The god carrying me stumbled, his head jerking back as the draken I’d felt earlier let out a sharp, staggering call, and its thick, dark talons punched through the ceiling. The taste of bitter horror momentarily swamped the metallic tang of blood as the very realm seemed to inhale, sucking the air from the Great Hall.
The helmet—Theon’s crown—hit the floor with a jarring clang. It rocked and shuddered, then vanished.
Chunks of debris fell from the dome as a massive talon, covered in purplish-black scales, appeared, gripping the stone and ripping it free.
Reaver.
It wasReaver.
Fissures formed in the wall that Theon’s body was still pinned to, spreading downward. The pillars below shuddered and then simply disappeared. The floor buckled, tiles rising into the air and breaking apart. The air distorted and warped as Reaver climbed in through the hole he’d made, sending more stone crashing to the floor.
A shockwave of energy slammed into us. Suddenly, I was airborne and weightless, flying in the opposite direction of the god. I glimpsed Reaver’s large form twisting as a blast knocked him backward, his outstretched wings folding under the force. I hit the floor hard, and everything went dark for several seconds.
I came to, lying in something sticky and wet. I tried to drag in air, but I couldn’t take a breath. It felt like my lungs had collapsed. I couldn’t—
“Where do you think you’re going?” Kolis landed less than a foot from me and knelt. I saw a flash of his bloody hand before he gripped the hair at the crown of my head. With a quick jerk of his arm, he cranked my neck back as he dragged me onto my knees. “We’re not done yet.”
Primal essence sparked from him, pure crimson and icy as it spilled into the air. The red glow rose behind him in twin arcs, forming the shape of wings made of pure eather. The flesh of his face thinned until I saw the dull crimson sheen of his cheek and jawbone.
I didn’t want to close my eyes as the ground began to tremble.
I wanted to keep them open. To face Death.
But they slammed shut just as his lips pulled back, and the skin around them disappeared. He bared his fangs, and his head snapped down—
The realm vanished.
There was nothing.
Not even sound. And then a loud crack jerked me from the darkness, and all I heard was snarling and growling as the manor shook, tossing me left and then right.
Suddenly, I was lying on my back. Half of the ceiling was gone, as was an entire wall of Seacliffe. The scent of decay blew in, carrying the faintest traces of the sea. Somehow, I had ended up near Reaver, and there were shouts—pained and furious yelling. I thought I recognized the voice of the god who had tried to get me out, but there was another—a woman’s voice that was blade-thin and full of rage and sorrow. My vision seemed to pinwheel around the chamber. She was screaming…
She was screaming for Theon, but I couldn’t see her as Reaver rose from a plume of dust, shaking his large, diamond-shaped head. The double doors blew open, and a tall female draped in crimson entered, her eyes glowing with eather. She was immediately struck with Primal essence, her bodyexploding.
My eyes followed the fading bolt of eather to a tall, brown-skinned woman with braided hair—the Primal goddess I’d heard screaming. She stalked forward, a bronze-and-black crown clutched in one hand.
A male darted into the room, andRevenants poured in behind him, their pale faces painted with red wings. There was a flash of the hooded god, and then he was behind the male, his hands on the sides of the other’s head. Reaver’s spiked tail whipped through the chaos, taking out a pillar and an entire line of Revenants. Some went flying, others were impaled on the horns lining his tail. One of his massive forelegs slammed down in front of me, splintering the tile as he stretched over me, extending his long neck. His mouth opened, and smoke wafted out before a stream of silver fire erupted. The flames swallowed the Revenants, and screams tore through the air. As Reaver roared, releasing another funnel of fire, I saw Kolis.
The Primal mist around him had disintegrated, and something was on him—something large and covered in silver fur. He stumbled and then went down, bright red tinted with a blue shimmer coursing down his chest and arms. Whatever that something was, it wasclawingat Kolis’s chest, shredding the flesh.
It was a wolf.
One larger than any wolven I’d ever seen. And it was shaking its head, violently tearing into Kolis.
Darkness came for me again, and there was no fighting it this time. It swept in like a tide, tugging me under. Everything went quiet, and then I heard a low whimper, or maybe a whine. Softness tickled my cheek, and then I felt something cold and damp. The pained whining disappeared, replaced by Reaver’s gravelly voice. He was shouting. Yelling my…my name.
“Hold on.” Another voice cut through the haze, one full of authority and carrying smoke and shadows. I felt myself being lifted, enveloped by the scents of citrus and fresh air. “You just need to hold on. Do you hear me, Poppy? You need to hold on.”
I wanted to.
But there was only snow-frosted silence.
And then…
And then I heardher.
“Give her to me,” she demanded in a voice that was strong but not steady. There was a tremor under each word that tasted like panic and regret. “Give her to me, Ash.”
