Page 131 of Queen of Thorns
A black hole shakes its way through the portal, and I gasp, stumbling back away from the Night Bringer, who now crawls with its gangly, talon-tipped limbs. He does not shift and pulse the way he did in the fae realm.
Now, I can see his gaunt face that looks almost like a man’s—but not quite. His body is curved like a spider’s but with only four limbs and multiple joints on each. I shiver at the monstrous beast that is the Night Bringer. His pitch-black eyes are so much like the void he was in the fae realm. Unending darkness.
“You didn’t think I’d have the courage to come here, did you? But if you think I would let you go after what you did to my mate...”
I stumble back into Rev’s chest.
“I will live up to my promise and tear it all away from you.” He prowls forward. “I will tear Raven apart limb by limb. Slowly. And then, your Crystal Princess. Then, your ugly dwarf friend. Then, I will destroy the final ancient—the weak fool I failed to kill so long ago—and my reign will be unstoppable.”
He smiles, exposing sharp fangs dripping in slime.
Then, the Night Bringer bounds away from us, sniffing the air. The group isn’t very far from here. The path we chose is a mile into the mountain range, and they’re hopefully a mile deep by now.
This cave was Raven and her friends’ idea. They hid there once in the last few weeks.
We’d planned to send them to the deepest cavern we could find, but our time is also limited. We needed the Night Bringer to be able to follow the trail, so they couldn’t go too deep. He needed to think the hunt was on his terms.
This is the best we can do.
I watch in terror as my nightmare monster chases after my friends. The bait.
***
I’M STILL SHAKING MINUTESlater when Rev releases me. “We need to go,” he says softly.
I nod and take his lead as we run, following the predetermined directions to the cave system in the mountains. For miles around, the ground shakes like a massive earthquake.
The Night Bringer might not be at full strength in this world, but he’s still powerful. Still stronger than all of us.
We find the trail and sprint at full speed over the rocky terrain.
“You are a fool, Drake.”
I pull to a stop in an instant. Harsh voices sound just around the next bend.
“And you are a coward.”
Blane and Drake are here... where are the rest of my friends? The voices pause and then one of them—I honestly couldn’t tell you which—begin to laugh. “Don’t worry, Caelynn, you can come out.”
My heart sinks. Rev gives me a look, but I take slow steps until the open path is revealed. Drake stands, one palm directed at his brother, one toward us.
My eyes flit past Blane, where the small cave mouth is set low in the stones. How did Drake even get here? He must have followed his brother through the portal to the human world.
Drake’s expression is fierce, eyes sharp darting between us and his brother.
“What are you doing here, Drake?” I ask.
“You surprised me, Caelynn. I didn’t think you had the ability to convince that king to side with you. Your manipulation skills are...” He kisses his fingertips then spreads them wide. Chef’s kiss. I roll my eyes.
“Have you come to die with your last ally?” I ask him, popping a hip confidently.
“Do you think you can win, Caelynn? You have a few weak friends and an ancient on the brink of death on your side. He can’t do anything to the Night Bringer without dying. Why would he die for you?”
My brows furrow.He’s a manipulator, I remind myself.
“You’re not getting past me, Drake,” Blane says, crouching low.
“I don’t need to get past you, brother.” Drake winks over his shoulder. “I just need to stop these two from getting down there.”
