A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones, #1)(75)

I shot up.

And my heart dropped into my stomach with a thud.

I was staring directly at the guard. It was the same rosy-cheeked, yellow-bearded young man from the day Mari helped me visit Halden in his cell.

I braced myself to be manhandled back into the castle. Possibly the dungeons.

My mouth opened, an argument prepared on my tongue. But I hesitated.

His expression. It was—blank.

He said nothing as he stared at me. Not even at me though. Almost… right through me.

As if I wasn’t standing right in front of him, covered in dirt and clutching my wrist, the guard furrowed his brow at something just past my head and tracked past me toward where I had fallen. He kicked at the metal trap with his shoe in confusion. I had no idea how I had gotten so lucky, but I wasn’t going to wait around to find out. I took off through the gate for the clearing.

As I ran, it hit me—Mari’s spell never wore off. I had to remember to tell her that her ‘simple cloaking spell’ might have worked a bit too well. Was it Briar’s amulet? Maybe it was time to return the enchanted item to Kane’s study.

The Shadow Woods were far more ominous at night. Gnarled branches made monstrous shapes in the shadows, and thorny bushes tore at my leathers. It was also far colder. Despite being at the peak of a sweltering summer, the enchanted, ancient Shadow Woods were chilling at nighttime, and a cool fog swam around my ankles. I wished I had brought the fox fur—for warmth and comfort. Like a little girl, afraid of things I couldn’t see in the dark. I tried to remind myself that I had been here during the daytime and felt safe, but it was less than helpful. I had been safe because I was surrounded by guards and horses. Men that could protect me. And Kane.

I ran hard, breath punching out of my lungs. Nothing better for my fear than sprinting.

Still, my thoughts landed back on the king. I had done exactly what he asked me not to do. Snuck into the woods, at night, while he was gone. Even though I was no longer planning my escape, he would still be furious.

The feeling of weakness was back once again, as I rounded a fallen log and recalled how close I was to the clearing. It felt like more of my life than not was spent feeling weak and guilty. A small corner of my mind wondered if ending up in Shadowhold might have been my only chance at changing that. The heavy thump from Dagan’s sword hitting my back with each step told me maybe that instinct was right.

I still hoped I wouldn’t have to use it, though. It would be my first time fighting something other than Dagan who, despite not being the warmest fellow, did not actually wish to see me dead. Plus, I had Dagan’s sword, not my own. It was heavier than mine by at least double and required both hands to wield, while mine only needed one. I didn’t want to think of how difficult it would be to swing the piece around with my now sprained wrist.

My lungs weren’t as accustomed to runs such as these anymore, and by the time I arrived at the clearing, I was gasping. In the watery moonlight, the wet grass shone silver and the trees looked like one tangled, black spiderweb. I had been fortunate to find my way through the dark maze, despite coming from the North Gate this time. Now, I needed to find the oak tree—but it all looked the same, and the eclipse would be any minute. I was running out of time.

“Bleeding Stones,” I breathed. I couldn’t have made it all this way in time for nothing.

Deep in the spiky bushes behind me, a wet, sloshing sound cut through the deafening quiet of night. I went stiff as a corpse and whirled my head to listen closer—my whole body recoiling at the undeniable sound of a creature feasting on something—or someone—that had not survived the night.

I dropped to the ground and crawled toward the bushes on my knees and elbows. Through the scraping twigs and spongy moss, I slinked until I could see through the thorns of the bushes and just barely make out the carcass of a deer.

A scream lodged in my throat at the sight before me.

Devouring the deer’s supple body were two lionlike creatures. I recognized them as chimeras, and particularly nasty ones at that. I had never seen the nocturnal creatures before but had read about them in one of Mari’s favorite books: Onyx’s Most Foul.

Beady eyes with no pupils. Gruesome, snarling snouts. Long, fanged teeth protruding from their mouths, coated in drool and meat. Their faces were so sleek and threatening, their gnarled claws so caked with dirt and blood, that my stomach turned from pure fear and I thought I might vomit.

Before I could scramble backward and heave out last night’s wine, I noticed where they were feasting. The poor doe was laid across the roots of the familiar oak tree.

Shit.

I wracked my brain. What did that Stones-damned book say about chimeras?

Mari had been talking nonstop that day in the library, so I had only made it a few sentences through the chapter on chimeras. Instead of knowledge of the creatures, I knew every detail of Mari’s favorite swimming hole in the Shadow Woods, which her father would take her to when the summers became too hot to bear. I knew nothing about the beasts in front of me, but I did know how Owen always made sure to bring an altruistic soldier or two with them, because the woods were so unsafe. How her favorite guard had been an older man who always called her brainy braids, because she would wear these braids that—

Oh, Stones.

That was it.

The water. It wasn’t safe—chimeras couldn’t swim.

My eyes found the tree-covered path that Kane had taken me through all those months ago. This was a uniquely stupid plan—even for me—but I had no other options. I needed the creatures away from the oak tree, so I could access the root when it bloomed. I was not going to turn around and spend the rest of my life knowing that, if I ever saw my mother again, I’d had the chance to help her, and didn’t take it out of fear.