Page 125 of Crown of Slumber

Fenn.

I inhaled a deep breath and unleashed a piercing scream that echoed in the night. The creatures shuddered, scuttling away from me. It seemed they, like the ogres, were repelled by loud sounds.

I could use that in my favor.

When my scream died, the creatures scurried closer to me. I bellowed loudly, my throat raw from the intensity of my shout.

Once more, they recoiled from the noise, giving me the opening I needed. I ran down the steps, sidestepping the approachingmonsters. My bare feet burned with each stride as I sprinted for the bridge.

Get to Fenn. Get to Fenn.I repeated the words in my head as a chant.

But when I reached the bridge, I stopped short. An entire horde of the spider-like creatures waited for me.

Shit. Perhaps I shouldn’t have screamed so loudly. Now every unseelie beast within a one-mile radius knew I was here.

I had no dagger. No weapon. I was alone and severely outnumbered.

Suddenly remembering, I pulled the lavender vial from my bodice and smashed it on the wooden beams of the bridge. It shattered, and an eerie violet smoke poured from it, coiling in the air.

I wasn’t sure what I expected—perhaps the witches to appear instantly and rescue me?—but the unseelie beasts only continued to advance.

The witches were not coming. I was on my own.

Even so, I bared my teeth, refusing to cower in fear.

You are the most powerful fae in this kingdom,I reminded myself.Perhaps the most powerful fae in all of Valora.

Unbidden, Mal’s voice from my dreams echoed in my mind.You have more control than you think, Aurelia. Think of the level of control you exercise when we are flying through the sky. You put your trust in me to keep you safe, and you must do the same with your magic. Let it go. Let go of the reins, Aurelia.

Had that conversation been real, or merely a nonsensical scenario conjured by my subconscious?

In this moment, it didn’t matter. Though my arms trembled with terror, my heart seizing in my chest, I held myself still and forced a steady breath. The creatures drew nearer, closing in around me, cutting off any hope of escape.

Still, I focused on my deep breaths. My eyes closed, and I thought of riding atop Mal, soaring through the sky. I thought of the one night we had sailed across the stars, gliding among the heavens. The stars shone just like tonight, guiding us along.

I thought of the way my arms had stretched wide as if I, too, had wings. I had leaned back, hands spread, the cool night air whippingat me. The freedom. The release. The sensation of all my restraints snapping, my cage shattering, my wings carrying me away…

A burst of energy flowed from my chest, igniting something powerful within me. I threw my head back and roared into the night, but the sound wasn’t my voice; it was the voice of a deadly beast within me.

Two of the unseelie creatures scuttled away, their quivering forms vanishing into the forest. But the rest approached with wary interest, their legs twitching.

I roared again, and smoke poured from my mouth. My teeth elongated into fangs, and my forked tongue darted out, tasted the air, tasting theirfear.

I would devour these vermin. I would crush their bodies, feasting on them as if they were nothing. I inched closer to them, my back arching. Somehow, my body felt longer. Larger. Something slithered behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder, alarmed to find a scaly black tail extending from my rear, swishing along the grass.

But I was too enraged to register my shock. Nothing had felt so right in my entire life. This was me. This was the power locked inside me.

I threw my head back and screamed, a feral and monstrous sound. Blue flames poured from my mouth, igniting the air.

A creature lunged for me, barbed mouth open wide. I swiped a clawed hand, my arms now black and scaled. My talons tore into the beast’s flesh, and hot green pus poured from within, forming a steaming heap on the ground. I whirled, gutting another creature. Then another. Two more rushed me, but the rest had fled, wisely taking cover in the forest, knowing they would not defeat me.

I inhaled deeply, then breathed more flames that engulfed the creatures. Their piercing shrieks filled the air as my fire consumed them, burning their flesh. The rotting stench stung my nostrils, but I poured more fire, burning and burning until they were nothing more than ash. My vision was tinged green, but I could see more acutely than ever, the broken bodies of the creatures crisp and clear, even in the darkness.

When the last of the beasts dissolved into a pile of ash, I spreadmy wings wide, unleashing an almighty roar of triumph. I was unstoppable. Powerful. Lethal.

Nothing could stop me.

“Aurelia?” cried a familiar voice.

---