Page 141 of Of Rime and Ruin
No, she says.Again.
Clenching my teeth, I rewind and replay our ballroom scene, slower this time. I show her the violinist. The crystal chandelier. The soft weave of his tuxedo, resting beneath my cheek. Feeling his hands as they trail down my dress, lifting me, carrying me to the throne—
I cut it off there, and she rumbles her disappointment.Look, I’m not going to show you that part. That’s private.
She rolls her eyes and pushes away from me, returning to her perch at the mouth of her cave. With restless energy, she paces back and forth, tail lashing, claws grating against the rock. What the hell is her problem?
Fine. Be that way. I didn’t want to be friends with you, anyway.
I sigh, settling against the cave floor once again. Cold seeps from the rock into my scales, and I shift into a more comfortable position. I can’t stay here forever, playing memory-dealer for a clawbeast. I need to get out of here. Find Aethan and tell him I’m sorry. Before the beast decides she’s hungry enough to end me.
I track her restless movements, praying for an opening. If I could squeeze through while she’s on the other side, maybe I can make it. Maybe I can fit.
Quietly, I glide on my stomach toward her, keeping out of her peripheral vision. My hands grasp the rocky floor, pulling me along. She turns, angling right. My opening appears.
But before I can launch, the clawbeast freezes. Her head snaps up. She faces the darkness and opens her mouth, arching her tongue as she inhales. Checking for scent?
Her mind sparks with eagerness. The thing she’s been waiting for is close, now. She can smell it. Cool peppermint, like falling snow.
My heart drops into my stomach. I’d recognize that scent anywhere, as I’m sure he’d recognize mine.
As I watch the clawbeast crouch on all fours, her haunches lifting in readiness to spring, everything clicks: I’m not her meal.
I’m the bait.
She’s waiting for Aethan to rescue me, and I have to warn him before it’s too late. When she glances to the right, I take my chance.
With a hard kick of my tail, I glide through the gap between her body and the wall. My stomach grazes the jagged rock. A few scales tear free, trickling blood. She snorts, a growl reverberating through the water, and her claws descend.
In a final burst of speed, I evade her grasp, barreling into the labyrinthine cave beyond. The clawbeast roars, but I don’t look back. I swim into the darkness, weaving out the way we came.
I’m coming home, Aethan, and I’m going to fix everything.
Chapter fifty-nine
Aethan
Amonsteremergesfromthe shadows, crouching at the lip of its cave. Glowmites illuminate the sharp planes of its face. Jaws made to kill its prey. A sneer parts its mouth, showing the jagged teeth beneath. Dark villainous eyes. Long white hair. A thrashing, barbed tail.
A clawbeast crowded in a cave, holding a princess hostage within—it feels like looking in a mirror.
The beast I’ve chased for years, finally now before me. My nightmare. My villain. I can’t stand the sight of it.
Fury churns in my gut, feeding my magic as it grows. My hands raise, ready conduits for a spell. There will be collateral damage, once the rage takes over.
I flick my eyes away, looking for the treasure I’ve come to save. I will not live with myself if I act too soon, if I destroy Nahla in my rush to save her.
As I wait for her to call out my name, I search for a glint of her golden scales.
But the room is empty. A quick scan confirms my worst fear—piles of bones, molted scales, a nest built with stones—but nothing more.
My heart plummets to the floor.
The beast has already swallowed her.
“You motherfucker,” I snarl. My vision narrows onto the beast. Its armored scales are speckled with frost. The quiet flutter of its gills, vulnerable at its neck.
I must kill it now. Pierce it with a thousand shards of ice. Or freeze its brain and shatter it against the wall. All along I’ve thought I was a ruthless killer, why not embrace it now? I’ll avenge them all.
