A pair of wyverns gave chase, but they didn't make it far. Lightning lashed out at their wings, severing them apart. I heard their bodies crash to the ground behind us, but I forced myself not to look back.
Death sounded all around us. Screams of the dying. The monsters had spread throughout the entire city—dismembered bodies covered every street.
Every step we took toward the northern gates brought us away from the remaining life in Galasvar. My stomach sank when I realized there were more dead here than there had been in the south.
The monsters of the Shadowlands had surrounded us. They had not merely attacked the southern walls. Like intelligent men, they had surrounded the city and struck from all sides.
And they were waiting for us. Dozens of those humanoid vine horrors prowled the blood-soaked square before the gates. A snarl tore through the air to my left as a shardwolf emerged from an alley, teeth bared and coated in bits of meat.
I stepped back, pushing Liam behind me. It would not save him, but I would not let my little brother die first.
A shadow broke from the sky, flickering as though concealed by a spell that was losing power. When it drew close to the city's torches, its shield fell away—revealing a dragon.
It was smaller than the one at the gates, but still as tall as two men. Twin pairs of wings beat upon its back, and its jaw unhinged as it descended, displaying two rows of teeth.
I had time only to shove Liam out of its path before the dragon struck me. Pain pulsed through my entire body. I was thrown back and pinned to the ground beneath its powerful claws.
Its head had no eyes, but I felt the weight of its sightless stare.
And the death it promised.
Chapter 5
Mare
The haunting song, the painful wail that heralded Galasvar's demise, hummed in my ears. The dragon's throat warbled—this creature sang our dirge.
I closed my eyes and felt its teeth brush my cheek. But either death was swift, or it did not come.
Peeling, my eyes open, I saw the beast rear its head. Its double wings spread wide, covering the square in their black veil. The song changed. The steady hum became frantic, pulsing beats—sharp notes that stung like lashes in my ears.
Then it stopped. The hum returned, and the dragon lowered its wings. The claws pinning me down lifted. I propped myself up on my elbows, barely able to breathe.
Dipping its head, the beast nuzzled my cheek gently.
My lungs seized. The weight in the dragon's eyeless glare shifted—from death to acceptance. Recognition. It tilted its head, regarding me like an old friend.
Carefully stepping off me, the dragon backed up before taking off into the skies. Wind and dust blew over me from the force of its ascent. I could see it until it escaped the torchlight and returned to the shadows, becoming one with the night.
The monsters surrounding us moved at once. Panic restarted my heart, my lungs. Dragging in ragged breaths, I searched for Liam and found him collapsed a few paces away.
I crawled to his body and curled myself around it like a shield.
My protection was unwarranted. The monsters marched past us, as if we did not exist at all.
Shaking, I lifted myself off my brother. Liam carefully rose, wounded arm tucked against his chest. He watched the procession with a mix of relief and horror.
"Were you playing dead?" I breathed.
"Figured I might as well try," he whispered back, voice weak.
It shouldn't have worked. When beasts crossed the border into our lands, they killed with precision, like a pack of wolves hunting their prey. It took an entire unit of men to bring one down.
They had spared Liam by choice.
We fell silent, eyes glued to the shadows stalking away. Dark wings covered the sky as the vultures and dragons ascended. They flew south, into shadow. Back whence they'd come.
Slowly, the hum faded away, leaving the dying town in a noiseless grave.
