Like hell, I thought silently, watching as he ran from thevolikiafter he snagged the hilt of his sword on the way out. Gone in the blink of an eye, as more shouts reached the edge of our home.
Quickly, I jumped up from the bed and pulled my discarded dress over my head, though I was certain it was backwards. I didn’t care. I just needed to see what was wrong. What was happening.
Mere moments after Wrune left, I was darting from thevolikiafter him.
From here, we had a whole view of the encampment, the walls, the gates, and beyond. Nearly everyvolikiwas glowing with light. Horde members were crowding, uncertain, and I spied Wrune racing through the camp, making a straight path for the gates.
I followed after him, dread churning in my belly. Adarukkarintercepted me, however, just as I reached the first of thevolikisthat sat a good distance away from our own.
“What’s happened?” I demanded from him, even when he tried to grab my wrist to keep me from following Wrune.
“TheVorakkartold me to keep you inside,Morakkari,” thedarukkarsaid, though his discomfort was clear.
“Tell me right now,” I ordered him, steeling my tone and meeting his eyes, as I stepped away from his grip. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
His jaw tightened.
Then he said, “There was an attack on the edge of the fog.”
My breath left me.
“Thedarukkarswere taken.”
Chapter Fifty
“What happened?” I growled, my voice booming ahead of me when I spied the small group huddled on the edge of the fog.
Valavik was there, his breath still heaving from the run over. As were otherdarukkars, ones I’d assigned the night watch at the gates. They were standing in a half-circle around Olin, who sat next to the roaring fire basin, his face leached of color.
I crouched in front of him when I reached them. He kept his eyes on my throat as I asked, “Where are the others?”
“Gone,” he rasped, raising his eyes to mine briefly.
“Where?” I pressed.
“The fog.”
I rose, my jaw tightening, and I met Valavik’s eyes.
“There were females,” Olin said, his voice finally finding some strength. “One moment, the night seemed to go still. The next, they werethere. I remember seeing them.Right there.” He pointed to the edge of the red fog, which billowed and swayed, as if beckoning us closer. “Then I do not remember anything. My memory is blackened. I do not know how long it has been since they were taken. I woke and then immediately called for the guards at the gates.”
“You were lucky,” Valavik growled, meeting my eyes once he looked away from thedarukkar. “Human females?”
“Nik,” Olin said, shaking his head. “Not like ourMorakkari. They were our own.”
“Dakkari?” I asked, lips turning down. But I feared I knew what that meant. I cast my gaze to the ground before taking a nearby torch and lighting it within the fire basin. It roared to life and I walked towards the fog.
Behind me, I heard the murmurs ofdarukkars.
“Sarkias,” I heard one of them say.
The witches.
“Setava Terun,” I heard another say.
The First Elder.
But how had they made it through the fog?
