Chapter 4
Mare
Adragon emerged from the darkness and dwarfed Galasvar in its shadow.
Its black scales shimmered under the fading moonlight as it landed upon the western tower. The stone shattered and broke beneath the crushing might of its claws.
Rubble and men crashed to the ground. Screams and shouts rose above the wailing song.
I stared in horror. Frozen. My elk reared in terror, reins ripping from my grip.
Sharp, featherlike scales blanketed the dragon's wings, and jutting spikes protruded from its spine. Its jaw ripped open, revealing teeth twice as tall as a man.
And it was not alone. An enormous bird flew over the eastern tower, its feathers black like a vulture's. Its long, pale neck rose to an unnervingly round, human face—its eyes orbs of milky white.
Ignoring the walls, the bird landed in the streets, its head easily rising above a two-story building, wings spreading like a funeral shroud.
"Inside." Liam grabbed me. "Now."
I broke from my frozen horror. Holding tight to his hand, I ran for my life, heart pounding against my ribs.
Chaos erupted in the streets. Somebody slammed into me as we fled to the nearest door, throwing me against the exterior wall. My back struck slats of wood, and my head clipped the shutters. I saw the dragon for a moment, black fire roiling in its maw, before Liam dragged me through the door. My shoulder throbbed from the impact.
Cracking, tearing, shrieks followed us inside.
Liam backed away and stumbled into a table. We'd ducked inside a tavern that must have been closed for the day—it was empty. A young woman wrapped in a pale blue cloak flew in the door after us and slammed it behind her, back pressed to the wood.
"Shit," Liam breathed. "What do we do?"
A second door on the tavern's far side caught my eye. "We . . . we deliver the message," I said.
"How? Our mounts bolted."
My chest heaved; my fingernails bit into my palms. Liam and I were not warriors. Lingering here amongst the monsters assured our deaths.
"Then we'll go on foot." I ran to the back door and grabbed the handle.
Liam caught my elbow and yanked me back. "I'm not letting you go out there."
Glass shattered behind us, and a deathly scream followed.
A horrid beast burst through the window. A writhing mass of tree-like vines, it walked on two legs and stood tall as the ceiling.A vertical maw tore up its eyeless head, and its vines lashed out like a storm.
The poor woman by the door stood no chance. Vines ripped through her body, punching holes in her torso and soaking her cloak with blood. Crimson mist sprayed across the glass shards.
Her body slumped to the floor. The monster turned toward us, vines lurching toward Liam.
Saints, it moved quickly.It bounded across the tavern in less than a second, maw cracking open to reveal two rows of teeth.
Liam threw me to the side. I struck the floorboard and heard my brother hiss in pain—heard tearing cloth and splintering bone.
Reaching under my skirt, I yanked my dagger loose from its hidden sheath and lunged to my feet, driving the knife into the creature's back.
It was like trying to drive a blade through a tree. I barely managed to scrape its strange, bark-like hide.
The entanglement of vines whirling around the beast flew toward me, wrapping around my neck and limbs. They pinned me against the wall with a painful thud.
The beast leaned in, as though inspecting my face. My gaze drowned in the black void behind its teeth.
