Page 10 of Vicious Is My Throne

Beneath my horse the rich, loamy forest soil was a sea of liquid black, like we were stepping over rotting corpses. The hair on the back of my neck rose when up ahead, just beyond Zorander, darkness slithered through the forest.

Moving faster than was possible, coming straight for us.

My heart stopped dead, my shout of warning froze on my lips when Zor whirled around and our eyes met for one, agonized second before that darkness swallowed him whole.

4

ANARIA

“Anaria. Stay right there.” Tavion’s soft voice was lined with steel.

“Do not come another step. Back your horse up slowly. Don’t allow her to spook or she’ll bolt straight into this.”

Ahead of Tavion, Raz and Tristan were steadily, relentlessly urging their nervous mounts back, back, back, one shaking step at a time

Away from that reaching darkness, away from the putrid stench, back onto solid ground.

I tried to obey but Dove had other ideas, dancing sideways, the wet, squishy sounds making me gag as badly as the smell. In her panic, she knocked me against the nearest tree, and when I pushed us off, my hand came away covered with black, festering decay.

“It’s okay, you’re doing well. Don’t stop. Keep her moving backward.” But Tavion’s skittish stallion pranced from side to side, hooves held high as if the black hurt its feet.

The wind had died completely, leaving only the wet, sticky sounds as our horses fought through the muck while I eyed that wall of advancing darkness.

I thanked Martine every time I slammed against a tree, the tough black leather impervious to the rough, shredding bark.

My hand, though, was on fire.

“That’s it, Anaria,” Tristan urged, a hint of panic in his voice as he fought to control his bay. “Get to safe ground and we’ll catch up with you. Don’t panic and you’ll be okay.”

“I’m not leaving you here,” I growled. Tavion was only a few feet in front of me, but that darkness was about to engulf Raziel. I could barely see his outline against the reeking, murky shadows.

I was beyond panic right now.

Panic was when you thought you stood a chance at survival, when you used that first burst of adrenaline to make a mad dash for freedom.

Right now, I was petrified.

This was Corvus, hunting us down like helpless prey.

And we’d ridden straight into his trap.

Overhead, an owl called out mournfully, but I didn’t dare look up. All I could do was maintain tension on the reins and keep Dove moving steadily backward, step by trembling step. Tavion was still right in front of me, wisps of darkness curling around him like fingers.

But I only caught flashes of Tristan’s red hair through the shifting shadows, every trunk dripping with black rot as the darkness—and then Corvus’s corrupted magic—overtook us.

Zor and Raz were gone.

Tristan disappeared as the shadows closed in, and the smell…

I vomited, spewing everything I’d eaten this morning onto the ground.

Raz and Zor had to be just beyond that edge of darkness. Tristan was close, I’d seen him only seconds ago, but all I could do was pull back the reins, swallow down bile, and hold my breath against the gagging foulness.

Finally, fucking finally, the reeking darkness thinned and I could breathe again.

Barely, but I didn’t feel like my lungs were coated in decay.

Tavion’s watering eyes locked with mine, his encouraging smile tight. “Keep your eyes on me, Anaria. You’re almost there. Only a few more feet. Once you’re past the edge of this, she’ll settle.” My poor mare wheezed, grunting when I wouldn’t let her head come up. I sucked in a sobbing breath when solid forest floor crunched beneath us and green-tinted leaves spiraled down over us.

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