeping as still as I could.

It took a step closer, the fire now behind it, and I could only make out those slits in its snake-like eyes, dilating and constricting.

The beast and I both flinched as another roar sounded from the hallway. The monster out there wanted in. It banged on the door behind me, shaking me and causing a whimper to break free.

The half-beast grabbed its head and shook it, its tattered clothing waving through the air. A rattling came from its chest.

Another loud crash came from behind me, and I screamed.

The half-beast roared in answer.

Then it lifted its head and whispered, “Run, Liv.”

Just like he had on the burning field.

That’s when the double doors opened. Ice-cold wind tore through the room, blowing my cloak wide open. The fire went out, casting the room in black.

I jumped, sitting up in bed. The room was dark, as were the pathways outside.

I was in Danuli with the Aethar twins asleep in their beds.

When had I fallen asleep? What had been real? Had I ever left the room to walk outside?

It took a few moments to locate my things in the dark. The twins didn’t notice me slip from the inn. I wasn’t following them to their home. They weren’t the people I needed to help. They weren’t the ones who would save me from the magic inside.

One foot in front of the other. The fog in my head inched in farther, and I lost track of the trees I passed. I had only been walking for an hour and I was losing my nerve.

I wiped my sleeve across my cheeks. I couldn’t stop the tears.

Daylight crept slowly in as the city woke, and I jumped at every noise.

The dreams were too real. Was it part of becoming the Ikhor? Seeing things, feeling like they were really there? I had seen shadows by the riverside, monsters in my sleep.

A small voice in the back of my head asked, what if the dreams mean something? What if I have been in that dream place before?

I stuffed the thought away as a fist gripped my heart and squeezed. Thinking those kinds of things would only have me spiralling further.

The rain trickled down between the large Danuli trees. I couldn’t let go of everything building up. The dreams, the floods, the fires.

I needed to find Nuo, make him listen.

I worried my sleeve between two fingers as I followed a group of drunk Danuli citizens down a large pathway. I was working up the nerve to ask them where the Guards were last seen or where I might find a group of Guardians.

And then what, idiot? They hate you.

I stopped. The Guardians were not my enemies. The Guards were my friends. Couldn’t I try to explain to them what had happened? I could explain it to Nuo. I had to reach him. He was in pain, like me. He would understand.

Will he understand?

Kazhi had warned the only safe option for me was to flee, but whose side was she on? Who did she serve?

Maev and Ollo weren’t my friends. They were using me.

I didn’t know their plans, but they had made them before we met.

Were they any different from those who had hurt me before?

They weren’t like the Law Keepers. But were they like my sister, who had handed me over for profit?

Or Stephen, who had closed the door in my face when he thought I might cause him trouble?

They weren’t like Nuo. And they weren’t like him .

With my nerves unravelling, I turned down a different path, losing myself in the crowd of merchants bringing in the morning supply.

The surrounding trees grew brighter in the morning light.

The twins might be up by now. I needed to move, and fast. I crossed several more rivers, my pace slowing.

But I couldn’t stop, so I continued while hiding under my hood.

It was a good idea, even if I felt a sliver of guilt for slipping away from the twins.

I followed my gut, and it told me to continue in the direction I was going.

Finally, I spotted Guardians walking on the other side of the river from where I stood. I had been told the city was full of them. Was it from the Aethar presence the Sea-leg merchant had mentioned? Perhaps they were here to help those who had lost their homes from the floods.

Five Guardians stood at a stall across the water. The river that separated us had several boats floating past, packed with crates and barrels, blocking the warriors from sight before they reappeared again.

One of them—a tall, broad man with obsidian hair pulled behind his head—stopped in the middle of the path, pulling out his coin purse to purchase something from the closest shop. His dark eyes scanned his purse while he counted.

My heart cracked. He looked … he looked like him .

The shopkeeper across the river stepped in beside him, breaking the fog building around my thoughts.

Upon closer inspection, the resemblance faded until the man was an echo of the Guard I once knew.

His height and hair colour, maybe, but he was missing the presence, the pull and the flash of iridescence.

He moved past his fellow Guardians, sidestepping around another tall man facing my way. When I focused on that man, I froze.

I nearly screamed when my eyes locked with Nuo.