I took one look at the unsheathed sword she held at her side and spun around, throwing open the doors.

“Godsdamn it,” Orphine growled.

The breath I took immediately choked me. Smoke filled the air and smothered the starlight, stinging my eyes and burning my throat. Shouts echoed from the courtyard and the massive Rise surrounding the House of Haides as I rushed to the railing.

Gripping the cool stone, I leaned out and gasped. What I saw shocked me. Deep within the Red Woods, silver flames rippled and lit the night sky, burning through the crimson sea of leaves. A tree popped, exploding in a shower of silver sparks.

A sudden gust of wind tore across the balcony, whipping away the smoke in a frenzy. My head jerked up as a tan draken nearly the size of Nektas flew over the courtyard, heading straight for the Red Woods.

“Fuck,” Orphine snarled. “You’re going to get your ass back inside right now.”

The draken in the air released a funnel of silver fire, striking the woods just outside the Rise. Flames shot up high, stretching above the Rise itself, briefly highlighting the guards. The fire blew back—

I staggered into Orphine as the embers in my chest heated and throbbed, and screams of pain rippled through the night sky.

“Oh, my gods,” I whispered, rooted to my spot by horror as…things fell. My burning eyes tracked their flaming descent to the ground below. The fall took mere seconds, but it felt like an eternity as my palms heated in response to the death.

The tan draken fired on the Red Woods again, hitting the same spot as before. A crack of fiery energy hit the ground, shaking my bones. That was the sound that had woken me.

“Inside,” Orphine snarled, grabbing my arm. “Now.”

Another draken swept over the courtyard at breakneck speed, flying so fast I could barely make out the reddish-brown scales as Orphine dragged me toward the door. The draken latched onto the tan one’s back, digging talons into scales and flesh. The tan draken shrieked, twisting sharply as it tried to shake off the much smaller draken—

Orphine shoved me inside, slamming the door shut behind her. Heart thumping, I stumbled around, snared by shock and confusion. My stomach hollowed as I tried not to breathe in the bitter scent of smoke that had followed us into the bedchamber. I couldn’t process what was occurring—what I’d just seen outside.

Another thunderclap of fiery eather hit the ground and rattled the entire palace, causing the glass chandelier above me to sway violently. The realm outside the palace turned silver once more and shattered the surreal numbness.

I faced Orphine. “Is that one of Kolis’s draken?”

“I don’t recognize it.” Orphine turned halfway back to the balcony doors, her chest rising and falling sharply. “It could be his or another Primal’s.”

I turned to the adjoining door, knowing without a doubt that Nyktos was out there somewhere, in the smoke and fiery nightmare.

Where I should be.

“Do you know if it’s just the draken, or are there dakkais?” I went and grabbed the shadowstone dagger from the arm of the chaise.

“I have no damn clue. The attack started less than ten minutes ago.” Her nostrils flared with anger as I started for the chamber doors. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What we should both be doing.” I glanced at the now-dark space beyond the balcony doors as an eerie wail echoed from outside. “I’m going to help.”

Orphine’s fingers opened and closed around the hilt of her sword. “Absolutely not.”

“If there are dakkais out there, you know that Nyktos won’t be able to use eather against them.”

“Nektas and the other draken will—”

“I don’t care what Nektas and the other draken do,” I cut her off.

“You should. Because that damn bastard out there isn’t burning the woods for the fun of it.” Another boom shook us. I half-expected the chandelier to come crashing down from the ceiling. “You hear that? That’s not trees exploding. That’s the ground erupting. You know what’s under that ground, right?”

My body flashed cold. “The entombed gods.”

Orphine nodded. “That draken is burning straight through the soil, the chambers, and the damn chains entombing them. If he isn’t stopped, the entire Shadowlands will be swamped by hundreds of starved, pissed-off fallen gods.”

I didn’t have to think hard to remember the ravenous gods clawing their way from the ground. That had only been a few. Hundreds? “Then we really need to help.”

“You can help by staying inside the palace, where it’s currently safe.”

“I know we don’t know each other at all, but I am not the type of person who stands back and hides when I can fight.”

“I really don’t care what type of person you are.” She started toward me. “If you don’t sit your ass down and behave, I will sit your ass down for you.”

Frustration crashed into my fury, driven by the unnecessary deaths and the knowledge that my actions were likely the cause. I squared off with the draken. “No.”

Orphine drew up short. “Excuse me?”

The embers in my chest suddenly hummed, but it was different than when Nyktos was near or when I summoned the eather to give life. The vibration was deeper and stronger and pumped through me, filling my veins until I felt as if my entire body was thrumming. “I said, no.”

“I heard you, but I don’t know why you think you’re in a position to say that.”

“I don’t know why you think you’re in a position to tell me what to do.” The humming pressed against my chest, and Orphine’s pupils suddenly stretched even thinner. “Why do you think we’re under attack? Is some Primal just that bored and decided to really piss Nyktos off? Or is it because of what I’ve done? Because I’m here?”

Orphine let out a low growl of displeasure.

“I’m going out there,” I told her. “If your duty is to protect me, then protect me out there. Or don’t. I couldn’t care less.”

A tense moment passed. I knew if the draken wanted to stop me, she could easily do so. “Fuck me,” she muttered. “Let’s do this.”

“Thank you.” Exhaling roughly, I turned to the doors and threw them open before she changed her mind. Orphine was right behind me as I hurried down the hall, the halves of the robe fluttering around my legs.

“You know,” she said as we entered the back staircase that led to the exit closest to the courtyard facing the Red Woods, “you’re not wearing shoes.”

“That is the least of my concerns.”

“Yeah, getting yourself killed should be your number one concern, but I don’t think it has even made your list of things to be worried about at this point.” She shot me a red-eyed glare. “You need to be careful so you don’t end up dead. If that happens, I’m going to kill you myself.”

“Not only does that threat seem really counterproductive”—I raced down the last of the steps—“it’s going to be really hard to do since I’d already be dead.”

“But you get my point.” Orphine slipped in front of me as we reached the main floor landing, the ridges of scales in her pale skin far more noticeable now. “Stay close to me.”

“You stay close to me.” I brushed past her.

The string of curses Orphine let out was rather impressive. “Nyktos warned me that you were hard-headed.”

“Did he?” I shoved open the exterior door and stepped out into…

Chaos.

Chapter 4

My palms warmed, and the embers really started pulsating. Pain and death were everywhere—in the smoldering heaps on the ground and in those who still stood. Beyond the Rise, fire spread from tree to tree as they continued exploding under the heat of the eather. Smoke whirled through the air in thick tendrils, carrying the nearly suffocating stench of burnt wood and charred flesh. Orphine shouted as another draken crashed into the courtyard, kicking up soil and loose rock as it slid across the ground.