An explosion erupted. Lightning consumed him in terrifying, crackling, white flames, and then he was falling—
Falling into the raging sea.
An arrow sticking out of his chest.
No—!
Leya jerked upright in terror, her racing heartbeat crashing into her head. Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the bedroom.
Oh God, oh God!She shuddered, as the sense of suffocation and terror eased.
She rubbed her blurry eyes, trying to rid herself of the nightmare, but it didn’t budge, consuming her mind. The urgency to get moving strangled her.
Leya scrambled from the bed and stumbled, trying to get her footing, but her legs shook as if her knees would cave, unable to hold her upright. She grasped the armchair near the bed.
Dammit, what did she have last night? Was it some kind of pain pills, leaving her this sluggish and weak?
The pull in her heart yanked at her, dragging her out of the room. Barefoot, she lurched to the circular landing, grabbed the curved banister, and shuffled down the many stairs to the ground floor.
Panting, she staggered down the long, dark corridor to a glass door leading outside and flung it open. A rush of icy, damp air hit her in the face, and she shivered.
Lightning erupted in a forking flash, illuminating everything and revealing its mass destruction. Trees and shrubs torn from the ground lay like felled sentinels. She stepped out into the deluge—
“My lady, what are you doing?” Someone grasped her arm, holding her back. She frowned at the familiar-looking woman, unable to place her. Her steel blue eyes widened with shock. “You are up!”
“Yes, I am up,” Leya squeezed out, her throat rusty, as if she hadn’t used it in ages. “The storm, he-he’s…” She searched for a name in her chaotic thoughts. “He’s in danger.”
“You cannot go outside! It’s too risky,” the woman yelled above the din of the storm. “Prince Aerén will be fine. He’ll be back.”
Aerén.The name settled in her soul.
“Come, my lady.” She slipped an arm around Leya’s waist and tried to pull her back indoors.
Ugh.Leya glared at having her movements restricted. “He’s not fine! I saw him fall into the ocean!”
She yanked free and sprinted into the pouring rain, fear giving her the boost she needed, her bare feet splashing through the puddles.
The woman remained at her side like a darn shadow. Then she grasped Leya’s arm. “Let me, my lady.” She flashed them to the cliffs.
Leya swiped the rain from her face, shivering. “T-take me down to the beach.”
“Oh, no.” The woman tightened her hold. “There’s barely a strip of shore left. The tide’s in, and the waves are colossal. You’ll drown.”
“You don’t understand.” She tried to remove the woman’s hand from her arm. “I have to find—save him. I cannot lose him.”
The storm’s cacophony faded, the rain easing to a gentle shower.
“Jisele?” A tall man appeared, sweeping back his rain-slicked tigerish hair. Then his shocked eyes locked on Leya. “My lady?”
“She wants to go down to the beach, to the sire, Lord Thiorr,” the woman, Jisele, said.
He glanced at Leya, grim-faced. “I cannot allow that.”
“Don’t tell me what you can or can’t allow! I have to find him!” Tears of frustration stung her eyes. “I saw him fall in the ocean!”
“But you just got up. You’re not strong enough—”
“Stop telling me that!” she growled. “I know I just got up!”
