Chapter 14

Raging fire engulfs the house, devouring it until nothing is left but a black shell. It crumbles, feeding the swirl of ash and sparks skating on the wind with the cloying smell of baked flesh.

My knees buckle, a scream caught behind chattering teeth as I slam my hand against the sturdy trunk of a tree.

A hungry gravity makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Found you.”

Those deep, frosty words flog my heart into a wild gallop, and I spin, gasping at the sight of Rhordyn standing over me—masculine granite features lit by angry orange light.

His eyes are pewter spades unearthing me in heaped scoops.

His brow buckles, gaze spearing over my shoulder.

Frantic fear wrestles inside my chest.

Don’t look.

Please.

I start to back away—

He grips my chin so hard it hurts, forcing me to turn, to stare at the flaming carnage reflected in his eyes.

“Milaje, what did you do?”

I snatch his wrist in an attempt to free myself, see that my hand is smothered in bold red blood.

Drip …

Drip …

Drip …

I close my eyes. Squeeze them tight. Try to sever myself from the reality I can’t escape.

What did I do?

“Everything,” I whisper.

Killed him. Killed her.

Killed them all.

The air chills.

Rhordyn’s hand slides around the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair and corralling me against his cold chest.

My shocked stiffness drains away, and I melt against him, choking on a relieved sob.

Something sharp kisses me between the shoulder blades, and my eyes pop open, head kicking back. My gaze collides with his stare that’s all toiling anguish and lightning strikes of regret.

Frightening.

Beautiful.

“What are you—”

“I’m sorry,” he bites out, and a cool slice of sharp pierces through me like I’m made of butter.

My mouth drops in a silent scream.

I feel my fragile heart split. Feel something warm spill through me in pulsing increments. Horrified, I look down to see the curved tip of a talon emerge between my breasts with a bloom of blood ...

A shuddered breath tumbles out of me with a bubble of warm that sluices down my chin.

Drip.

Drip.

My knees give way. Rhordyn takes my weight, his face burrowed in the crook of my neck as he holds me close. “I’m sorry … I’m sorry … I’m sorry—” The words are ground out like he’s carving them into stone with the tips of his fingers.

I feel a sharp tug, feel the talon slip free, and then he lowers me to the dirt, my eyes rolling back to take in the spindly stretch of the naked willow tree waving above.

I try to breathe but my chest won’t inflate.

My heart won’t thud.

I tumble into an eclipse, fall into the dark rather than the light, a speck of dust floating through an icy void.

Nothing. Nobody.

Gone.

***

Ijerk upright with a gasp, hands patting between my breasts, blinking at the harsh bursts of silver light that seem to whip against the windowpanes, igniting the night in bursts.

No blade.

Not real.

Drawing gulps of air, I fold forward and cradle my hot, sticky face as bolts of pressure explode against my temples. The tempest howls outside, churning the ocean into a bucking beast. The ship creaks and groans and shudders and sways and makes my stomach swirl.

Blood dribbles from my nose, onto the sheets bunched around me.

Drip.

Drip.

I growl, swipe it with my bandaged hand, then flop back onto the pillow—ignoring the strike of pain that rips through my shoulder as that thing inside me twists and toils and roots at the undersides of my skin.

Another flash of light illuminates the room—the Captain’s quarters, all to myself, guarded at all hours of the day and night to preserve my virtue.

I close my eyes. Work through my shoulder stretches to distract myself from the phantom sting between my breasts ...

Found you.

I whip the blankets over my head and cut myself off from those silver strikes of light.

... Not real.