Seraphina laid on the comfortable cot in her tent. She was so tired and the last couple of days had been excruciatingly long, but for some reason, she couldn’t sleep.
The morning’s events replayed over and over in her mind. Just laying her head on the chopping block might have taken ten years off of her life.
Biting her lip, she pictured Dain’s handsome features in her mind. His eyes were magnetic and the link between them was stronger than she’d ever imagined. She’d seen the prophecy and knew he would be king again, but would she have to disappear in order for that to happen?
“The fates will tell me what to do. If I must go, I will,” although Seraphina would know that leaving Dain meant leaving a part of herself behind.
She fell into a deep sleep like she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. The cool air pressed down on her chest like a weighted blanket, heavy with a darkness that was more than the night.
The camp around her was hauntingly quiet. It was always silent in the temple at night, but this was a different type of foreboding stillness. Yet something had woken her. Not something—someone.
Seraphina sat up slowly, careful to not make any sounds. She could feel the presence of a shadow searching for her. Dark magic was reaching out for her.
Malakar sent someone to find me.
Her stomach clenched in fear. Whoever it was hadn’t found the ruins yet and she couldn’t allow that to happen. She would not put all of these people at risk. Even though she could feel the protective magic of the ruins, she couldn’t take a chance that the evil presence stumbled onto the place by tracking her energy.
She slipped out from under the blankets and pulled on her boots. Seraphina wished that she had her dagger, but she’d hidden it before the guards came to arrest her in the temple in the kingdom of Eryndral, which was one of Malakar’s smaller kingdoms.
Silently, she eased the flap of the tent open and stepped into the cool night air. Seraphina carefully made her way through the other tents until she was in the courtyard. The ruins were bathed in the light of the blood-red moon.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she willed her heart to slow down. She was sure that her stalker could hear it from a mile away. Breathing in slowly through her nose, she exhaled through her mouth and opened her mind to the presence.
The threat is coming from the east.
She opened her eyes and carefully walked toward the entrance, toward the tree line. Seraphina picked up a large stone. “Fates, guide my hand,” she whispered, the gentle breeze whisking her words away.
An icy finger moved from the back of her neck down her spine and goosebumps prickled her arms. She kept to theshadows and focused, trying to figure out where the magic was coming from before it found her.
It seemed to be growing stronger and she closed her eyes again. It must be close.
She jumped as a twig snapped behind her. Then, she relaxed as she smelled like the ozone in the air just before a thunderstorm and mint.
Dain. She said his name telepathically.
Of course, he’d follow her. They were tied together, and he would have sensed her worry. He stepped beside her, wearing only pants and a shirt. Dain was muscular and for the tiniest of a second, she had the urge to touch him and feel his chest beneath her fingertips.
Why are you out here?
Someone is out here, tracking me. They’re using dark magic.
She felt his anger flush through him.
Malakar has sent someone to find you.
Seraphina nodded.Yes. They haven’t found the ruins and I couldn’t risk it. It’s only a matter of time before whoever it is tracks my energy. I can’t put anyone in danger.
Dain’s jaw tightened. He turned slightly toward the ruins and whispered, “Darius.”
At first, there was just silence and the evil shadow that was getting closer.
Then, the area behind them grew darker. The tall, muscular form of the shadow dragon shifter stood before them. Darius was able to teleport through shadows and could exhale a darkness that stole a person’s life.
“There is someone in the woods using dark magic to track Seraphina.”
“Do you want them dead or do you want to question them first?”
“Dead. We can’t risk them sending any kind of message out to others about our location.” Dain’s voice was hard and cold as ice.