Page 204 of The Nightmare Bride
I had to.
Gravel fountained from my churning feet. I bolted along the road to home, my muscles screaming. But wasted seconds might make the difference between life and death, so I shoved past the pain.
Go. One foot in front of the other. Agony, but it didn’t matter. Faster.
What was Amryssa doing? Only just waking? Jiggling the lock on her door? Turning to the window, realizing her chance had come?
The nightmare growled. Shit.Shit. The thing was already so close. The bells had been rung too late, and everyone at the house would be chaining themselves, not realizing a full ten minutes separated Amryssa from her keymistress.
My lungs sucked at the steaming air. The char of burnt paper rained ashes down my throat, warping my determination to despair.
You are nothing. A throwaway.You had one purpose, and you couldn’t even do that.
The poisonous thoughts battered me, each word rammed home by the sound of hoofbeats. Which was...a new hallucination.
But wait. Were thosereal?
I glanced behind me. A shadow barreled from the night, a demon-dark horse and rider. Even in my fevered state, I recognized that glint. Blue heat.
Surprise nearly sent me stumbling.
Kyven didn’t slow as he drew alongside me. By some miracle of agility and brute strength, he fisted the back of my dress and hauled me up, planting me in the saddle in front of him. His arm locked around my waist. The horse bent and stretched, its muscles like oiled coils in the darkness.
I clutched at the saddle’s pommel. “Where’d you come from? And where’d you even get this thing? Is it yours?”
“I hope you’re not suggesting I’m immoral enough to steal someone’s horse.” Kyven’s voice was low beside my ear. “Because if so, you’d be absolutely right.”
I squeaked. “Youstolea horse?”
“I did.”
“For Amryssa?”
“No. For you. I gave you my word, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but...” I hadn’t actually believed him. Not for a second. “What happened to you not taking vows seriously?”
Kyven’s hold tightened. He didn’t answer. Maybe he’d surprised even himself.
Whatever. I’d sort through it later. For now, I pulled myself low, trying to minimize my wind resistance. Kyven leaned in, too, a steely wall at my back.
My mind raced. I could help. Ihadto. I gripped my dagger and called its magic.
Overhead, the nightmare roared. My head spun, but I slapped a palm against the horse and poured out magic in the form of energy and speed. The diseased purple trees smeared as the beast surged faster.
Kyven grunted in surprise.
Within moments, the manor appeared over a rise, an imposing mass of columns and gables. My gaze scaled the heights to Amryssa’s tower. Shit.
Her lamp was lit. Worse, her silhouette darkened the window.
Every nerve stretched to a length of razored wire. My veins emptied of blood, then filled back up with night and rage and darkness, as if I could recruit the storm to help me. As if I could forge it into a blade wicked enough to cut apart the intervening distance.
I poured more power into the horse.
Close.
Closer.
