My knees buckled—inside and out. The pressure was unbearable. I clutched at my chest in both worlds. This deep, I couldn’t hear Rathiel or Levi, but I felt someone touching me, pulling me back.
The shadow surged forward.
Nope, nope, nope, nope?—
I spun and bolted, retreating into the forest, crashing through the glowing roots and vines as the light dimmed behind me. The blackness chased me, whispering things I didn’t understand. I stole a glance back and saw the entity spreading across everything it touched. The roots, the trees, the endless sky.
It surged forward, its tendrils poisoning everything it touched in its goal to reach me.
I tripped over a branch, stumbled to my knees, and slapped a hand against a glowing root to steady myself. My breath came in sharp gasps. My skin prickled with cold sweat. The cracks in my core pulsed—black, gold, black, gold.
Before I could scramble to my feet, the shadow descended toward me with terrifying grace. It pushed me down, trapping me in place.
Panic surged within me, and I tried to move, tried to summon my flames, tried tofight, anything, but nothing came. Not a spark. Not a flicker. My magic, so powerful mere moments ago, didn’t even respond to me. Like something had cut it off at the source.
The shadow lashed out with its tendrils. They wrapped around my arms, my legs, my waist—burning cold as they made contact. And then they pulled, dragging me back toward my corrupted core.
I screamed when raw and unimaginable agony ripped through me. It was worse even than when my father tore my wings from my back. The scream that escaped me was soul-deep. It ripped free of my throat, torn and ragged—a sound I barely recognized as my own.
Before I could catch my breath, a final tendril slithered up my neck, across my jaw, and forced its way between my lips.
It poured down my throat like smoke turned liquid.
I gagged, clawed at my face, my chest, my stomach—anywhere I could reach—as the darkness continued forcing its way inside me, rushing into me like floodwater breaching a dam. It seemed to fill every hollow space until nothing remained but me and the blackness.
Only when it finally stopped did I open my eyes.
And the world came rushing back.
Chapter Five
LILY
One second,I was choking on black smoke. And the next, my eyes were open, and I was lying flat on my back in the dirt, lungs burning and throat raw. I stared up at the sky, which was, well, still as fiery and apocalyptic as ever. Actually, it was kind of comforting, in a messed-up sort of way. At least I wasn’t staring at an endless forest that was home to a demonic entity who believed suffocating someone was the best way to make friends.
Strong arms held me—a little too tightly—and a voice barked my name. Another told everyone to back off and give me some space, while a third asked if I needed water. I certainly wouldn’t say no to a drink. Anything to soothe my raw throat.
“Lily…” Rathiel said, my name like a prayer on his lips. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
Well, that was debatable. Something dark and disturbingly disgusting had just forced its way down my throat, pervading my entire essence. Definitely not my idea of a good time. But he was right—I did appear to be safe at the moment.
I lifted a hand and touched my throat, feeling around for any inky tendrils still wrapped around me. But all I felt was my smooth throat, unharmed. And luckily for me, I could breathe just fine too.
Okay, I was safe. Good.
I lowered my hand and finally took in the unfolding scene. My friends all hovered nearby—my own secret service. Eight sets of eyes stared at me, and I just knew they were about to ask a million questions. The thought of answering them all pre-emptively exhausted me. Especially when I didn’t have any answers for them.
I shifted my weight, trying to ease the ache in my ribs and the burning in my lungs, but Rathiel’s arms locked around me like a damn vise. Sighing, I turned my whole focus onto him. I opened my mouth, about to ask him to let me go, when I caught his worried expression—one he quickly masked whenhenoticedmenoticinghim.
I rested my hand against his chest and offered him a gentle smile.
Then I gave a slight push. “Let me up.”
He hesitated. Of course he did. The guy was overprotective when it came to me. He could face down a battalion of brimlords without so much as flinching, but when it came to me, he tended to break.
I didn’t blame him though.
We’d been through someshit. More than the average couple.
