Fall of Ruin and Wrath (Awakening, #1)

“You see him?”

“Yeah,” he spat between gritted teeth. “Lord Samriel.”





CHAPTER 35


What in the world was he doing here? I didn’t know, but I didn’t believe in coincidences. Or fate. My fingers pressed into the windowsill.

“We really need to get out of here,” Grady urged.

I started to move when the Hyhborn who rode beside Samriel turned their cloaked head to the window. Their horse drew to a sudden halt.

“Shit,” I gasped, ducking. My wide gaze met Grady’s as my grip tightened on the dagger. “He couldn’t have seen us. There’s no way— ”

A ni’mere shrieked, sending a bolt of raw fear straight through me.

“Go!” Grady yelled to the others as we half scrambled, half ran along the wall.

Quickly catching up with Milton and Allyson, we raced for the door to the underground chambers, but while my intuition had been quiet seconds earlier, it no longer was. Wings beat against the window. I knew . . .

“We’re not going to make it,” I gasped.

“We will,” Grady argued. “We— ”

“No.” I grabbed ahold of the back of his tunic. “We won’t.”

Understanding flashed across his features. He cursed, yelling for the others while I racked my brain for where we could go. I looked around—

“The library!” I shouted.

Allyson nodded, and darted across the hall, heading for the door I knew led to another part of the manor. There’d be chambers there; they weren’t as safe as those underground, but they were places to hide, and that was the best we could do.

She pushed open the door, holding it open as the feeling of pressure continued to settle between my shoulders. There was no way Lord Samriel had seen us, but something had alerted him to our presence.

Glass exploded as we hit the other hall. Allyson’s sharp scream spun me around. A ni’mere came at us, its wings skimming the walls on both sides. I froze, just for a heartbeat as I stared at the creature’s fragile, doll-like features smeared with blood— the smooth flesh that gave way to small, layered feathers and breasts. Actual breasts. The ni’mere was a female.

And I was never going to unsee this.

“Get down!” Grady shouted.

Allyson grabbed my arm, tugging me to my knees. The ni’mere twisted in the air, about to turn as Milton grabbed the creature by the legs. With a yell, he threw it against the wall.

Plaster cracked from the impact. Milton jumped back, breathing heavy as the ni’mere fell forward. It rose onto its hind legs inches from me, shrieking.

I moved without thought, lurching to my feet. I didn’t think about what I was doing. I didn’t hesitate. It was almost like I was someone else as the ni’mere swung at me with sharp, bloodied talons. I dipped under its arm and spun. Snapping upright, I thrust the dagger deep into the ni’mere’s chest. The creature’s stunned gaze met mine as I jerked the blade free. The ni’mere stumbled back, its legs folding. The creature went down, dead before it hit the floor. I looked up.

Grady stared at me, eyes wide. “What the fuck?”

I glanced at my blade. “Holy shit.”

A shriek cut through the air as another ni’mere entered the hall.

“Shit,” Grady cursed.

I scrambled past Allyson, catching the door and slamming it shut. I threw the lock, knowing it would only slow the others down, as Grady shot forward. He didn’t thrust the sword into the ni’mere. The steel would do very little. He twisted at the waist, sweeping up with the sword. The blade sliced through the ni’mere’s neck. Blood sprayed as Grady severed its head. He stepped back, blood splattered across the side of his face. I really hoped the ni’meres were one of the Hyhborn that couldn’t regenerate.

“You okay?” I whispered, coming to Grady’s side.

“Yeah.” He glanced down at himself, swallowing. “Yeah.” He turned to me, eyeing the dagger. “You?”

I nodded.

“How the hell did you do that?” He took ahold of my arm.

“I don’t know.” I swallowed, heart thumping.

Allyson jumped as something hit the door. “There’s more.” She began backing up. “Library. Now.”

Stomach twisting, I shoved my sudden, inexplicable, and rather impossible prowess with the dagger away to deal with later. I turned as Allyson shoved open the doors. We raced into the chamber just as the sound of wood splintering reached us. Allyson cried out, fingers curling against the chest of her gown as Milton and Grady closed the doors behind them.

“Get the chairs— the settee,” Milton ordered. “We’ll block the door.”

Quickly sheathing the dagger, I rushed forward and slammed my hands into the side of the settee. It barely budged. I whipped toward Allyson. “Help me.”

Her wide, frightened eyes met mine as she hurried to my side, and I locked on to her. It happened so quick. I connected with her, and my second sense came alive so fast there was no stopping it as she moved forward to help. My entire body jerked.

Then I saw her falling— fresh red running down the front of her blue gown. Then I felt it— sharp agony along my throat, burning and final as the silver chain snapped and the necklace fell, the sapphire splattered with blood—

Breaking eye contact with her, I pushed harder on the settee, its legs tearing the carpet. “Hide,” I rasped. “Go and hide.”

“You need help. You can’t push this— ”

“No.” I shoved her away, toward the stacks.

She stumbled back. “Lis— ”

“You need to hide. Now. Don’t make a sound. Don’t come out. You hide. Do you understand me? You stay hidden, no matter what.”

“Y-Yes.” She wrapped her arms around herself.

“Go. Now.”

Allyson slowly backed away and then turned, disappearing between the rows of books.

Grady joined me, grabbing the side of the settee. We carried it over to the door. Milton shoved a heavy chair against it—

A thump hit the doors, causing the three of us to jump again. Another bang hit it. A ni’mere shrieked, turning my blood cold.

“Really wish I had that wine now,” Milton muttered.

“We’ll get you a dozen bottles after this,” Grady assured him. The ni’mere hit the door again, shrieking. “We need to hide.”

My mind raced for a good hiding place. I thought of the heavily curtained recesses that many of the staff liked to sneak to, either for a brief rendezvous or a quick nap. Some of them even had doors in them that led to other chambers or to stairs that went to the mezzanine above. Which ones, I couldn’t remember. “The alcoves. To our left. Some of them have doors.”

Milton nodded, swallowing hard as he glanced around. “Best of luck.”

Then he darted off, heading toward the wall. Grady and I did the same. We rushed through the maze of bookcases. The wall of alcoves came into view as the library doors crashed open.

Somewhere in the library, Allyson cried out in fear, and my heart sank. Please be quiet. Please. Please. Grady shoved one of the heavy drapes aside, and then we were quickly enveloped in the dark, stale air of the cramped space as the drape settled back in place.

Grady held me tight to him as I stared through the gap between the curtains, my entire body shaking. It was no more than an inch, but it felt like we stood completely exposed as the ni’meres flew through the library. Books fell, one by one, hitting the floor, and I jumped. Each time, I jumped.

A louder crash came seconds later, sounding like an entire row of heavy bookcases toppling over. Silence followed, and then . . .

Slow, steady footsteps.

Then quiet.

Seconds ticked by as I strained to hear any sound. Minutes. There was nothing. Did the ni’meres leave? Wouldn’t we—

“There’s no reason to hide,” a Hyhborn said, and my body flashed hot then cold. I hadn’t forgotten that voice. It was Lord Samriel. “I will not harm you.”

Grady made no move to come up. Neither did I.