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Silver
Perhaps Silver did need help with her dress after relieving herself. The skirts somehow became a twisted mess and she pressed the fabric down several times, trying to smooth them out. She should have gone for simple, but sometimes she just wasn’t in a simple mood. And after the evening before, she at least wanted to have on a beautiful gown if she needed to murder something in the night.
“There.” She sighed. The dress finally didn’t look like she’d been ravished by a beast in the woods. However, her hair still did. She wasn’t going to worry about that now—her sister would most likely try and break down the door soon if she didn’t hurry up. Not to mention that Keelen probably didn’t know what in all the spirits she was doing.
As she collected her mace from the bed, the same energy as the previous night jolted through her, the odor of the castle more potent. Black, the blackest of blacks. The darkest of darks. It was as if her veins were attempting to escape her body. Then, the energy twisted and shifted, turning rotten.
Outside her window, the night was painted obsidian. A gust of wind extinguished every candle, plunging her into darkness. Only a spot on the floor, where the stars’ light filtered in through the glass, shone.
Scratching and shuffling echoed within the room. Above. Below. All around her. From everywhere.
Squinting her eyes, she raised her mace and attempted to see where the noises were coming from, but she couldn’t tell. Her heart raced, and she tried to tap into the energy, no matter what may come, to release her claws and sharp teeth. But she couldn’t penetrate the invisible barrier.
A swishing sounded, followed by a soft padding. Shadows moved across the walls. With a deep breath, Silver rushed for the door, prepared to throw it open. She needed more light in the room if she hoped to fight and murder each creature with her mace. But the door wouldn’t open. It was sealed shut.
“Damn it!” Silver growled.
She should have had Keelen with her, but she’d never needed anyone before, especially with something as mundane as relieving herself.
Whirling around, nostrils flaring, Silver kept her voice low, deadly. “Show yourselves, cowards.” She’d never been afraid of the magic she drew from the earth, not once, but whatever lurked in these hidden depths wasn’t of this world. Fear pulsed in her veins.
A shadow scuttled below her in the darkness. Silver kicked her foot forward—the thing squished beneath her boot, and she recoiled. Gurgling, the creature scampered away, its claws clicking the stone floor. Something sharp brushed her waist, and she spun, kicking her foot out again. Baring her teeth, Silver tried once more to tap into the energy. But she still couldn’t.
More claws scraped the floor, the walls, the ceiling, louder this time. She swung her mace, connecting only with air. Her gaze landed on the window. Scaling down the castle would be her only chance for escape.
She rushed toward the window, but before her fingers could find the latch, several rough hands grasped her ankle, claws digging in. With a hard yank, they pulled her back. Her body, falling face first, collided with the floor.
Pain radiated through Silver, and her head felt as if it had been cracked open, the blackened room spinning around her.
She held firm onto her mace, not willing to relinquish her weapon. A sound like the beating of wings echoed all around her. As her body jerked, back arching, something scaly wrapped around her mouth with a tight grip. She tried opening her mouth to bite and draw blood, but the hand was clamped, keeping her lips firmly shut.
Silver lifted her arms, struggling with the creature on her back. Two more grips tightened at her wrists, forcing her arms down, preventing her from doing anything.
Around the room, one by one, the candles relit. Shadows swayed along the walls behind the bobbing flames, then bodies pushed forward, sliding out from their hiding spots. Skeletal frames, hunched backs, ivory eyes, dark horns, leathery wings, and blackened lips. Imps. She shifted her gaze upward and glimpsed a head leaning over her.
The creature with its hand around her mouth was just as hideous as the others. Silver twisted and jerked. She wished Afton was there to rip them from her back and wrists, that Keelen was there to bring down his swords, and that she was free so she could tear the bastards’ hearts out to give to her sister.
The familiar scent of smoke and grass enveloped her, growing stronger. As if she’d been struck by a sleeping aid, her eyelids grew heavy, her body limp, her fingers slackening on the mace. Numbness spread all the way down to the marrow in her bones.
Silver attempted to scream as loud as she could to warn the others, but even her voice was too numb to escape.
Her eyes closed. Dark.
Darker.
Complete Darkness.
