Page 72 of A Sunwoven Ascent

Both creatures turned, their black eyes fixed on her with unsettling stillness.

“Volunteering?” one hissed.

Her pulse stuttered. What had she done?

She forced her chin higher, swallowing her fear.

“Not volunteering,” she replied coldly. “Just hoping you’ll come closer so I can see the faces of the monsters hiding in the dark. Preying on the weak to delight in their pain. Pathetic.”

They advanced.

Holden lunged as far as his chains allowed. One of the creatures lashed out casually, claws slicing across his cheek. Blood streaked his skin in bright lines against the dimness. He snarled.

Rage burned through Evelyne. She could not shift, but she could still fight.

One closed the distance and gripped her shoulders with crushing force. She twisted quickly, deflecting its arm and driving her fist hard into its jaw. Pain exploded across her knuckles and the creature staggered half a step, more irritated than injured.

The second Noskari moved behind her and yanked her hair back violently, baring her throat. Holden launched himself again, but the creature shoved him aside with ease. Down here, fed and swollen with stolen blood, they were much stronger.

Evelyne clawed for its face, aiming for those endless black eyes, but it caught her wrist mid-strike.

Its grip tightened and she felt her bone snap.

A scream tore from her throat as agony shot up her arm.

“Let her go!” Holden roared, straining against the bloodroot chains.

“You will never harm us,” it rasped. “But we will savor you. Feed from you. Treasure every scream.”

The chains at her ankles slackened as the bloodroot fibers unwound at the creature’s command. For one fleeting moment, warmth stirred faintly in her veins, like the ghost of returning magic. Then it yanked her forward. Evelyne kicked and twisted, refusing to go quietly. If she was going to die here, she would wound one of them first. Buy time. Make them bleed—

“Evelyne?”

The voice was soft. Fragile. So familiar it sliced through the chaos at once.

Her head turned sharply toward the girl in the corner. No, not a girl. A woman.

Even through the grime and blood tangled in her hair, Evelyne saw it: recognition kindling in those hollow eyes. Then came the horror, spreading slowly across her pale face.

No. No, no, no.

“Get her out, Holden! Get them all out!” Evelyne shouted, desperation tearing through her voice.

It was the only command she managed before a clawed hand struck her across the mouth. The blow snapped her head sideways, and the sharp taste of copper flooded her tongue. Darkness blurred at the edges of her vision. The tunnel spun.

She forced her eyes open. She would not lose consciousness.

Not now. Not after hearing her voice.

Chapter 33

Evelyne was back in her bedroom. Laughter rose in her chest as she burrowed beneath the thick, soft comforter on her enormous bed. She could not have been more than five or six, small enough that the mattress felt like a world all its own. It was her favorite hiding place, not because it was clever, but because she knew Aurelia would always look there first. And once she found her, Evelyne could tug on her sister’s sleeve and beg her to stay the night, to protect her from whatever imaginary monsters waited in the dark.

Evelyne had never truly believed in monsters. But the house grew unnervingly still after dusk. The wind would howl against her window, rattling the panes just enough to make shadows stretch strangely across the walls. And sometimes, having her sister beside her was enough to soothe her racing thoughts.

“Eeeeeevelyne.” Aurelia’s sweet voice echoed down the corridor. “Wherever could you be hiding?”

Evelyne pressed a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the giggle threatening to give her away.