Evander finally allowed a smile. “I can only hope to achieve such an honor as to be your friend one day, Haley Barnes.”
The sincerity in his tone, in his eyes, melted some of the ice that’d crept in between us.
“You’re on the right track,” I said. “I mean, youdiddecapitate your own guards for me, which is saying something.”
“I did. I also sacrificed not one, but two cloaks to protect you from the elements.”
I cracked up. “In that case, friendship achievement unlocked.”
In the wake of Evander’s soft laughter, I yawned and stretched out on the bedroll, surprised at how comfortable it was. The fire crackled before me, the rock walls trapping and radiating the heat, making this the perfect place to wait out the storm.
My eyelids grew heavy, my body finally giving in to the siren call of sleep.
I’d just drifted off when I felt it—a strange new iciness filling my chest and gripping my heart, cold claws scraping my insides, tendrils snaking through my mind, unleashing images so terrifying, they paralyzed me.
Thousands upon thousands of ghouls marching across the desert sands, devouring everything they touched, the land turning black and ashen in their wake.
And there, leading the charge on a bloodied, bedraggled raven gryphon ten times larger than any I’d ever seen, was the woman who’d haunted my nightmares ever since I’d promised her my service. Pale white serpents slithered around her sleek ebony limbs, her hands and feet curled into deadly talons, the feathers of her wings razor-sharp and dripping with blood.
And at last, the Dark Goddess Melantha swiveled her vicious head toward me, her eyes two red embers waiting to ignite, her voice hissing through my skull like an omen.
I have come for you, Daughter of Darkwinter.
28
EVANDER
It’s all right, Haley.” I was kneeling at her side in a flash, desperate to pull her from the nightmare’s claws. “Wake up, my witch. Wake up.”
“No!” she cried out, bolting upright as her body finally jerked free. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at me in the firelight, fear still keeping her in a tight grip.
“Just a bad dream,” I said softly, stroking her hair. “You’re all right now.”
“It wasn’t…” She closed her eyes and shook her head, a shiver rolling through her. When she met my gaze again, she looked even more terrified than she had when she’d first awoken. “It wasn’t a bad dream. It was a message.”
“From whom?”
“Melantha. I felt her—her presence, her scent… I saw the Army of the Dead—they burned the very desert with their touch. She was leading them, riding this massive raven gryphon, and then…” She swallowed hard, a shiver taking her once more. “She looked right at me and spoke to me. Her voice was just… It was in my head.”
“What did she say?”
“I have come for you, Daughter of Darkwinter.”
I sat down next to her and drew her close, holding her as the tremors worked through her limbs. “She’s not here, Haley. Not yet. But if she’s reaching out to you through your dreams, she’s obviously found a way to connect with you. To tap into your magick.”
“That… can’t be good.”
“No, but it’s not necessarily bad. I don’t know that she can harm you that way—only scare you. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret about Melantha.”
She turned her face up toward me, her eyes shining with fresh hope. “What’s that?”
“She’s extremely powerful, as you know. She doesn’t need a show of force, doesn’t need to announce herself before an attack. The fact that she’s actively reaching out through your magick and trying to frighten you tells me that she’s as terrified ofyouas she wants you to be ofher.”
“Well, she definitely understood the assignment on that one, because newsflash? Iamterrified!”
“It’s your power she’s after, Haley. Your magick.”
“If I thought it would make her go way, I’d give it to her.”
