Page 116 of The Crown of Nyx

But despite that, I heard nothing other than us.

“I think we’re alone,” I whispered. “I don’t hear anything.”

Hawk stiffened, yet it was Orion who turned back to me. The shadowy sword he wielded dropped. He ran his free, gloved hand through his silver-blonde hair. “My shadows see nothing but death.”

Maeve lowered her gun, though she kept her finger on the trigger. I had a feeling our enchanted bullets wouldn’t work much on the zombie-rats, anyway.

“What kind of death?” she asked, her eyes reddening as she surveyed the icy world around us.

It was kind of startling having to clarify that. In other circumstances, I might have laughed at the absurdity. But with the tension thickening between us, I kept my mouth shut and instead took Adrian’s hand.

His palm was clammy, his magic weak. Not even sleep had helped him. I knew now it was because he was working on something, but it worried me how sick he felt. The drain on his magic was too much.

But I can protect him, I reminded myself. In fact, I could protect everyone.

Later, I would make sure to enhance my previous charms on my team. Even Damon.

Speaking of the demon king, he was oddly quiet too. His eyes were narrowed, searching the still ruins carefully, like he was seeking something in particular. He hadn’t dropped the glamour hiding his demonic form, so he clearly didn’t feel like there was a threat close, but I still couldn’t help but wonder what hedidsense.

“There are bodies nearby,” he said after a moment, eyes taking on a darker hue as they swung to meet mine. “Someone came in and slaughtered those who resided here.”

A lump formed in my throat. “What do you mean?”

“There are remnants of life. Spirits, if you will, wandering the streets. But they were killed.” Damon’s eyes shifted from red to black as he took a step back. “So much death. And it is not far.”

Without another look back, he started for one of the houses, stalking through the snow with determination, darkness and death swirling around him.

“Should we be following him?” Rowan asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“We don’t have a choice,” I replied, “no one goes out alone.”

I could tell the others weren’t too happy with that response, but they didn’t stop me from following Damon’s footsteps in the snow. I hadn’t felt the chill of the air earlier, but now a wind blew through the city, lifting my messy hair and whipping it against my cold cheeks.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I trailed him into one of the shorter buildings. If there had been a door, it was long gone, because snow crossed the threshold of the room.

Damon’s heavy footsteps could be heard going through the building, but I couldn’t help but slow. I couldn’t tell what it was about the building that made me want to stop and take it all in. There was nothing but snow from a hole in the roof and a pile of burnt wood in the opposite direction, but something in me needed to breathe it in.

Maybe it was my magic, recognising this place as something more. Had Pandora, the first Queen of Nyx, been in this very room? What had it been three thousand years ago? A shop? A home?

There was nothing but a few clay pots in a corner to tell what once existed here. The walls were bare of any paint or decoration.

“Let’s keep moving,” Ry said quietly, his voice startling me. I glanced up to find his violet eyes dark and not on me. He was looking at the back door Damon walked through.

Dammit. I shook myself of whatever came over me and rushed towards the door. Again, it was more an archway, with a memory of what might’ve once been there. Damon was already outside, leaving us behind.There had once been a short wall separating the backyard from the road, but it had been destroyed recently.

It was only then that I noticed the stench of death was thicker out here.

In the centre of the old road was a pile of bodies. Some were shifted into their more monstrous forms, while others were non-shifted. There was a mix of young and old people amongst them, blood clinging to them from obvious bullet wounds.

Someone cursed behind me, and it took all my strength not to puke. I covered my mouth with my arm, but that didn’t help much. I couldn’t believe how strong the smell was; the cold should have preserved them.

But it looked like they’d been sitting under full sun for days.

Bile rose in my throat, but I couldn’t make myself move. Damon stood over the pile, his arms at his sides. But now his full form was unleashed. Horns rose from his dark hair, and he’d grown a couple of inches. Shadows surrounded him, and the few tattoos that I could make out on his neck moved.

His anger was palpable. Surprising, even.

Maeve stepped out from behind me, Hawk by her side. Both had their guns up, but I couldn’t make myself follow them.

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