Page 122 of Storm of Shadows

Is this what death feels like?

Am I dead?

Hands shake my shoulders. Frantically. Natharius stares down at me. His onyx horns glisten in the starlight. His crimson eyes are filled with concern, strange though that is.

“Reyna?” he shouts when I don’t stir. He’s at least thrice my size in his demonic form and when he shakes my shoulder again, I fear he might accidentally tear me apart.

“Ow,” I complain, tugging my shoulder from his grasp. He releases me, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“You’re . . .” he says, “you’re shining.”

I blink, my mind taking a few heartbeats to realize what he means. I lift my hand and examine it.

He’s right. Iamshining. My skin glistens with aether, as if my flesh is crafted from thousands of tiny crystals. The spell surrounding me feels as comforting as a blanket.

And I immediately recognize whose magic this is.

Father’s.

I choke at the realization. Fresh tears swell in my eyes.

When his soul was freed, he must have used the last of his magic to place a protection spell over me. If he hadn’t, I would be dead.

Arluin would have killed me.

At that, I push myself upright. “Arluin,” I rasp to Natharius.

The Void Prince whirls around.

But Arluin is already gone. Along with the iron ring.

forty

“Wemustfindhimbefore he can escape the city,” I say to Natharius.

The Void Prince doesn’t need telling twice. He straightens himself to the full towering height of his demonic form. Then he closes his eyes and inhales, his nostrils flaring with the force.

“He has melded with the shadows,” Natharius says, reopening his crimson eyes. “I can sense his magic in the air.”

My heart skips a beat. “Does that mean you can track him?”

“If we are quick,” he answers. “The trail will not last long.”

I nod and turn to Lhorok and Grizela who still battle each other. Lhorok is soaked in blood—his blood. I doubt he will hold out much longer. We must deal with Grizela before pursuing Arluin. Or else Lhorok will be dead when we return.

It means giving Arluin more time to escape, but if we can take Grizela prisoner then at least we might have a way of discovering his whereabouts. Though I don’t know what horrifying torment it will take for the necromancer to talk.

I glance back at Natharius, who is already turning away. Clearly the Void Prince is more anxious about locating Arluin than ensuring Lhorok isn’t killed. “Can you subdue this necromancer?”

Natharius casts me an impatient look, but doesn’t waste time arguing with me. Dark magic spins in his hands, and he hurls the spell at Grizela.

The attack catches her by surprise. The shadows slam into her, shoving her against the nearest wall. Obsidian chains spring from the stone, holding her captive.

“Our young lord is already long gone,” she cackles. “You will never catch him now.”

Natharius ignores her and instead turns to Lhorok. “Keep a close eye on her and see to it she does not escape. The chains will hold until we return.”

Lhorok gives him a stiff nod, and then his mournful gaze falls onto his wife.

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