Chapter 3

Ursula stared at Cera. “But I remember learning that dragons were extinct, and that’s why their wyrm-skin hides are so valuable. I was told they were all killed in the ninth century.”

Cera brushed the dust off her black dress. “Definitely not extinct.”

“I don’t understand.” She hugged herself, her body still buzzing with panic. “Why did it attack?”

Before Cera could answer, a heavy thud reverberated from the ceiling, and bits of plaster drifted down like snow.

Thud. “It’s followed us.”Cera looked up, shielding her eyes from the plaster dust. “We need to leave at once.”

Thud.

White dust rained down on Ursula’s clothes.

She scanned the platform, instinct kicking in at last. If there was one thing F.U. had seared into the lizard-part her brain, it was how to find the best escape route when danger closed in. In either direction, two tunnels curved off into the darkness. Her odds were fifty-fifty of choosing the best one.

Thud.

Thick chunks of plaster littered the floor, and her pulse sped up. We’re running out of time.

“Which way—” she started to ask, but the sight of Cera leaping down from the edge of the platform interrupted her. “Cera?”

“We always keep one of these around in case of emergencies,” she called out from under the platform’s ledge. Slowly, the oneiroi dragged a child’s play-pool onto the tracks. Murky water filled the blue plastic, and faded yellow seahorses and scallop shells decorated its sides.

Ursula gaped. “Are you going to bathe the dragon into submission?”

THUD!

This time, a scratching noise followed the impact. It took a moment for her to realize the dragon was digging.

“Look,” said Ursula, raising her voice. “We need to run. It’s fifty-fifty odds. We just need to choose a direction.”

“Be quiet,” Cera hissed. “And take your clothes off.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“There is nowhere to run. Not in this realm, anyway.” The demon fixed silver eyes on her. “If we don’t go now, we will be eaten.”

Before Ursula could protest, Cera stood, holding up her violet crystal. The rippling water in the pool stilled. Black shadow magic curled over a glass-smooth surface.

Cera turned to hear again, her eyes sparking with irritation. “Why are you still wearing your clothes? I told you to strip.”

Bloody hell, woman.Another thud sounded from above, and chunks of masonry and plaster poured from the ceiling. Definitely running out of time.Screw it. She pulled her shirt over her head.

“Hurry!” Cera shouted, giving an unnerving display of her sharp teeth.

Ursula unzipped her jeans. “Will you at least explain the need for nudity?”

“No clothes may contaminate Nyxobas’s water.”

Ursula unhooked her bra just as a great crack split the air above them. She glanced up at a shimmering claw tearing through the ceiling. She tore off her knickers.

“Jump in!” Cera leapt into the center of the kiddy pool.

Completely nude, Ursula held her breath, and plunged into the black water.

Her feet didn’t hit the bottom of the pool—instead, she plummeted deeper into the inky water, sinking below the surface. Instinctively she shut her eyes, her chest clenching as frigid water completely enveloped her naked body.

How deep was this pool? She opened her eyes, searching for a point of reference in the pitch-black water. Fear tightened her chest—the pool’s surface was nowhere in sight.

From the depths, a deep voice whispered, “This one has fire in her veins.”

She kicked her legs, moving away from the sound. Who the fuck is that?

“The shadow god’s enemy,” murmured a second voice—a gravelly tone.

The water grew colder, freezing her skin, and shivers wracked her body. Her lungs ached for a breath.

“But there is darkness in her, too,” said the first voice.

“And pain. She did a terrible thing,” hissed the gravelly one.

“What should we do with her?”

She needed to get away, to get to air and out of the water. She kicked her legs frantically, her fingers clawing for a surface that no longer seemed to exist.

I need to breathe.

“She wants to visit the Shadow Realm.”

“But her fire is forbidden.”

“Then we take it from her.”

“Yessss,” said another voice. “Her flames will warm us. It is so very cold here.”

Her body shook in the frigid water.

Something cold and slimy brushed her cheek, and the words deadman’s fingers rang in her mind. She thrashed in the darkness as an ice-cold hand grabbed her foot. What the fuck is happening?

More hands grasped her limbs, pulling her deeper. Agony inflamed her lungs, as water began to trickle down her throat. She jerked and twitched in the grasp of the fingers. The hands were all over her,clammy fingers pulling her mouth open.

Cold water rushed in, and her lungs spasmed. I’m dying. With each spasm, more water filled her lungs, dousing the flames of her magic.

“Remember the darkness. Only the darkness will save you.” the voices whispered. The hands released her, and a light appeared above her.

Am I dying? No, she couldn’t accept it. She’d hardly begun to live, and she still had no idea who she really was.

The voices were lying—where there was light, there was air. Life.

Fighting her body’s desire to convulse, she stretched out her arms, kicking her legs to swim upward. The circle of light grew larger. Her lungs burned.

She kicked her legs, reaching for the light. If she weren’t drowning, she would have sighed with relief as one of her hands brushed something solid. A final kick and her fingers broke the surface. Pain ripped her mind apart, and it took every last bit of strength to control her body. She clawed, grasping at an edge. With the last of her strength, she heaved herself up.

And then she was gasping. Coughing. Cold water pouring from her mouth, hot tears streaming from her eyes.