“I wonder how long that spirit of yours will last after I’m through with you.”
Phantom spasms burst around my wrists and neck. I could smell the strong scent of wine that always lingered on Scarven’s breath when he kissed me. I squeezed my eyes shut, my muscles too tired but crying at the same time.
I was weightless and floating, one foot in my memories and one in the uneasy darkness.
And then I was freefalling.
A bellowing roar broke through the fog right as a hand yanked my arm.
I sucked in a breath and nearly screamed. I was suspended in midair, with nothing but Tessa’s tight grip keeping me from falling to my death. She slowly pulled me onto Nox’s back.
“You alright?” she called out above the wind.
I nodded and clung to Nox’s scales, panting from exertion. A dampness filled the air, heavy and suffocating despite the cold winter night, and then the skies opened to release a deluge of rain. It pelted us like daggers, instantly drenching our clothes.
Nox nose-dived for the perimeter of the mansion, landing more gracefully than I thought possible of his enormous body. I slid (very ungracefully) from his back. My knees buckled as a shock of pain radiated from my poisoned knife wounds.
The instant Tessa and Kieran were on solid ground, Nox shifted. He fell to the mud and cupped the back of my neck. My head pounded and my teeth chattered, which was strange, considering the wound felt like a hot brand coursing up my ribs. Nox’sface wavered before me as my eyelids fluttered shut, but I forced myself to focus.
I licked my lips and swallowed. “Get them…off,” I croaked. I clawed weakly at the collar around my neck.
His nostrils flared. In the blink of an eye, he shifted his hand to talons and sliced through the black metal at my throat and hands, then tossed them to the side.
The instant they were gone, the nausea began to subside. My body slackened in his hold. The pain was still there, but without the cuffs, it was like I could breathe again.
Nox pushed back the rain-slicked hair from my face. Without realizing what I was doing, I nestled my cheek against his hand. Fates, I had missed him. The frenzy in my chest settled when he was around.
“We need to get both of them to Silas,” Tessa called through the rain. She supported Kieran with an arm around his waist, his hand still clutched over the wound in his abdomen.
I shook my head, and the movement sent a dull throb across my temple. “Just sleep. I just need to…to sleep. Please, Nox,” I whimpered.
He nodded and gathered me in his arms. “Sleep, darling. I’ve got you.”
Faint noises filtered in.Shuffling feet, whispered voices, something hard clattering against a wooden surface.
It sounded like chains rattling on stone.
“Now we’ll see how my brother’s plaything looks strung up on my wall and screaming my name.”
My shadows flickered at the edges of my mind, but a cold wave pushed them away. Scarven was everywhere—his fingers digging into my back, his needles scraping my skin. My panic rose, but the heavy blackness kept me tied down, like weights dragging meunder.
A different voice broke through the fog. “Her heartbeat is steadier, Nox. Her body is fighting the infection. She’s strong, this one.”
And then I heardhim.
“You have no idea how strong.”
Warmth brushed my hand. My muscles relaxed, and I faded once more.
The backsof my eyelids glowed red, as if sunlight were shining down on them. Something soft rested on my legs. I moved my fingers, expecting them to be frozen in that liminal space, but to my surprise, smooth sheets shifted beneath my touch.
I slowly pried my eyes open. Golden rays of a sunset crossed over the blanket covering my legs. I no longer smelled the sour wine on Scarven’s lips, but a different sweet, smoky scent that calmed my senses. I turned to bury my cheek deeper into the pillow, breathing it in, and a small whimper escaped me.
There was movement on the other side of the bed. I snapped my head to the sound, wincing at the sharp motion.
“It’s okay; it’s just me,” Nox said, voice soft. He moved his chair as close to me as he could. His hand twitched toward mine, but he kept it on the edge of the bed.
“Where am I?” I croaked.
