Page 58 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
His look could freeze the world. “Exactly how much it takes to destroy a village.” He looked down. “There’s a village close by. We need to make sure they’re not under attack. Then, we’ll tell Luther and organize anattack to take out the rest of the nest.”
Shadows whipped around me and then I was on Umara’s back. I wished I could strap myself in. Instead, I settled for gripping her tightly. Her magic kept me contained in the saddle—this time so thick, it made my thighs ache.
We flew the remaining minutes in silence. I wanted to say something, but a lump formed in the back of my throat and left me mute.This is what they’ve been warning me about.This was what awaited me if I took Clara and ran.
“You stay up above.” Kieran looked at Umara. “Leave me behind if you must. Hesperos and I can handle this. Worst case, I’ll use my shadows to retreat.”
“But Kieran—”
“Just observe. Keep your blade in your hand. I won’t allow you to die.”
We approached the village in silence. Just as Kieran said, there were more gryphons. Three of them, to be exact. The sight made my stomach roll. We heard the screams before we saw the destruction. My heart dropped as Umara flew past the trees concealing the village. It was in shambles and looked like ruins instead. Dust lingered in the air so high it was hard to see, but I spotted another gryphon flying in the smoke. Blood coated its body. Human blood.
My stomach rolled. One of them was on the ground hunched over an elderly woman. She’d long since passed away and the gryphon’s beak nibbled at her side, eating her flesh. Oh gods.
It looked up, and its red eyes narrowed at me. Ice shot down my spine. That look—it wasn’t just death it promised but a hungry sort of hatred. The gryphon shrieked and launched itself up at me. With a flick of his wrist, Kieran snapped its neck.
Umara torched three gryphons that flew straight at me. Her roar made my ears ache, and my chest tighten. I looked at the village, at the destruction left in its wake. Only three gryphons were here, but they completely slaughtered the village. “Kieran…”
His hands stayed clenched at his sides. “The nest must be close. We need to let Luther know before they ravage the rest of Caddel Province. Or worse, the continent.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Clara and I sat in a meadow. Everything about it was beautiful. From the grass that tickled our legs and swayed to a gentle breeze, to the willow trees that surrounded us. We’d done it. We escaped the capital. The heist succeeded and for once,for oncelife was going our way.
“I’m feeling a lot better.” Clara smiled at me and grabbed a cookie from the lunch basket I prepped.
I ran my hand along the blanket under us. Soft. For once, we finally had the money to afford nice things. “I told you to trust me.”
Clara took another bite. “You scare me sometimes. You take so many risks, but I—”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Clara stared off in the distance. Her eyes widened in horror. “They’re here.”
A growl cut through the forest, which had gone completely silent. The sound filled me with dread. I turned just in time to see a gryphon dart out of the forest and jump straight at us.No. NO.This couldn’t be happening. My heart raced. Red eyes filled the shadows of the forest.Holy Family.
The first gryphon pounced. There was no time to react, no time to fight. I screamed as it flew past me.
Crunch.
Clara didn’t even have time to scream. It ripped out her throat with a vicious growl. I watched, frozen, as blood spattered on my cheek.No. No. No. No. NO.I repeated the word over and over again, but it didn’t change my reality that I refused to accept. Why was this happening? How did they get here? How did I not notice them? Clara’s hands twitched at her sides. A gurgling sound echoed in my ears, impossibly loud, as the gryphon hovered over her.
No.I lifted a trembling finger and touched the blood on my cheek.
The gryphon raised its head to stare at me, its teeth stained red.No. Not Clara. No—
I jerked awake. My hands trembled, and I stared up at the ceiling.There’s no sky.It was a dream. A horrible, horrible nightmare. Clara wasn’t dead. She was okay. Safe. My hand flew to my mouth, and I fought not to let the bile escape.
There was no way in hell I’d be able to sleep after that. My heart pounded in my eardrums, and I stood on shaky legs. Just a dream. Not real. Even so, the knowledge did nothing to soothe my frayed nerves. I staggered to my dresser. The long sleeve tunic I changed into pressed tight against my skin. Next I put on the corset, and then the leather training pants and the boots that went just under my knees. After double braiding my hair with shaky hands, I went to theliving room.
“What are you doing up?” I asked Kieran, who lounged elegantly on the couch. How was the man not exhausted?
I had crashed the moment I went to my room. I didn’t give a fuck that it was the middle of the day. It’d been a hell of a long night. A quick glance outside confirmed it was around evening time with the pink hues in the sky.
“Not all of us can sleep the day away.” But the sarcasm in his tone didn’t land.
I considered calling him out, but it could easily backfire on me. There was a reason I hadn’t slept well into the night, and it had nothing to do with trying to maintain a sleep schedule. “Whatever.”
