Araya’s eyes fluttered open,her head pounding in rhythm with the slow, sickening sway of the world around her. She struggled to sit up, instantly regretting it as the world tilted sideways beneath her, moving like she was on a?—
A boat.
Araya’s stomach lurched, panic cutting through the lingering fog in her mind. They’ddruggedher and put her on aboat.
“Whoa—” Thorne jumped up from the chair beside the cot, reaching out like he was going to steady her.
Araya jerked away from his hand. “Don’t touch me,” she snapped.
She threw off the thin blanket, staggering to her feet. Her head spun, but aether sparked in her blood—still faint and weak, but there. She wasn’t defenseless anymore.
“You should sit,” the male said cautiously, watching her like she might bolt. “You’re probably dizzy?—”
“Because youdruggedme,” Araya snapped. Her voice rose, taking on a hysterical edge. “You drugged me and put me on a godsdamned boat!” Her hands curled into fists. “Take. Me. Back.”
“I’m sorry, but that can’t happen,” Thorne said, lifting his hands slowly, like she was a cornered animal. “There’s a lot going on here you don’t understand, and this isn’t the place to explain.”
Gods, if one more person told herthis wasn’t the place to explain?—
“I don’t want an explanation,” Araya hissed. “Iwantto go to shore.” She stepped around him, but he moved faster—planting himself between her and the door.
“You have every right to be angry,” Thorne said, still maddeningly calm. “But it’s not safe for you to go out there. Nyra and Loren need to focus on the crossing?—”
The boat lurched, sending them both stumbling. Araya barely caught herself, grabbing onto a tied-down crate as the deck pitched violently under their feet. Thorne wasn’t as lucky, losing his footing completely and slamming into the cabin wall with a sharp grunt.
Araya threw herself into the opening, lunging for the door.
Thorne shouted her name, grabbing for her. But something dark and whispering slithered between them, and his hand closed on nothing but empty air as the door burst open under her hands.
Cold, salt-heavy air slammed into her, stealing the breath from her lungs. She stumbled forward, the icy spray soaking her socks and biting into her skin—but it wasn’t the chill that stopped her cold, leaving her frozen in terror.
It was the shadows. Just feet away, the roiling wall of darkness loomed over them, ravenous tendrils unfurling from it like dark snakes.
Araya hadn’t entirely believed Jaxon when he’d told her the Shadowed Veil destroyed anything that tried to breach it—not entirely. But she should have.
She clapped a hand over her mouth as the Arcanum patrol boat lurched, sending men scrambling across the deck. One of the soldiers fell, the shadows dragging him into the void before he could even scream. Another tried to leap overboard—only to be yanked back like a puppet on a string.
It took minutes.
Araya swayed, nausea churning in her gut. The boat was just…gone. Nothing remained but a few scattered splinters bobbing on the surface, until the shadows dragged even those beneath the waves.
Loren had done this—just like he’d killed Aeron in the tunnels. But this—this was worse. Thorne shouted something behind her, his hand closing around her arm to drag her back into the cabin. But Araya couldn’t fight—she could only stare as Loren turned, green clashing with silver as their gazes met.
“Araya—” Loren took a step forward, his face stricken. But before he could say anything else, the shadows moved.
The hair on the back of Araya’s arms stood on end as Loren’s head snapped around as a dark tendril slid toward the skiff—reaching for them. No—forher.
“Get us out of here!” Loren shouted at Nyra. “They’re coming forus!”
Nyra flung out her hands. The wind howled to life—a violent gale slamming into them, sending the skiff tearing through the water with jarring speed. Araya stumbled and would have fallen if not for Thorne’s grip on her. He dragged her back, his voice barely cutting through the wind.
“Get back to the cabin!”
“No!” The word ripped from her throat, raw and furious.
She shoved him—harder than she meant to. The wind screamed, lashing her hair into her face as she fought her way across the deck, her soaked socks sliding on the slick wood.
“Loren!” Araya screamed. The skiff pitched violently, nearly throwing her to the deck. She grabbed the mast, her palms burning against the slick wood. “Call them off!”
