When she made it to the hall, she ran for the door as something outside released one of the most awful shrieks she’d ever heard. Lexi’s head shot up as the sound came from all around them, but of course, she couldn’t see through the ceiling to whatever lay beyond these walls.
A dragon hadn’t made that noise; she’d become accustomed to their roars. This was something she’d never heard before; it was high-pitched, angry, and hungry.
The noise slowed her enough that Amaris caught up to her. The fae woman held her side as she panted for air.
“What was that?” Lexi breathed.
“There are many ravenous things in this land,” Amaris said.
In her head, Lexi heard the echo of Cole’s words from the first night they met… “There are all kinds of creatures in this land. Some are like the human realm, and others… well, others would give you nightmares for a week.”
“The fight has probably awakened their hunger,” Amaris said.
“What…?” Her question trailed off as another echoing screech reverberated over the land. It echoed off the walls until it came from all around them. “Cole.”
She ran for the front door again.
“Wait!” Amaris shouted after her.
Lexi didn’t hesitate before she threw open the door. She skidded to a halt when she saw she wasn’t looking at the courtyard but thick woods. Despite the light of the moons, an impenetrable blackness obscured anything beyond the first row of tree trunks.
The chirrup of what sounded like crickets on steroids came from the trees. From behind one of the tree trunks, eyes the color of a rotten peach blinked at her.
Before she could decide what to do, the door ripped away from her hand and slammed shut. Lexi stepped away from it as it vibrated in its frame.
“That’s not the way out,” Amaris said as she skidded to a halt beside her. “You do not want to go out there.”
“It looks the same as the main door, and I swear those stairs….”
She glanced back at the stairs that were duplicates of the ones she’d climbed after leaving the main hall behind. The ones she’d climbed with Cole before.
“It’s easy to get turned around in here. Sometimes, I think the palace does it on purpose,” Amaris said.
Lexi didn’t doubt it, but she didn’t think that’s what happened now. She didn’t understand why, but the palace protected her before, and it did pull the door from her.
It wanted her to see what was out there, or maybe it was hoping she would still think this was the main entrance and wouldn’t go out there. She had no idea how the palace worked, but it had a mind of its own.
“This way,” Amaris said and clasped her elbow.
She led the way around the stairs and down another hall before they turned a corner, and another double set of doors came into view. When she glanced at Amaris, the helot nodded, and Lexi sprinted for the exit.
Flinging them open, she nearly recoiled when the stench in the air hit her. It must not have drifted up to the room she was in before, but down here, it reeked of blood and death as well as the rich aroma of churned-up earth.
Normally, that last part wasn’t an unpleasant scent, but it made her stomach turn when mingled with the other aromas. The air also held the odor of something else, something feral and rotten. Something she’d never encountered before.
Another screech drew her attention to the sky as a massive bird-like thing swept into view. Its enormous, bat-like wings briefly obscured one of the moons. Designed to tear the flesh from its victims, it had a long, pointed nose.
Is that a pterodactyl?
No, it can’t be.
But it looked so much like one that, for a second, she wondered if she’d stepped back in time. However, there were some differences between this thing and the long-dead dinosaur. Like this thing was a vivid red, but then perhaps the dinosaur was red too.
Bones didn’t exactly reveal the color of things, or maybe they did. She wasn’t an archeologist, but she was looking at something ancient. Something that had never walked or flown in the human realm.
This was something straight out of the shadow realms as it opened its mouth to reveal hundreds of razor-sharp teeth the size of her hand.
“It’s a craz,” Amaris whispered. “They usually stay in the caves of Wright Mountain, where they feast on the wild goats. The battle must have drawn them out.”
As she spoke, two more vicious-looking things flew into view and dove toward the field. The fae below scattered to get out of the way, but one of them wasn’t fast enough.
The craz’s powerful beak clamped down on his upper body, and the man’s legs kicked in the air as the craz soared upward. Its throat worked like a pelican consuming a fish as it gulped the fae down.
The dark fae, who’d fled into the courtyard for protection, screamed as they threw up their hands and ran for shelter. Many of them ran for the stables while others fled into the homes of the king’s soldiers.
She almost shouted at them to come to the palace but bit the words back. She had no idea who any of these immortals were or if she could trust them. Inviting them into Cole’s home was probably a horrible idea and one that Cole, and probably the palace, would not take kindly to.
“Shit,” Lexi whispered as more of them flew into view.
Her gaze found Cole on the field as he battled through the men trying to destroy him. He had to know these monsters were here, but he didn’t look up as another rocketed down to claim another victim.
Another round of arrows launched at him. Cole spun in time to deflect many of them with his father’s sword while dodging the others with a fluid grace none of the others possessed. Though none of the arrows hit him, she saw what they’d truly intended to do with those bolts… distract him.
“No!” she screamed as half a dozen dark fae charged at him from behind.
Cole spun and took down three of them. He ducked back from a fourth who lunged at him, but the fifth had come up behind him. The steel of the fae’s sword glinted in the firelight as Cole spun toward him, but he wasn’t in time to stop the fae’s blade from plunging into him.
Chapter Six
The blade pierced through Cole’s shoulder and burst out the other side. Whatever it hit in there caused his nerve endings to send a command he did not issue as his hand went lax, and he released his sword. It hit the ground as the fae twisted the blade within him.
Cole gritted his teeth as, instead of trying to tear himself free of the sword as the fae expected, he pushed his way forward and toward the fae. As he moved, the blade cut through sinew and muscle while plunging deeper into his body.
The man was so shocked that Cole was impaling himself, he stood and gawked at him. When he looked away, Cole knew he was contemplating releasing the sword and running, but it was already too late.
His claws extended, and with one swipe, he cut the fae’s head from his shoulders. Others ran toward him as he gripped the sword handle and tore it free.
It was made of fae metal, but he didn’t hesitate before turning it on his attackers. With one hand, he swung the sword at the fae charging toward him, disemboweling one and cutting the hand from another before the others jumped back.
His dominant hand remained unmoving at his side, but he’d spent years training with both hands and was as good with his left hand as he was with his right. Another screech from above drew the fae’s attention to the skies as the craz soared into view.