“Myla.” Then she gives my hand one quick shake before dropping it like it’s made of prickly sea urchins. I suspect that she might like it better if it were. Striding towards the towering dragon, she climbs up its front leg with practiced ease and settles herself behind the male.
“Father has been looking for you,” he says to her, giving me a wink.
“Shut the fuck up.”
The male chuckles, and then the dragon crouches low, its claws digging into the sand before it launches into the air and spreads its wings out wide—temporarily blocking out the sun. They beat powerfully, pushing warm air down towards me for a long while as I watch them ascend before they go inland through the Spell and towards the black mountains that make up the Fae Kingdom.
I stand there motionless, letting the water wash up and over my feet as I contemplate what in the Five Realms just happened.Finally, as the sun rests above the western horizon, I walk back into the ocean and begin the last leg of my journey to Lumen.
Alone.
Chapter Sixty-Nine: Bahira
I can’t find Kai.
Or Jahlee. The first rebel I had encountered in the palace lies dead about a hundred feet behind me. The next two are about twenty feet each after that. I run across the first floor, blood dripping from my spear and sweat beading on my brow, and still, I can’t find either of them in the chaos.
It’s pure madness, shifters wearing fancy party clothing splattered in blood and animals of all varieties darting in both directions—all of them crashing into each other. If a rebel isn’tin their mortal form and wearing a mask, I have no idea how to identify them as the threat. So I leave the animals to attack each other and focus on fighting the shifters that I can, all the while scanning the throng of people for the king and his sister.
A scream changes the direction of my quickly moving feet. Readjusting my hold on the spear, I round a corner and find myself staring down the hallway I first met Kane in. The portraits that had hung on the wall before are now crooked, some lying shredded on the floor. Slowing my steps, I force my breaths in my nose and out of my mouth to steady my heartbeat as I cautiously step over them.
Flame gems are scattered on the floor, the glass sconces that had held them broken into tiny pieces that crunch beneath my feet. The hallway comes to an end, the only option to go left or right. Kane had led me to the right the night of the party, but the shouting comes from the opposite direction. So I turn that way.
The new corridor is dim, light from the fallen gems behind me leaking into it. Rumblings farther down—animal and not—make me shiver, but I keep my steps precise and my spear out in front of me. Passing the open doors lining both sides of the hall, I listen and wait to see if anyone pops out from them. Blood paints the walls, the sight churning my stomach.Please let Jahlee be alright. She can’t shift. If a hoard of rebels in their animal forms surrounded her—
Growling, low and menacing, sounds from behind me. A spike of fear jolts through me, my shoulders rising towards my ears as I spin and come face to face with a prowling tan mountain lion. A deep noise rumbles from it again, the beast toying with me as it shows me its sharp teeth that are perfectly formed for the shredding of flesh.
A bark rends the air, not from the animal in front of me but from behind again. Chancing a look over my shoulder, I fight back the urge to shout at the incomingmassive fox. Powerfulmuscles move beneath its reddish-brown fur as it snarls and bares its canines at me.Fuck, why could it not be something small? Like a turtle.I pivot, my back now to the wall with the blunt end of my spear pointing towards the mountain lion and the leaf-shaped tip angled towards the fox.
They keep their pace unhurried as they stalk closer. “I’m warning you assholes to stop. I won’t hesitate to kill either of you.” Neither one so much as pauses at my words, so I keep my attention split between them both, grinding my molars as I brace myself.
The mountain lion launches into a sprint, the distance between us gone in a flash. I have only enough time to rear my spear back a foot before bashing the black metal cap into its face, my muscles straining from the impact. The large cat screeches, stumbling away and pawing at its now bleeding nose. I turn to see the fox already mid-leap, its jaw wide and eyes hungry. Ducking, I jab the sharp metal tip up, catching the underbelly of the fox near its right hind leg. It lets out a howl as it lands in a crouched position, blood already leaking down its leg. I take a step back, both animals now in front of me. The mountain lion springs at me again, swinging a massive paw tipped with sharp claws that I narrowly avoid. I arc my spear down towards it, watching from the corner of my eye as the fox crouches and leaps. But I don’t have time to do anything other than duck while I spin and yank my spear towards me, scraping the jagged edge of the metal leaf against the mountain lion’s side, making it roar in pain. Agony sears across my upper back, the fox’s claws shredding the skin there.
“Shit,” I seethe, the scent of blood rich as it leaks down my back.
Poised to continue their assault, both animals’ muscles flex before they pounce at the same time, the big cat hitting me first. It barrels into me, knocking me onto the ground as it snaps itsmassive jaws at my face. I’m able to get my spear up horizontally over my chest, bracing the lion’s weight as it leans forward. Warm saliva drips from its maw and onto my neck, my arms trembling as I scream.
White flares in my vision when the fox attacks my leg, claws and teeth tearing into skin and muscle. Through heaving breaths, I kick blindly with my free leg at the animal, my boot connecting harshly enough to make it whine out in pain as it releases my leg.
The cat on top of me presses harder, its hot breath blasting onto my face as I stare at its elongated canines. My strength wanes and tears leak down my cheeks. I wasn’t trained for this—to fight against two massive animals. And I’m going to die because of it.
A harrowing scream rends the air, drawing both my attention and that of the mountain lion. The fox, its eyes wide and mouth hanging open, collapses to the ground at my side with a long sword sticking out from where its head meets its neck. Holding the sword, his long brown hair tangled around his shoulders, is Kane. The mountain lion leaps towards Kane with a vicious growl, swiping its paw at his legs. In two movements, I come up to my knees and drive the sharp tip directly in the cat’s back. The mountain lion howls, but Kane is there, plunging his sword into the beast’s side until it collapses dead next to the fox.
My chest heaves as I lean back on my hands, my vision going blurry for a moment before clearing. Kane squats by my side, assessing my body for injuries and grimacing at what he finds. “You’re bleeding.”
“You’re naked,” I counter.
The corner of his mouth kicks up as he runs a hand through his hair to pull it away from his face. He looks fairly uninjured, only a few angry-looking scratches marring his bare chest. I reach for the end of my shirt, ripping off a strip of it to tie aroundmy bleeding leg, while Kane checks out my back and assures me that, while deep, the wounds there have slowed their bleeding. He helps me up to stand, his arm automatically going around my waist as he squeezes me to him. Shrugging out of his grip—much to his annoyance—I start walking down the corridor in the direction I was heading before I got attacked.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask through labored breaths, the pain in my leg mingling with the adrenaline now draining from my body and leaving me limping heavily.
“Rebels attacked the palace during the masquerade party. Just came in and started slaughtering and demanding to know where Kai was.”
My body stiffens as I swing my head towards him. “Have you seen him? Kai, I mean?”
Kane shakes his head, his gaze moving from me to the hallway ahead of us. “I haven’t.” I try to suck in a full breath, but it won’t come. “I’m sure he’s fine,” he grits out, noticing my clear discomfort.
Fuck, I need to get myself under control. “And Jahlee?” I ask.
