Page 36 of The Nightmare Queen

After a shortwhile she stiffens, taking in our position and the bodies littered around us. We hear another branch break in the distance and her head whips to the side,“what the gods?”her words echo into my mind. She points her finger but keeps the arm close. I squint in the direction she’s turned her head in, trying to see what she's pointing at.

Distantly, I see a shadow and then two red eyes. There off in the woods stands a lone creature. He makes no effort to charge at us. He just stands there, staring the same as we are.

“Is that?”

“A creature that looks almost cognizant?” She breathes out. Meanwhile my hold tightens on her, fusing our bodies together, as I move us back.

“What the hell do you think that means?” I say down the seal.

She shake my head. “I don’t know.”

“IF YOU TWO ARE DONE SNUGGLING, WE’D LIKE TO GET GOING BEFORE ANY MORE OF THE WALKING DEAD SHOW UP.” Axel’s voice carries, dumping over us like ice cold water.

“You okay?” I ask, my hand stroking down her hair absentmindedly. “No venomous consequences this time?” I rove my eyes over her.No injuries this time.Her chin lifts in defiance but how she looks at me when she notices us holding onto one another…makes my head dizzy. And it only clears when she slips from the position I put us in and saunters off back to the group.

We all look like shit. We decided as a whole to stop for the night shortly after the fight. If I thought we were quiet before, I was wrong. It is more silent than the dead now. Looking over each person the only ones with injuries sustained were Will and Orem. Orem, has a cutthrough his eyebrow that’s still bleeding and Will’s lip is busted. Other than that, the only things that really sustained any damage were our clothes. They’re all soaked through with the creature’s sticky black sludge.

With how exhausted I was and the tension from earlier, I hadn’t planned on following Eveera tonight. Until she got up and looked in my direction. I’ve either deluded myself or there was an almost imperceptible look of expectation on her face when she did.

When I caught up to her I take note that she is sitting again in a small clearing, palms to the earth, her black magic veining through the soil. Her shoulders are slumped, giving way to her exhaustion.

“This is becoming a habit, princeling.”That voice.It’s like a siren’s call, luring me to sit down next to her.

“I thought you told me to stay out of your bloody head.”I remark.

She snorts, “I did.”

“What happened out there today?” I ask, this time vocally.

She shakes her head, sighing, “I have no idea. The way the lone one looked. It looked like he was—”

“Studying us.” I finish for her.

She lets out another long sigh, “yes. I have never once in the years we have dealt with them, encountered one that seemed to be aware of itself. Mostly they seem mindless, slaves to their bloodlust. I’ve even witnessed them turn on one another if they aren’t satiated from the energy or killed off quickly enough.”

“How long have you been dealing with them?”

Her fingers dig deeper into the dirt. “How old am I? Twenty-five? That would make it fourteen years, they showed up after…” Her voice trails off, gaze bleeding from gold to black. The seal in our minds slams down sharply, sending my presence against a mental wall.Whatever she’s working out in there she doesn’t want me to know.

I lean forward trying to get her to look at me. “After what?”

She pulls her lip between her teeth, biting down gently. “Nothing, it will be fine.”

Putting my hand to her shoulder, I try to shake those eyes back to their golden hue. “Eveera.”

“I SAID IT WILL BE FINE!” A wave of black rams into me.

“P-please don’t lock me up here again. PLEASE.” His laugh rings out through the cell. “Please don’t lock me up here again.” He mocks before landing a kick in between my ribs. “P-please.” I sob out to nothing. I’m dirty, broken, bleeding. I will kill him. I will kill them all the moment these mage shackles are taken off.

I gasp, clawing at my throat as I suck down the breaths.

“Did you kill him?” Her voice comes quietly from inside my mind.

I look up at her, rage overwhelming. “What?!” I snap.

“The man. Did you kill him?” Her voice is soft and her eyes are gold again.

I take a few more breaths to calm myself down for good measure before answering. “Yes.”

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