Page 221 of Blade of the Nightking

She fell to her knees, hands outstretched before a figure standing at the centre of the front line—a figure clad in a seamless bodysuit of blood-red leather that clung to every curve of her body, the same shade as the crimson hair whipping around her face in the fire-heated wind. The circlet covering one eye gleamed darkly, fire dancing across the reflection on its surface.

Calantha.

Terror crashed through me.

While Elyndra pleaded and the building burned, the corners of her mouth remained curved upward in a smile that turned my blood cold.

Rìan swore softly beneath his breath. He wrenched me away from the window, hauling me across the room toward the door. As we passed, he snatched his cloak from the back of a chair and swept it around us both, the heavy fabric still damp from our crossing of the flats.

By now the smoke was overwhelming. It coated the back of my throat with every breath.

Rìan reached for the handle and jerked his hand back the instant his skin touched the metal, hissing between his teeth. Wrapping the damp edge of his cloak around his hand, he wrenched the door open.

Heat crashed into the room with enough force to make me flinch.

The corridor beyond glowed with pulsing orange light, smoke rolling through it in thick waves as flames licked up the walls further down the hall, curling and blackening the wallpaper ahead of their advance.

His grip was bruising as he dragged me through the doorway. We passed a room already engulfed in flames, and from somewhere beyond came the unmistakable sound of a woman sobbing. Her cries pursued us down the corridor, desperate beneath the roar of the fire, but Rìan didn't slow. Ahead of us, another bedroom door burst open and two naked Fae stumbled into the hallway, coughing violently as they fought through the smoke toward the staircase.

My lungs burned now despite the cloak Rìan kept drawn over our faces. By the time we reached the stairs, my eyes were streaming.

Then I looked down.

Horror punched the air from my chest.

The chamber where dozens of bodies had writhed together only hours earlier was almost unrecognizable beneath the fire. The delicate silk hangings had become fuel for the blaze, carrying the flames through the room with terrifying speed. Charred forms lay crumpled amidst the destruction, blackened and oozing where they’d burned and died.

Others were still alive, crawling through the thick haze on their hands and knees, hacking and choking as they dragged themselves forward toward exits that had already been enveloped by the fire.

A scream tore through the room as a woman emerged from the smoke. Flames raced across the veil covering her face and climbed the fabric wrapped around her body, engulfing her completely. She staggered blindly through the common room, clawing at herself, her hands beating frantically at the fire consuming her sleeves and skirts.

The screams broke off abruptly as her legs folded beneath her. A moment later she pitched forward into the flames and did not move again.

Behind us, part of the balcony railing gave way with a deafening crack, sparks exploding upward as it fell.

I couldn't move. I was frozen where I stood, dragged back to Solmire, to dragonfire and a crumbling citadel and the excruciating agony of being burned alive.

Rìan wound an arm around my waist and practically carried me down the stairs. "Move."

A sudden bang! resounded somewhere below, followed by the crash of wood giving way. Then came another sound, rhythmic and purposeful.

Footsteps.

The soldiers poured through the burning doorways in disciplined ranks, utterly unaffected by the heat and flames surrounding them. Around the room, cries of relief broke out. Survivors stumbled toward them through the smoke, coughing and weeping as they reached out in desperate hope.

The soldiers responded by raising their hands. Magic erupted from their palms.

The cries of relief curdled into ear-shattering screams.

And then Calantha stepped into the room—as casually as if she were arriving at a garden party.

Elyndra followed at her heels. Her veil had been torn away revealing her soot-stained face, wide eyes darting frantically across the ruined chamber.

"No!" Her cry of despair rose above the chaos. "This wasn't what we agreed!"

"You're harboring an enemy of the realm," Calantha replied calmly, as though they were discussing the weather rather than the slaughter unfolding around them. "Measures must be taken. Including eliminating any possibility of escape."

Elyndra seized her arm. "What have you done?" she shrieked. "You weren't supposed to burn it! You weren't supposed to kill anyone!"