And through it all, Eira’s scream continued to plague my mind.
A bolt of clarity speared me, and my eyes flew open.
“Eira.” My voice was sluggish and incoherent.
As my dreams faded, her scream lingered, floating down the hall and surrounding me like a fog.
“Eira!” I jumped to my feet, swaying from the sleepiness that still clung to me.
Sleep, Theron.
Blinking rapidly, my brow furrowed as I identified the voice.
Calista. She was using my blood to command me to sleep.
That could only mean one thing: she had Eira, and she didn’t want me interfering.
I fumbled with my clothing, tugging on my shirt and trousers as I fought to stay lucid. Then I staggered to the door, still fighting Calista’s influence, my eyelids heavy… so heavy…
“Hunter!” barked a familiar voice.
I jumped, peeling my face off the wall. I must have leaned against it and fallen asleep once more. Swearing, I righted myself and found Frisk the fox standing at the open door.
“You’ve got some spittle on your chin, lazy-ass,” he snapped.
“It’s notme,” I protested. “It’s the queen—the false queen. She—She—” My head drooped once more.
“Snap out of it!” Frisk swiped his paw at my shin. His claws ripped at the fabric of my trousers—not enough to draw blood, but enough to jolt me from my haze.
I stared down at the fox as he cocked his head at me.
“You called her thefalsequeen.”
“Yes. Eira is the true queen.Myqueen.”
Frisk’s whiskers twitched as if he were trying to smile. “Took you long enough. Come on, we’ve got to move. Snow gave the signal. The castle is under attack.”
“What was the signal?”
“Her scream.”
I froze as the horror of Eira’s scream washed over me once more. Shaking off the feeling, I hurried after Frisk down the hallway, staying on his tail as he wound through the halls and padded up the stairs. Frantic servants jostled past, some shrieking and others barking orders. I made out words likeunder attackandthe princess.
I strained to hear justwhatexactly had happened to the princess, but I couldn’t make out any details. Cursing under my breath, I quickened my pace.
A resounding roar from outside rang out, making the walls and floor tremble. I froze, heart pounding as I looked around in alarm.
“What the hell was that?”
“It’s just Rogun,” said Frisk, sounding bored.
“Who’s Rogun?”
“He’s a huge dragon from Knockspur. He’s come to help us.”
My eyes rounded. A massivedragonwas fighting with the rebels? Kendra was one thing—she was incredible, but far too small to make much of an impact when facing Calista’s armies.
But something much bigger? That could turn the tides of the battle in our favor.
