Page 52 of Fires of the Forsaken
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The restof the day passed in a blur. Not to say it wentfast;every minute seemed like a decade. But I couldn’t remember much about that afternoon. Shock did goofy things to a person.
My brain only came back to life when we emerged from the woods, and I saw lights twinkling against the night sky before us.
“Niall,” Cheriour said when he noticed me gaping at the sight. He’d resumed riding alongside me at some point in the afternoon. Although he gave me a wider berth, probably terrified I’d reach out and rub my cooties all over him again.
“That’s the city?” I asked. The lights brightened as we drew closer. Like a beam of hope at the end of a long tunnel.
Did they have electricity?If they did...
Ah, crap. Never mind. I should’ve learned my lesson:don’t get your hopes up.
It hadn’t been the city glowing in the dark. It was a colossal wall. And the “lights” came from the dozens of sconces hanging from the top section, each holding a flame-lit torch.
My heart dropped to my toes.
This disappointment cut the deepest. Maybe because it was the end of the road. And the last ounce of hope I’d been clinging to had been thoroughly, painfully squashed.
Tears blurred my vision. The life I’d known wastrulygone. Kaput. I’d never see home again.
As for my new life…
I blew out a breath as our group halted outside the two massive wooden doors in the center of the wall. Those doors had to be fifteen feet high, at least. Opening them took ten buff men, five at each door, shoving with all their might.
Christ.Sure, it wouldn’t be easy for Wraiths to bust into this city. But what happened if the people inside needed to get out, and ASAP? Did they have fire drills here? Probably not.
A tired cheer rose from my road trip crew when the gates came to a shuddering halt. Deafening noise rumbled from the city inhabitants as the soldiers darted through the entrance. Some people called out to loved ones and friends. Understandable. But then others made an almighty fuss when they saw the livestock carts. Because apparently claiming animals was a free-for-all around here.
“That pig there—no, the one with the black spots. I’ll take him!” a woman yelled.
Welp. Guess the black spotted pig was gonna be bacon. Or pork chops.
“I’d like the gray goat!” a man bellowed.
Interesting. What, exactly, did people do with goats? Eat them? Milk them? Fuc—
Nope.I wouldn’t go down that rabbit hole.
But that guy soundedveryexcited.
“Good gracious, what a beaut!” another woman laughed when the fat bull waddled into the city.
I wrinkled my nose. A beaut? Really? That was one of the fugliest animals I’d ever seen.
Beside me, Cheriour huffed.
My inner monologue must’ve turned into an outer monologue. “Sorry,” I mumbled. “I swear I’m not normallythisobnoxious.”
He kept his gaze fixed on the soldiers shuffling through the entrance. And he said nothing as more ruckus rose from the streets.
Of course, being stuck at the back meant I only got tohearthis commotion. I didn’t see much of it until all the other soldiers had filtered into the city—Cheriour and Belanna being the only two exceptions. They walked in on either side of me. Like two bodyguards.
Was it comforting to have guards? Or terrifying? Cheriour’s face gave nothing away. But Belanna’s normally vibrant smile had vanished.
Okay, terrifying. Definitely.
“This Quinn guy’s gonna be that bad?” I asked.
