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“I do not know,” Malyr said. “The thickness of the shadows might have kept them embalmed. This is the first time I’m seeing it.”
My breath quickened, turning shallow as the pungent odor of decay assaulted my senses. The stench, like rotten eggs and dead mice, clawed its way into my nostrils, choking the air around me. It fogged my mind, making the world sway around me. So much death. So much tragedy. So much—
“Anoaley.” Malyr’s voice broke through my shock, making me blink at the way shadows crept over the corpses, once more thickening. “We should turn around. This is too much for you. I can sense it.”
“He can sense it,” Lorn crooned, followed by a sarcastic scoff. “I told you she’s too weak.”
I stiffened at her words, the cold shock of standing on a corpse replaced with the heat of my anger.Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!
I kept walking, telling myself the crunch beneath my steps were seashells, the gray objects I wove around rocks, and the dark wisps poking out from the white drifts were nothing but rotten ropes. But no lie could disguise the sickening stench of death that clung to the air.
My knees shook with the effort of putting one foot in front of the other. Each step jolted bones gone brittle with cold. Dull eyes followed my progress, condemning me for walking amongst their remains.
Crunch.
No,on topof their remains.
Beside me, Lorn let out an annoyed huff, “Staring at death not quite like gazing at your reflection in a golden mirror, darling?”
My heart thrummed against my ribs.
Too loud! Too fast!
The world tilted on its axis as a wave of vertigo washed over me, every stumble sideways letting bones crunch.Corpses. Corpses everywhere.The thought spun around and around in my head. I was walking on corpses.Crunch.Bones shattered beneath my boots.Crunch.More bones.
Everything began to spin, the monochrome world blurring into a smear of gray and white, the faces of the dead staring at me from every direction. What was happening?
“Galantia!”
I jerked out of my stupor.
Malyr built himself up in front of the shadows that rippled toward us like ocean waves at night. They wrapped around him, slithering and crawling, leaving bloody trails across his face before they burrowed into his skin. Beside me, Lorn fought them off.
Until her eyes caught mine.
Then she smiled.
“Fly, Galantia!” Malyr commanded, ripping my attention back to him. “Get out of here while I’ll hold them back. Go!”
Flee. Yes, I had to flee.
My primal croaked.
My body tingled.
Shadows wrapped around me, hot and searing, as if someone bound me with ropes tinged in oil and set aflame. They hurt. Hurt badly!
“Sebian!” Malyr shouted.
The hot shadows retreated the moment black feathers burst beside me. I slumped to the ground. Something hit my head, sending a quake through my brain. Above me, five black ravens fluttered off. Lorn?
“Galantia!” Sebian leaned over, staring at me wide-eyed as he grabbed me by my arms and hauled me to my feet. “What’s happening?”
“She’s not shifting,” Malyr shouted. “Get her out of here!”
Sebian intertwined our fingers. “What about you?”
“They’ll drag your ravens down if I let go of them now.” Malyr turned to face Sebian, one hand struggling to keep the shadows away, black blood dripping from his chin and little droplets flying from his mouth as he shouted, “Save her! Save her and—”
