I peered up at the sky and splayed my arms. “You hear me, world? I did it!”
“You.”
The nasally growl cut through the night, and I froze, only daring to move my eyes. My breath hitched. Every muscle locked as dread wrapped around my spine. No. No. No! Not now!
The ghouls’ snarls fell away, leaving only the frantic thud of my heartbeat in my ears.
Slowly, I turned.
Seated on a demonic horse with glowing red eyes was a figure even more terrifying than all The Dark One’s monsters combined.
Unlike the emaciated horde, he was fully fleshed, ropy muscle stark beneath his waxy gray skin. Ragged clumps of hair stuck to his scalp, a tarnished crown on his head. Blackened armor clung to his monstrous frame, bearing the crest of some long-forgotten kingdom. I’d heard whispers of such things. Fallen kings, their souls enslaved, resurrected to lead The Dark One’s armies. I hadn’t believed them until now.
This man, thisthing, radiated power. Dark and oily, it slithered over my skin, dragging me down. The feeling like death had sunk its claws into me. There would be no defeating this monster.
“He’s waiting for you.” The words crackled from his throat. They sliced into me, sharp and cold, until my knees wanted to give out.
There was no need to explain. I knew exactly who had summoned me.
I stumbled back into the shallow water. Better to take my chances with the ghouls.
The monster studied my retreat with a hollow gaze void of humanity. He raised one gauntleted hand. Icy power sparked in his palm—then struck.
A bolt of freezing energy slammed into my chest.
Agony exploded through every nerve, locking me in place. My vision burned white, and my body crumbled.
The last thing I heard before the darkness took me…
The agonized roar of a dragon.
Chapter Thirty-Two
SERAFINA
Chanting filled my ears,a sinister melody that slithered through my skull. Panic burned through my veins, urging me to move. To flee. Something grievous was happening. What, I couldn’t remember. My mind was a tangle of fear and confusion, urgently scrambling.
Wake up. Wake up!
I forced my eyelids open and groaned at the dull ache in my sternum. Stars twinkled in my vision, whether in the sky above or bursting behind my eyes, I wasn’t sure.
Despite the invisible boulder that sat on my chest, I dragged myself upright. Memories surfaced. The Dark One’s general. The blast of searing power.
Flark. I sucked in a ragged breath.
The eerie whinny of a horse sliced through the night, yanking my head around. The fallen king loomed outside the blackened circle that surrounded me. His demonic steed waited a short distance away, snorting and pawing the earth. The general’s soulless gaze locked with mine, a predator watching his woundedprey.
He wasn’t alone.
A shadowed figure stood beside the general, his presence a dagger to my gut.
I gasped. “Alaric.”
If he were here, then—
My pulse seized, an icy fist crushing my heart. “Where’s Thorne? What have you done?”
Alaric’s lips curled, his voice a frigid snarl. “What I should have done years ago.”
