More cheering erupts from the stands, and I turn my head to see thick shadows coiling around Thane’s wrists, curling up and winding around his tattooed biceps. Dark clouds gather high above us, dark puffs clustering above our heads until the clouds completely block out the stars and the moonlight, theonly illumination now coming from the flaming torches lining the arena. The temperature drops, the air growing thick with moisture, and my heart feels like it’s about to pound out of my chest.This is not good. So not good.
“Run, mate!”Thane’s growl fills my ears right before lightning crackles in the sky, and thunder booms around the amphitheater. Then the first drops of rain fall.
Large black droplets plummet from the sky, falling into the center of the arena, and we all watch transfixed as the rain lands on a few students who are standing in the middle of the sands. For a moment, all I can hear is the rain as we all watch in shock, but then the screaming starts. The students who were touched by the droplets fall to their hands and knees as the acid burns through their clothing, and the horrible stench of charred flesh fills the air as it melts their skin.Oh, god.
Kenzie and a few of the other students throw up, unable to handle the sight, but somehow, I manage to keep the bile down. Seconds later, the small circle of rain slowly starts to widen, spreading out evenly in all directions, and that’s when everything turns to chaos.
The students run, all sprinting in different directions. People crash into one another and trample the fallen in their desperate attempt to escape. Ian strides forward confidently and runs his sword through a man who fails to get out of his way fast enough for him. A few feet from our position, a girl trips, falling to the sand, and Kenzie and I yank her to her feet before she’s trampled.
The organized students positioned in front of the pine forest plunge into the trees, no longer hesitant now that they know what other fate awaits them. As they disappear, the trees shake, and I hear a familiar upbeat song ring out above the roar of the rain and the cacophony of screams.
A tasty morsel, we can see,
Delicious, not vicious, for us to eat,
We hope it screams, we hope it begs,
We will slowly devour it until we’re fed.
“What is that?” Kenzie croaks, looking in terror at the forest.
I grimace, thinking of the nemins and the way they paralyze their victims before they eat them. Slowly, the students who enter the trees fall silent, and I shudder.
“We should go there,” I say, because at least I know I can speak to the nemins. I might even be able to save some of the students, too.
Another group of students seeks cover in the coconut trees, and I try to shout a warning as the taseral rushes out of the water, snatching one of the students in its massive jaws and snapping him in two, sending blood spraying across the sand. The other students clamber to use their powers and weapons, attacking the beast, but their blades can’t penetrate its thick scales.
“Shade!”Thane’s shout in my ears has me jerking to attention, and I realize my mates have probably been screaming at me for a while. The rain is so close, only a few yards away from my position, and the circle starts widening faster.
I snatch a glance at Thane, and the queen is staring at him with impatience.
The crowd roars as they watch us, and I glance again at the pine forest. It’s too far away, and the circle of rain stands between us.Crap.“We’ll have to go to the jungle instead,” I tell Kenzie reluctantly, and the pair of us start sprinting away from the rain.
“How can they love this? Aren’t they sick of all the death they’ve already seen on the battlefield?”I shout at my mates.
“Sometimes to survive fighting monsters, you must become one yourself,”Galen replies somberly, and his words sit heavy in my chest.
“Or the queen could just give them the therapy they desperately need,”I joke, though my voice is strained.“Or you know, romance books. There’s no better therapy than romance books!”I say it like I’m kidding, but a part of me is serious. Somehow, even though I haven’t gained all my memories, I know that part is true. Romance books have been a large part of my life, and something tells me I might not be here today if it weren’t for them.
“Hurry, treasure,”is Galen’s only reply.
The rain moves closer, droplets of acid sizzling against the sand behind me, and I can feel my mates’ gazes burning against my skin. I breathe heavily as I run, stumbling in the sand and cursing myself for not moving sooner.“I guess there was a reason for all those sprinting lessons after all.”
Up ahead, Ian, Satine, and the rest of their group slip into the jungle forest. I wish I could avoid going in the same direction as Ian’s group, but we don’t have a choice now. As the rain comes closer, a metallic scent fills my nose.
“Hurry!”Knox tells me desperately.
“I am hurrying!”I quip back.
“Thane can’t make it fall slower, sunshine,”Raith warns me.“Move that tight ass of yours.”
I want to grin at his comment, but death is breathing down my neck, and all I can do is focus on the trees that are so close, and yet, feel so far away. Ian and his group disappear from sight, along with a number of other students who dive between the trees, and Kenzie reaches the tree line before me. She turns around, surprised that I’m not behind her, and she calls out to me, stretching out her arms, urging me to run faster.
Come on, Shade. Only a little further,I tell myself, but just as I give myself that pep talk, I trip over my own feet, and I’m pitching forward. The ground comes up fast, and a startled cry escapes me as I land face-first in the sand.
“Shade!” Kenzie shouts.
I lift my head, shaking the grit out of my eyes.
