They weren’t extinct. And they weren’t merely their captors—they were their executioners, smothering the air with the weight of their judgment.
Whatever these creatures had planned, it wouldn’t end quickly. A shrine to suffering, this unforgiving arena was a place where mercy had long since crumbled to dust.
And the four of them were the next offering.
Above, the roar of the crowd swelled. Fear seeped beneath Serenna’s blistered skin, wormed through her veins, and feasted on the terror thrumming in her blood.
Muscles trembling from the effort, she tugged futilely at her chains, the metal only gnawing deeper as she struggled. Sweat burned her eyes and she blinked furiously, trying to clear the haze.
A shadow passed overhead, cleaving through the brightness. Wings outstretched, a figure descended, airy white robes billowing. Soundlessly, a female landed in front of them, streamers cascading from her flowing raiment.
Her wings snapped shut with acrack, sharp as a crashing wave. Above her shoulders, three-fingered claws flexed at their leathery peaks. The black sheen of her wings rippled and then vanished entirely,shiftingback into her spine. The scales along her arms followed, sinking into indigo flesh without a trace, leaving behind what was unmistakably a silver-haired wraith.
The crowd hushed as the female approached with liquid grace, a viper weaving through the sand. Tiny, dark scales glittered like constellations along the planes of her cheekbones. Cold and detached, her eyes—red reptilian slits—swept over each of them in turn.
Beside Serenna, Lykor had gone still, tracking the druid with simmering rage.
The female lifted a claw, talons flashing like sharpened steel. She signaled, a methodical clacking as she struck her nails together.
A rustle of wings, accompanied by thuds against sand, announced the arrival of more druid-wraith. As silent sentinels,they flanked the leader, their shadows stretching across the arena.
But it wasn’t more of these strange creatures closing in that held Serenna’s attention—it was the female’s jewelry.
Around her wrist, a key glinted in the unforgiving sun, taunting from a silver chain. The freedom from their shackles—dangling so close, but feeling as distant as the stars. And yet, there was something more alarming.
Delicate rings coiled around each of her fingers, linked by finely woven strands of metal. The intricate web snaked across both sides of her claw, cradling a crystal gem in her palm.
A Starshard.
Before Serenna’s mind could conjure the horrors that lay ahead, the female’s fiery gaze pinned on the prince. In a blur of shadows, she warped directly in front of him, fangs extending as her arm shot out. She twisted her talons in Vesryn’s hair, yanking his head back, exposing his throat.
Serenna jerked against her restraints. She tried to cry out—to beg—but the only sound she made was a pathetic whimper, a near-silent plea strangled by fear.
Still dazed, the prince’s lashes only fluttered.
The druid struck, slamming the Starshard against his bare chest. Serenna’s stomach flipped as Vesryn convulsed, his back arching. The female’s eyes narrowed, ticking back and forth as if tracing invisible threads, reading something hidden from everyone else.
Heart lurching, Serenna’s breaths shattered in short gasps as she braced for the inevitable—the piercing whine, a bolt of Essence obliterating the prince.
The female leaned closer to Vesryn’s ear. Serenna expected a hiss, but when the druid spoke, her voice was silk wrapped around barbed menace.
“We will bleed the starlight from your bones.”
The words echoed in Serenna’s mind, the threat coiling around her thoughts. Her throat constricted as the meaning settled in, dread clawing its way up. But Vesryn barely twitched, still lost in the depths of unconsciousness.
Tilting her head, the druid’s lips thinned as the fiery gleam in her eyes dimmed to something far more chilling—indifference. Her jewelry chimed as she withdrew, releasing the prince with a flick of her wrist. The chains jerked him as he crumpled forward.
Serenna flinched as the druid warped again. In an instant, the female was towering over her, scrutinizing, slitted pupils sharpening.
And then, just as swiftly, she lost interest. The female drifted to Lykor next, her eyes dissecting his glower before flicking to Jassyn’s slumped form.
“You three are not like the thieving ancestors,” she said at last, her voice ringing through the arena. “Like him.” She lifted a talon, aiming the point at the prince, as though his very existence was an accusation—a condemnation.
“You two have lost some of your starlight.” Her reptilian gaze skimmed over Lykor’s fangs before cutting to Serenna’s red-ringed eyes. “But to stand beside the Aelfyn’s tainted descendants… Unforgivable.”
She let the word hang in the air, heavy with finality. “If the flayers deem you worthy of life, you will surrender the rest of your starlight as penance.”
Lykor’s growl deepened into a rough, “No.”
