Before I speak another word, his wing snaps out, and he yanks me hard against his chest, curling his whole body around mine as he drags us behind a jagged outcropping in the rock. Rhune follows without question, crouching with his back to us in a protective stance, wings half-flared and teeth bared in a vicious snarl.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper. “What did you see?”
“Demons,” Nyx answers, his muscles tensing around me. “None that I recognize.”
My mouth falls open. “There are other demons here?” I suppose it makes sense when I think about it, but the thought never occurred to me until now. “Are they dangerous? Is that why we’re hiding?”
“I don’t know.” Nyx’s jaw tightens. “I’m not going to risk it, though.”
We stay pressed together behind the rock for what feels like forever, my heart hammering loud enough that I’m worried it’ll give us away. Finally, Nyx eases up just enough to peek over the edge, and I feel some of the tension bleed out of him. “Okay. I think they’re gone.”
“Are you sure?” Rhune asks. “What if they are waiting to ambush us?”
Nyx shakes his head slowly, though I catch the way his eyes keep flicking back toward the open sky. “Their scents have dissipated entirely. They’ve gone—likely in the direction of the welwig forest.”
After several more assurances, Rhune relaxes his stance, his wings settling back against his shoulders. Nyx unwinds himself from around me a moment later, and the three of us step out from our cramped hiding spot.
Rhune’s gaze sweeps the horizon, his brow still pinched with worry. “We haven’t come across any other demons in decades. Are you sure it was not just a trick of the light?”
“I’m positive they were demons. Six males and a female. One of each color—red, blue, green, yellow, purple, and onyx. And the woman… she had black feathered wings.”
“Feathered?” Rhune’s voice rises with surprise. “She was not our kind, then.”
“No.” Nyx’s frown deepens as a distant memory creeps into his eyes. “Something about the males seemed to tug at mymemory… Slaine’s memory, that is…” He shakes his head. “It does not matter. With any luck, we will not run into them again.”
I shiver, and Rhune wraps his wings around me, tucking me in a comforting embrace. “Do not worry, pup. We will protect you. You are safe as long as I am by your side. I will be your faithful guard dog.”
I can’t help but smile, and some of the tightness in my chest loosens. “Okay. I believe you.”
We go back to looking for shells after that, though the mood has shifted into something far more somber, and Nyx and Rhune refuse to stray more than a few steps away from me, their eyes scanning, wary.
Wanting to salvage something about our outing, I walk along the coastline, careful to keep a safe distance from the water so I don’t get snagged by one of the tentacled creatures lurking beneath the surface. I pick through the treasures scattered along the shore, marveling at their beautiful iridescent hues and trying to take my mind off the feeling of dread in my stomach.
I’m bending down for a particularly stunning pink shell when a low, monotone horn sound fills the air, deep enough that I feel it reverberate in my chest. I straighten, looking out toward the ocean just as a spiked, whale-like tail crests the surface, sending a spray of water arcing into the sky. The droplets catch the light of the silver sun, scattering into a thousand tiny rainbows before they fall back to the surface of the choppy waters.
I open my mouth to ask Nyx what the animal is when my vision shifts, sending me teetering off-balance. For a split second, I swear I can see the outline of a welwig tree far out on the horizon. It’s glowing, pulsing an angry red hue that warns of death and destruction.
But when I blink, it’s gone. There’s nothing out there but open water and ice.
“So weird,” I whisper.
A shiver races down my spine, and I take a step back, my eyes still fixed on the empty horizon. Because I’m not paying attention, I step into a deep crevice of icy sand, and my ankle rolls, sending me straight back onto my ass.
I sit there in stunned silence for a second, then huff a laugh.Smooth, Willow. Real smooth.
“Willow! Are you hurt?”
Rhune and Nyx are at my side before I can blink, their hands running over my arms and shoulders and checking for damage.
“What happened?” Rhune asks. “You went down before either of us had time to move.”
“Nothing happened. I’m just clumsy. I’m okay, I promise,” I say, hoping to soothe his worry with a bright smile. Though, it doesn’t seem to work the way I hoped.
“Your palm is bleeding,” Rhune notes, his frown deepening as he reaches for my wrist.
“Is it?” I pull my hand up to my face, and my heart skips at the sight of blood coating my palm.
At least… Ithinkit’s blood. It’s oozing from a gash in my skin like blood should, and it has the same texture and thickness.
