Page 68 of On Brutal Thrones

My stomach twists. This is insane. But the golden weapons gleam in the distance, and the path is still there. So I step into the field, and the others follow.

Immediately, the air changes. The towering stalks block most of the breeze, trapping heat and the thick perfume of the flowers around us. Pollen hangs in the air like golden dust, sticking to the sweat already dampening my face. Leaves brush against my shoulders as we squeeze between them, and somewhere nearby, vines rustle through the grass.

Every instinct I possess screams at me to run, but I keep walking.

The first flower bends toward us.

My heart nearly stops.

Its enormous head lowers until its petals hover above Thorian, close enough that I can see the pale dust coating them. His grip tightens around his sword.

“Don’t,” I whisper.

I’m not sure whether I’m talking to him or the flower.

I reach for that strange connection again and push the same thought through it. Let us pass. The flower trembles. Then slowly rises.

Relief hits me so hard my knees nearly buckle.

“Keep moving,” I say.

We do.

At first, it works. Flowers bend toward us and pull away. Vines creep across the glowing trail, then recoil when my magic touches them. Even the smaller bushes seem to shrink back from our boots.

Every success makes hope rise a little higher inside me. I’m doing this. The same magic that helped us survive the caves and the graveyard is answering me again. Thorian, Fenric, and Talon have each brought us through dangers I couldn’t have faced alone. Now it’s my turn to find a way forward, and with every flower that bends to my will, I begin to believe I can.

Then the field starts fighting back.

The farther we go, the harder I have to push. The connection that felt almost effortless near the edge becomes a constant strain. Sweat slides down my spine. My temples pound. The golden path flickers beneath our boots.

“Nyx?” Thorian says.

“I’m fine.”

A vine lashes toward Talon. I shove my magic at it, and it jerks back. Another curls around Fenric’s boot. No. It releases him. Three flowers bend toward us at once. Please. Please. They shudder and rise again.

My breath comes faster.

We’re close. The clearing is right there. I can see flashes of gold between the stalks. Then one of the flowers shakes above me. A cloud of pollen explodes into my face.

“Oh, shit.”

I sneeze. The connection snaps. Everything attacks.

“Nyx!”

Vines burst from the grass and wrap around Fenric’s ankle, yanking his leg out from under him. He crashes onto his back.

An enormous shadow sweeps over Thorian.

“Move!”

He throws himself sideways just as a flower slams into the ground. The impact makes the earth jump beneath my boots. Dirt and shredded leaves explode through the air.

Talon grabs my arm as another vine whips past my face. “Nyx!”

“I know!”