Page 119 of A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty

Another nudge, this time poking at my shoulder. It was an invisible nudge. A magical nudge.

Someone was playing with me.

“Put me back,” I hissed. “My friends need me.”

Nudge.

Nudge, nudge, nudge.

I clenched my teeth and stalked down the tunnel. I’d find whoever had brought me here, and I’d make them eat this sword.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever, and yet I lost all sense of time. When I turned, the wall was still at my back, yet I’d been walking for long enough that my mouth was dry.

This was a strange, magical place. And yet, it was almost familiar. I quickened my steps, and something glinted in the distance.

A wooden ladder. Something unwound in my gut. I wouldn’t be stuck down here forever. I could get out. My claustrophobia was unfortunate at the best of times, but I could practically hear Lorian in my ear, ordering me to stay exactly where I was and not to leave the tunnel.

My hand was clasping the wood of the ladder a moment later. Perhaps if my earliest memory hadn’t involved being kidnapped and shoved into a dark satchel, I would’ve been able to sit in this tunnel and wait for someone to rescue me.

Then again, that didn’t sound much like the woman I was becoming.

Sheathing my sword, I hauled myself up the ladder toward the light above my head. I was climbing out of another hole in the ground. My vision speckled as my eyes adjusted to the light, and a long moment stretched where anyone standing above me could have killed me as I was blinded by the sun. Rolling over the edge, I breathed in the sweet, fresh air and then launched myself to my feet, surveying the area.

I was standing in some kind of clearing. Alone.

Someone or something had brought me here. But why?

A guttural growl sounded, shattering the quiet. I froze.

A massive, furred creature slunk from the shadows, black eyes fixed upon me. Those eyes were elongated and narrow…faintly feline. Unkempt, mottled fur covered its muscular body, ensuring it blended seamlessly with the surrounding foliage. A thick mane ran along its spine, adding to its overall bulk, while two curved horns jutted from its head—the ends so sharp they glinted as the creature stepped into the dappled sunlight.

My entire body went numb. The creature could likely sense fear, because it bared its wickedly sharp teeth in a snarl, inching closer with each thud of my heart. It padded forward, crouching, coiled, waiting to spring.

Distantly, I attempted to figure out what it was. It moved with the feline grace of a cat, and yet it looked more like some kind of huge, wild hound. It stepped closer, and its tail came into view. Long, bushy, andwhite, the tail was a tuft of fur that didn’t seem to match its body in any way.

I reached for the thread of my power. Whatever it was, I’d freeze it and run for my life. The creature opened its mouth and hissed at me.

I yanked at my power, pulling so much I was dizzy with the influx of magic. But the creature merely yowled, as if my attempt was annoying it.

It was…immune to my power.

And I was going to die.

* * *

I roared, digging at the dirt where Prisca had disappeared. I’d been too far from her. I never should have left her side.

“Where did she go?” Asinia demanded.

I could barely speak, rage clamping tight around my throat. I would find her. I would find her, and whoever had taken her would die screaming for mercy.

Cavis took a step closer to me, still panting from killing the remaining iron guards. “She disappeared. It was the strangest thing. I saw it too. The ground opened up, she fell, and then the hole sealed over like nothing had happened.”

Telean was sitting on a log at the edge of the forest, her face in the shade. And she didn’t look nearly concerned enough to suit me. I slowly got to my feet. Stalking over to her, I waited until she slowly lifted her gaze.

“Nelayra will be fine,” she told me. “Our people want to meet her alone.”

I didn’t give a fuck what their people wanted. “How could they take her from this kingdom?”

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