Page 115 of Court of Secrets and Flames

Rotating in a slow circle, I check every tree, branch, blade of grass, and shadow. I scour the sky. Nothing.

When movement finally catches my eye, horror shrivels my gut. Dangling from trees, the thin, dark silhouettes I mistook for vines begin to writhe. They stretch for the ground and pool into oily puddles, pulsing and contracting like a beating heart.

Then, they start slithering their way through the grass.

I clutch my bow tight, frozen at the boundary between sunlight and shadow, life and death. A pika, grass blade still hanging from its mouth, spies the moving shadows and freezes.

One of those shadows closes in on the stiffened animal. Grasses part, and darkness devours the earth with stark hunger.

There’s movement there, a nebulous entity that undulates in ways that defy natural law. A shape attempts to form, one that makes no sense. Legs—too many to count—ripple alongside…distorted heads? Necks? Scales and claws?

Impossible to tell.

A bead of sweat trickles down my back as the shadow creature approaches. Slithers and writhes and twists. Closer. Closer.

The pika drops.

Terror is a living, breathing entity inside me. I can’t move. Can’t run. I’m frozen.

The edge of the meadow churns with motion, a writhing mass that defies my understanding of how light and dark work.

The creature flickers in front of me, its form constantly changing and twisting. As I watch, lines stretch out from its body like tethers, pulling itself over the frozen pika on the ground.

It’s not dead. Yet.

Panting with fear, the pika’s sides expand and contract like bellows at a forge.

The shadow huddles around its prey, forming a pool barely visible through the blades of grass. It’s presence looms closer, growing larger. More formidable.

Ice seeps into my bones as it feasts on the fallen pika, drawing blood from its throat with pulsating motions and leading me to a paralyzing question.

How can a shadow consume blood?

One of the silhouettes swivels toward me. Despite the lack of eyes, I somehow know it’s studying me, tasting the essence of my being.

With every heartbeat, I get colder. Almost as if a layer of frost coats my skin.

Tiny hairs rise on my neck and arms.

Fear consumes my soul the way dragons consume prey. Wholly and swiftly. I’m trapped. I need to run. I need to hide. I need to…I need…

Think.

The creature flickers and shifts like a grotesque mirage.

I nock the arrow.

Another oily, oozing shadow joins it.

I grasp the bowstring.

One more shadow. And then another.

I draw back the bow. Head straight. Shoulders relaxed. Wrist flat. String centered.

So many shadow creatures surround me, I’ve lost count.

I take aim.

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