Page 15 of Hidden Kingdoms

“Where’s my dog?” I growled at them jumping off the bed, ignoring I was half naked and pretending not to notice the way their eyes raked over me. With little more than a scrap of lace covering my boobs they were getting a free eyeful, but all I could think about was Titan. There was a pounding in my skull, but I forced my focus on the men in front of me.

I couldn’t fight them, but maybe I could scare them off. Pulling magic into my fingertips, knowing all I had was a party trick, I let what I could build under my skin.

“He’s fine. He’s just not here,” the second man said, taking a step towards me, an entire selection of sharp looking daggers attached to a belt that was slung around his chest.

Nice.

“What the fuck does that mean and what the fuck are you doing in my house?” All intentions of playing nice were gone, they were the reason Titan wasn’t in my room. If he had been, I maybe wouldn’t have become so trapped in my dream.

Tug—an invisible string caught in my chest, its pull attempting to draw me closer to these two lunatics.

No thank you heart, no thank you.

“That’s kind of hard to explain right now if I’m being honest with you.” Closer now, I could see his eyes were a deep grey, swirling like a storm. Taking another step, he stopped abruptly, hand reaching up to touch his chest.

They had made no move to hurt me, but if they weren’t here to take anything then why break in?

“Well, that’s great but I would suggest you both leave. Like, now,” I demanded, standing up to my full height, which compared to them, was pathetic. Pulling on my magik, I willed a few sparks to flit over my fingers in what Ihopedwas an intimidating display. Glaring at them hard for good measure,a soft sinister laugh sliced through any ounce ofbadasseryI thought I possessed.

Whipping my head to his hulking form, he raised his hand, fingertips to forearm flickering with tongues of orange flame that more than outdid my measly sparkles. Instinctively I took a step back, my legs banging into the bedside table as the world narrowed to those flames.

The memory of my skin on fire flashed through me and my magik dissipated. I could feel the strange touch of his own pulsing from where I stood, pressing against me as I could do nothing but stare. It was more power than I had ever felt, pushing at me, daring me to respond. But I couldn’t, and his eyes—which burned as though made of fire themselves—sparkled with glee.

That’s me fucked then, so much for trying to be scary.

“Now’s not the time for that, Bas. We need to get on with this,” Stormy scolded, his eyes turning serious and shoving Big Man’s hand down. His magik ceased and I sucked in a breath, confusion clogging my mind as I tried to process what was happening. I’d never known anyone apart from Nanna and Briar who had magic.

Was this really happening?

Another sharp tug lurched me forward and both men started towards me in response, hands outstretched as if to steady me, but I straightened myself before that was necessary. I was closer to the door than they were, but I highly doubted I would get far if I ran for it now. I needed another way to remove myself from this situation.

The soft click of Titan’s paws outside the door flooded me with relief, knowing he was both ok and had the ability to eat these two intruders should the need arise was almost euphoric.

The feeling was short-lived as a nauseating wave of dread that felt sickeningly familiar wiped away everything else I couldfeel. My skin turned clammy once more, and my lungs struggled for breath for what felt like the hundredth time. The sheer horror that crept over both men’s faces amplified my own—they felt it too.

It had only been a dream. Just a dream.

Maybe this is a dream.

I didn’t care if they had come to rob me, it wasn’t safe here anymore and we needed to leave—all of us, right now.

Something was here, something wrong and tainted and evil. Titan howled from the hall, a crash following as he threw his body into it over and over again. Twisting to run to the door an all-consuming fear swallowed me. Unable to move an inch, I could only watch as out of the shadows, the entity that had haunted my nightmare only minutes ago erupted.

Smaller than before, but no less terrifying, it pulsed and twisted before us, a faint hiss sounding from within as it crossed the room. Smoky tendrils darted out like a snake tasting the air, growing more frenzied the closer it came. Movement pulled my attention, and unlike me, Big Man and Stormy were not frozen in place. Both held large white stones about the size of their fists which were emitting a bright light as they held them aloft, and the smoke edged back from its glare slightly.

Ok, that thing definitely hisses.

I, of course, didn’t have a fancy light rock, so it continued its torturous roil towards me, appearing more agitated as it did. Its smoky form jerking at its edges and growing with every second I stood staring at it. Without conscious thought, I found myself reaching out to the men in front of me at the same time they reached for me, crossing the space between us in seconds.

Screeching in anger as their arms closed solidly around me, it practically doubled in size. A final crash sounded at the door and the wood buckled inwards, shards flying out everywhere as Titan raced into the room. A huge black blur that I was sureseemed bigger than normal. Face pulled into a vicious snarl, he flung himself over my head straight into the solidified smoke that lunged towards me.

I screamed his name in horror, but the men tightened their grip on me, and I clung to them as I felt our bodies lift off the floor, the sensation that I had somehow been compressed to fit through a straw overwhelming my senses. My lungs fought for a breath it couldn’t take, and black spots swam in my vision. I was going to pass out and I didn’t fight it, letting myself fall into the quiet hoping that when I woke, it would all just be another nightmare.

8

CHAPTER EIGHT

ELODIE

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