Page 48 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

I half-leaped, half-tumbled off his back, then distanced myself from the insane creature. Heartracing, I shoved my wind-blown hair away from my eyes and glared at Obsidian. “What was that for?”

The pegasus started eating some of the plants growing between the rocks where we’d landed, not even bothering to look up at me. Thunder rumbled in the distance and I looked skyward, taking in the heavy, dark clouds. We were about to get a whole lot of rain.

“How the fuck are you alive?” Nyx’s voice cut through the wind and thunder.

I turned to see her staring at me, an annoyed look on her face.

“You should be dead.” She gave Obsidian an angry, sidelong glance. “Even if you managed to mount him, he should have tossed you.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” I deadpanned.

“How did you survive?” she asked.

“I don’t see how that matters,” I countered. Any hope I’d had of being friendly with the goddess was gone. She wasn’t going easy on me. “What is the next task? I want to get the fuck off this island.”

She moved closer to me, then studied me with narrowed eyes. After several heartbeats, she retreated, then a wicked grin curved her lips. “You used magic.”

“So?”

“I won’t make the mistake of allowing you to do that again,” she replied.

“You’d take my magic?” I balled my hands into fists. “I did free you and help you regain yours.”

“You forget your place, child,” she hissed. “I am the onewho determines your fate. If I say you must perform without magic, you will have your magic stripped.”

I glared at her. “All you gods are the same, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t worry about the gods just now. You’re here to prove to me that not all humans are the same. Your people are the ones who forgot about me. They allowed me to be buried and trapped under your city while they went about their lives. I gave you darkness, night, starlight… and how did your kind reward me? By using the cover of night to perform their misdeeds. By forgetting my name. By telling stories of my terrible power and ignoring all the gifts I bestowed.

“So answer me this, princess, are all humans the same? Because if that’s the case, I will simply end all of you right now.”

I swallowed hard, realizing that I’d pushed too far. In my anger, I did the same thing she accused the others of. I’d forgotten just how powerful she was. “We are not all the same.”

“Then prove it if you can.” She winked. “Don’t worry, when you fail, I’ll let you watch me destroy your people before I kill you.”

18

Ryvin

Icy cold crashed around me,and my breath caught. The feeling was sharp, but brief, fading suddenly as I emerged on the other side of the shield. The scent of pine and dirt assaulted my senses as a sprawling forest came into view. It was as if we had traveled somewhere else entirely.

Massive pines stretched toward the sky, creating a canopy that only allowed for dappled sunlight to poke through the numerous branches. Their trunks were so large I couldn’t wrap my arms around them and they stood so high, the thought of scaling them made me nervous. I'd never seen anything like them in all of my travels, and I was certain they didn't belong on this island.

“Where are we?” Vanth asked.

“I'm not sure.” It was possible we’d gone through aportal, but there was something about the landscape that felt off.

I took cautious steps forward, mindful of the fact that the woods were eerily silent. There was no movement from the wind in the branches, no sound of animals skittering through the underbrush, nothing flying or jumping along the branches. No sounds at all.

“No birds.” Vanth said, staring up and scanning our surroundings.

It was unsettling enough to walk into a forest that didn't belong on an island like this. The addition of no life solidified that there was a good chance that none of this was real. I didn’t think we crossed through a portal. “Maintain your guard. I have a feeling we won't be alone long.”

Vanth was already tense, his grip tight on his hilt. “I’m not sure this sorceress is going to listen to us easily.”

Suddenly, the ground rumbled and the trees began to melt. “What the…” I stepped back, wanting to give myself some distance from the massive trees as they drooped. Brown and green ran down their trunks like thick dollops of gooey paint. The branches wilted, sagging toward the ground until they fell off the trees entirely.

“What is this?” Vanth asked, backing away until he was right next to me. “This island doesn’t want us here.”

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