Page 116 of Court of Secrets and Flames

Time itself hesitates, holding its breath for what’s to come.

I release the arrow.

The arrow sails through the air, my aim true. I hit my mark, but the shadow creature isn’t there.

Desperation seizes me. I reach for another arrow. Repeat the steps.

The shadows…are gone. All sound disappears. No thud of the arrow hitting its mark. No rustle of grass under its feet. My heart pounds in my chest as I scan the area for the creatures.

Nothing. They’ve disappeared, leaving behind an eerie silence that chills me to the bone.

Arms trembling, I lower my bow.

I have to get to Sterling.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

After one of the king’s guards tells me the prince is with his brother, I race down the hall and startle a second guard by barging through the heavy doors to the king’s private chamber, my heart still sprinting at the terrifying experience I just had. I have no idea what happened. What those creatures were. How we’re going to stop them. Because they’re getting closer and closer to the palace grounds.

The urgency from the pages of theMother Wurmbook hisses in my head, and I know that I’ve landed on the cause.

They’re coming.

A lone figure huddles before the hearth sipping from a goblet a maid stands ready to refill from the pitcher she holds.

Bastian looks as if he’s dragged himself through the bowels of the earth. Dirt smears his skin and streaks the golden highlights in the wings now folded wearily at his back. Though grayed from exhaustion, he still manages to slide me a small smile when the king isn’t looking.

His eyes, dull and tired, communicate that he’s not yet found the hope he ventured out to find.

“Lady Lark.” King Jasper beckons with an imperious wave. “What seems to be the hurry?”

Sterling, resplendent in the full array of princely regalia, offers me a nod, his expression unreadable.

Did Bastian have some sort of encounter like I did? I want to blurt out what just happened…the whole ordeal. Dead pikas, and hundreds of slaughtered crows without a single mark on them. The shadow creatures straight out of a nightmare…no, my worst nightmare pales in comparison. The cold, petrifying fear they evoke.

I need to speak to Sterling, but preferably not in front of the king and all these people.

The tension in the room is palpable. I edge forward, anticipation crackling through me like lightning. “I would be heartened to offer any support or perspective you ask of me, Your Majesty. Has Bastian found any new information?”

“They are gone, Lark.” Bastian’s hoarse whisper scrapes through the quiet chamber.

“What do you mean ‘they’re gone?’ You weren’t able to locate the dragons?” There was never any certainty that he’d be able to catch them. Not even an alicorn could fly as swiftly as a dragon. However, they’re large enough to be seen even from a long distance. At the very least, finding a clue regarding where the dragons had fled shouldn’t be that difficult.

Bastian flinches as Jasper shoots him a cool glance. I’m certain it’s not the first he’s gotten, bringing the king such news. “They were long gone by the time I made it to the air. No sign of them anywhere. I searched every hidden vale, each forgotten crevice. I even attempted to enter the impassable desert area where we never tread. The winds and heat were too much, and I had to leave before investigating them fully. I couldn’t find the dragons, or any signs of them.”

My mouth goes dry as I absorb the weight of his confession. Gone. How could such mighty creatures simply vanish? Where could they have fled? I knew from my connection with Chireanthey considered the mountains in a desert another home. A safe haven. But I had no idea it was viewed as impassable.

As much as the dragons’ disappearance concerns me, we have bigger issues to discuss. “Your Majesty. There is another matter that precedes this one and may be related. The alicorns.”

And the deer…the pikas…the crows. Are the shadow creatures responsible for those alicorns’ deaths too? And the fawns? From what I’ve just witnessed, it seems likely.

“The alicorns again?” Jasper asks.

An uneasy knot of fear settles in my stomach. An invisible tide sweeps through our lands, targeting the majestic creatures that symbolize our strength. But other animals besides dragons were killed. Does that mean the shadows could attack humans next?

It’s time. Though I’d hoped to discuss this with Sterling in private first, I have to tell them what I know. “The dragons may have left because?—”

Jasper waves my words away. “Yes, thank you, Lark, the connection is obvious. Bastian, once you have recovered a bit more, take a troop of soldiers out with you to mark those places.”

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