Page 49 of To Sway a Prince
Thunderheads billowed behind us, but a darker spiral cloud formed. The red eyes of the spectral omenfang burned within. It had not yet taken its form. The stench of burning metal filled the air. Fear clutched me, locking me into place. It was coming.
"Faster, Thalorion!" Ramiel clutched me close, his body hunching over mine as if to shield me.
My hand clutched weakly at his tunic, fingers hooking in his pendant and the masking charm. Cold—so cold. But his heart was racing, thudding and constricting within the bonds of the curse. My own heart felt as if it was being crushed.
Lightning arced in the sky.
Zephyrus bellowed again. He shot up and passed through the omenfang. It vanished for a moment, the force of the wind whipping him back.
The other dragons took turns flying through the omenfang's oncoming storm cloud.
We shot through the portal into the air just above the tower. Thalorion's massive wings beat furiously against the storm winds. Ramiel's arms remained locked around me, his body shielding and warming me. I struggled to even keep my eyes open, the cold swallowing me.
A furious roar announced Zephyrus's arrival. He flew through the portal behind us, his scales gleaming with rain water and mist.
Through the portal, the dark column of smoke churned closer. One by one, the remaining dragons passed through. Each time they disrupted the omenfang, but it always reformed.
"The omenfang—" I tried to warn, but my voice emerged as little more than a rasp.
"I know." Ramiel's voice was strained. "The dragons are buying us time. It's not at full strength like it was the last time. We have to get inside."
My vision blurred as the other weaver dragons darted and weaved through the air, striking at the gathering darkness that pursued us.
As we neared the Eye of the Needle, Ramiel shifted me in his arms, pulling me tighter against his chest. His heartbeat hammered against my ear, struggling against those cursed threads I'd tried to loosen.
"Hold on," he whispered.
Without warning, he leapt from Thalorion's back, still clutching me to him. My stomach lurched as we plummeted through open air for a terrifying moment before the familiar disorienting sensation of pulseporting enveloped us.
We materialized in his library, the books rustling and the pages fluttering. The items on the desk jostled, the spindle with the thread falling off the edge and spinning on the floor in a stream of silver thread.
"Caein!" Ramiel called out, his voice strained as he laid me on a plush couch. A fire sprang up within the carved marble fireplace, but the heat did not reach me.
I tried to push myself upright but collapsed. The burning in my wrist intensified. I had to tell him.
"You'll be fine," Ramiel said, brushing my hair from my face. His eyes held a desperate intensity that frightened me. "I'm not going to lose you now."
My eyelids were so heavy. I couldn't keep them up. My head slumped onto the soft arm of the couch. My spirit might not have been torn out, but I felt fragile. With the omenfang coming, either of us could die. And I had to—I had to tell Ramiel what I felt. That I loved him. The words burned in my throat, desperate to escape, but my lips wouldn't form them. Darkness edged my vision as consciousness slipped away.
"Ramiel, what happened?" Caein's voice floated into the room.
"A chasm wraith got her. It didn't fully rip her spirit out, but the curse—my curse—it's spreading to her. It wasn't a transformation. It treated her as if she was me." Ramiel's voice cracked. "We need to?—"
The scent of burning metal filled the air, acrid and overwhelming. A dark cloud materialized in the center of the room, red eyes forming within its depths.
Ramiel stepped between the cloud and me, positioning his hands and slicing through the air. The runes burned bright. "Leave now, foul beast! I have no time for your games."
The omenfang's gaze hinged from Ramiel to me as the flames in the fireplace sputtered.
Those glowing red eyes burned into me, and my spirit screamed and tugged as if it might rip free. Those red eyes bore into mine even as my eyelids dragged shut again. It bared its dark teeth in a horrifying smile.
It was coming for me.
Ramiel swore, commanding it to fight him. He tried to cut in front of it.
I had to get up. Weave a net. Cut a knot. Something. Anything!
My body refused to respond, the chasm wraith's poison still pulling at my spirit and my consciousness. Nothing in my body responded. My vision blurred and hazed.
