Page 103 of Crown of Slumber

Fenn moved with lethal grace, his blade singing with eachstroke, each powerful thrust. Black blood sprayed, pooling along the floor from the ogres’ demise. I had never seen the Midnight Prince like this before, deadly and unhinged, his eyes slightly crazed with bloodlust.

He was like a beast himself, terrible and magnificent.

A horrifying shriek filled the air, the sound of anguish and torment. It cut off abruptly, and I glanced around to find Mal had won the fight, his jaws closing over the ogre’s head. With great force, he clamped down, black blood exploding from the ogre as Mal ripped his head clean off.

The dragon immediately bounded toward me, using his claws to tear the ropes free. When they were loosened, I sat up, my back throbbing, and the wounds on my wrists and ankles still bleeding freely.

“Mal, what the hell are you doing here?” I hissed, sliding off the rock and wrapping my arms around him. Gods, it was so good to see him. Even though I knew he should be home, defending the palace, I was secretly glad he was here.

The dragonsneverflew outside our borders for fear of being attacked. The protective wards of our court kept them safe. This was the first time I had ever heard of a dragon breaching those wards on their own.

Mal had come for me. He’d cared for me enough to risk that flight, to risk his own life.

Gratitude swelled within me, so intense that tears pricked my eyes. I pressed my cheek to the top of Mal’s head, inhaling his familiar scent and warmth for a brief moment before drawing my dagger and joining the fray.

My limbs were weak and my body frail, but my blade was sharp, and deadly fury fueled my movements. I gutted an ogre, then slit the throat of another. I ducked to avoid a large fist swinging my way, then sliced my blade into the ogre’s thighs, bringing it to its knees.

More ogres poured into the entrance, rallying together and blocking our escape. There were too many of them, and unlike the forest, this was their dwelling.

We wouldn’t make it out of here.

Still, I continued slashing and stabbing, refusing to give up, notafter Mal and Fenn had sacrificed everything to free me. I would die by their sides before giving up.

An ogre’s claws ripped into my side, and I hunched over, groaning in pain as blood bloomed, staining my already filthy shift. The creature’s closed fist collided with my skull, slamming me backward.

I fell to the ground, my head throbbing as darkness clouded my vision. I shook my head, trying to clear it, trying to see through the fog before the ogre gutted me.

I swung my dagger wildly, and when it met flesh, I shoved it deep, dragging it downward. Blood and intestines spilled out, putrid and hot, and the ogre fell. But one grabbed me from behind, his hand closing around my neck, thumbs digging into my throat and cutting off my airway.

My eyes bulged, and I tried to scream, to draw in a breath, but I couldn’t. My lungs were on fire. I waved my dagger, but the ogre was behind me, and I couldn’t reach him. Fire burned in my throat, scorching my insides.

Suddenly, the ogre’s grip released, and dark blood splattered my front. I gasped, the sound rattling and painful, but blessed air filled my lungs. I breathed in again and again, ignoring the white-hot knives in my throat with each inhale. Slowly, I raised my head to find Fenn decapitating the ogre who had nearly killed me. The Midnight Prince turned to me, extending his hand. I took it, and he hoisted me up.

“You came for me,” I wheezed, massaging my throat.

“Of course I did,” he said, his voice low and rough. His brows knitted together, as if the notion that he had rescued me was so obvious, so expected.

As if he wouldalwayscome for me. No matter what.

Warmth filled my chest, blotting out the pain of my injuries, drowning out the screams and cries around us. For a moment, it was only me and Fenn, his emerald eyes locked onto mine, drinking me in completely as if trying to memorize my features. It felt like he was feasting on me, devouring me with his eyes, unwilling to ever let me go.

It only lasted for a moment. An ogre slammed into me, and suddenly, we were battling once more, grappling for survival. Fennand I moved together, covering each other, intervening when the other needed assistance. We were a deadly pair, wreaking havoc and destruction.

But we were only two people. And the horde of ogres never stopped coming.

Fatigue and agony slowed my movements. Another ogre managed to impale its claws on me, slicing deep. I fell to my knees, my head spinning.

I was going to die. Fenn and Mal were going to die.

A brilliant white light filled the cave, burning against my eyes. Startled, I blocked my face with my hands to ward off the intensity of it, but the light continued to burn, searing into me, practically melting off my flesh. The ogres’ piercing screams made my eardrums rattle. I was torn between covering my eyes and covering my ears. Blood trickled down my neck, and I realized the sound of their screams was so powerful it was making my ears bleed.

I fell to the ground, crying out, the sound lost in the chaos of the ogres’ deaths. Tears ran down my cheeks, the pain so severe, I was sure I would die along with the creatures.

Then, quite suddenly, it stopped. The light vanished, but the echo of it still flashed in my eyes. I squinted, the glare making it impossible to see.

The air filled with a strange and foreign smell, and yet, Iknew it.It was sage and lavender and cool mist. I had never encountered it before, but a deeper part of me knew this scent. It felt like a past life. Like an echo of a memory I once had.

Squinting through the haze still clouding my vision, I made out three distinct figures at the entrance of the cave. All around us, the bodies of the ogres twitched violently, black blood oozing from their now empty eye sockets. I stared in horror at the carnage, marveling at how something so brief yet so powerful had managed to affect every single ogre.

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