Page 58 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

It watched and waited as I formed a very dim ball of silvery light on my palm. The only thing I heard from the beast was a soft susurration of sound as feathers slid over feathers. The cage creaked as one massive clawed foot stepped forward, followed by another.

The silvery light cast shadows on the beast. Its golden-tipped beak emerged from the darkness. Twin rows of feathers atop its head rose skyward as it watched me. Its eyes narrowed, and I knew it was about to scream. I held my hand out a tad further. It was either the bravest or stupidest thing I could ever do, given the fact it could snap it off with ease. Its eyes widened, and its head pulled back in surprise. There was a shuffle as it tried and failed to spread its wings, its massive beak wide open.

They called this magnificent creature a toruk, but in my world, it was a griffin.

“An Ig’Morruthen ripped the realms to shreds, and it smells as if you’ve bathed in its scent. Treacherous, murderous fiend.” The voice was surprising and decidedly feminine.

My hands lowered. “You can smell Dianna on me?”

My pulse quickened. It had been weeks since we had been together, and a part of me was thrilled to know she was still with me, at least in some way. As I lowered my hands, the feathers on her head flattened.

“You speak Brushnev?”

A soft smile played on my lips. “I speak several languages.”

She blinked at me several times before sniffing at the air, transfixed. Her taloned feet stopped gripping at the hardwood below, and her fluff-tipped tail lowered, no longer thrashing. She drew closer, and I could see the fur along the other half of her body. Perfectly circular burn marks marred the beauty of both her coat and wings.

Sadness filled me. Female toruks were fierce, protective, and, above all, loyal. They were the warriors on their home world. While the males had the muscle and strength, the females would not stop fighting until their hearts stopped beating, and she had to put up a fight here. No wonder she screamed and fought, no matter how many times they burned her. She’d never make it to Nismera. She’d die here fighting for her freedom.

“You reek of death. Poison.” Her head lowered, and I turned my head away as she breathed me in. “You will perish soon.”

My grin was crooked. “Thanks.”

I didn’t need to tell her I knew that or had assumed the worst. My side was only getting worse. The poison they’d slipped to me in Jade City was making me beyond weak. I couldn’t eat without feeling nauseous, no matter how many roots I was given, so I’d stopped. It was a task just to stand most days, but I had to hang on. I had to find a way to get to Dianna. She would help me.

Her beak grew closer. “Ah, you have not succumbed to your wounds yet because you smell of the old worlds.”

Another breath.

“Rashearim.”

My pulse quickened at the mention of my home. She inhaled deeply again.

“You are another of Unir’s blood, only made of silver light like her.”

My head whipped toward her. “I am nothing like Nismera.”

“No, you are the lost king. Guardian. Protector. You are a long way from home, King of Rashearim.” I swallowed, and the chains containing her massive form rattled as she sat. “Your light burned the sky and ripped the world, yet you stand before me. How is this so?”

“Someone I love saved me.”

Her head tilted, those two long feathers on her head perking up like a canine with ears. “Love? I’ve heard you have had a great many loves. Which one saved you?”

A small chuckle left my lips. “I can assure you, I have only had one, and it’s the one you smell on me.”

Her wings rustled. “You mate with the same beast that has destroyed your world and worlds before?”

“She is not a beast.”

Those feathers twitched at my tone, but I was sick of how others prejudged Dianna without knowing her.

“She smells of a beast. One far older than you.”

I extinguished my defensive rage. I wanted to help, not lash out. She was hurting, and now, with her words, I finally understood why.

“You know what I know? I know they wish to transport you to Nismera along with me. I also know, by the orange band along your snout, that you are female, and the breeding season passed two moons ago. That cry you yelled earlier was not of physical pain but of devastation. I know it well. You lost something important to you. I would bet you had eggs, and they destroyed them.”

Rage faded as an empty, haunted expression filled her eyes. She lowered her body to a crouch, placing one clawed foot over the other, chains draped over her thick back, shackling wings of tan and gold to her form. Lash wounds, partially healed, marked her head and face. Dried blood flaked from her beak and matted her fur. She had fought so hard.

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