Page 182 of Cursed Evermore
Its lips pulled back, revealing teeth like ivory daggers, and a low rumble emanated from deep inside its chest. The sound reverberated through the cavern, through my bones, through my soul. And I just knew that was a warning that needed no translation.
I was in danger.
Shit. Coming here was a mistake. A foolish, foolish mistake.
Frantically, I searched for Wolfe, but he was nowhere to be found. It didn't even sound like anyone else was in here but me and this terrifying creature.
My lungs locked as steam billowed from its nostrils, and when it took a step forward, the ground trembled beneath my feet.
I backed away, hands raised in a futile gesture of peace, but the dragon moved toward me, eyes locked on me. A predator watching prey.
Those wings spread out, herding me back the way I'd come. I stumbled backward, and in my terror, I lost track of which direction I'd come from. The cavern suddenly became a maze, every opening looking the same in the shifting light.
The dragon rose to full height, wings like storm clouds hovering over me, so I did the only thing my panicked mind could comprehend.
I ran.
I ran as fast as I could.
I ran like my life depended on it. Because it did.
My feet slipped on the smooth stone as I careened toward what I hoped was an exit, any exit. Behind me, the scrape of claws against rock and the whisper of massive wings chased me. I didn't dare look back.
I ran into the darkest dark until suddenly, the ground disappeared beneath my feet. And I was falling.
A scream tore from my throat, raw terror consuming me as I tumbled through darkness, plummeting into the unknown depths below.
The dragon's roar thundered above me, drowning out all other sound.
Only death awaited me now.
Chapter 35
Elariya
“Borrowed Wings, Stolen Freedom”
My scream consumed me, swallowing me whole as more darkness rushed up to meet my body. The horrifying combination of my voice and the dragon's roar chased me through the blackness, raw and relentless, until I couldn't tell where it ended and I began.
I was falling to my death. Tumbling through my final moments with vicious terror ravaging my mind as I waited for either the dragon to shred me to pieces or my body to smash into the ground.
Images and faces from my life flashed through my mind. This was the second time in the space of days that I'd been in danger and seen the gentle faces of those I loved. But this time was my own doing. Because I shouldn't be here.
Wolfe had forbidden me to go near the caves. He'd warned me about the dragons, and I didn't listen. Zyrra told me to be careful, and I hadn't been. I'd stumbled into the cave like a child, allowing my excitement to get the better of me.
Wolfe's voice spun in my head, taunting me with his warning as more suffocating darkness swallowed me greedily, pulling me faster into its depths with every heartbeat.
Each second hurtled me deeper into the abyss, speed building faster and faster.
This was it. I was going to die now.
I closed my eyes, waiting, waiting, waiting.
Then massive talons closed around my waist. The sudden grip jolted me out of the fall, and my body lurched, dangling in the air like a ragdoll. It took me a moment to realize the dragon had me in its claws.
I had no voice left to scream, and my mind had already surrendered to the call of death. I guessed it would be the dragon who got to kill me, then.
The instant the thought floated through my mind, the dragon looked down at me as though it knew what I was thinking.
