Empress of the Embodied (The Nyxteria #3)

Prologue

KELLAN

Kellan – Beyond the Gate of the World

Lyvia’s scream cut through every bone in my body, her horror-stricken face seared across my mind as the glowing spear ripped me away from the Vael Lacrima. Snarls and howls rose in a cacophony of terror as the Embodied tore me back, the air binding me to her beginning to slip.

Pain erupted in my chest as the jagged hooks of the spear sliced into my abdomen, my skin and muscle ripping and spilling the soft flesh beneath.

A blinding agony detonated through my physical body, but it was nothing compared to the panic that arrived as the deepest part of me grappled for the air oath, unable to reach it.

The tunnel of darkness we fell through disappeared as soon as it arrived. My vision somersaulted between the twisting faces of the Embodied and a violet sky of stars. A single silver moon hovered in the distance.

Unanswered questions ricocheted in my mind. An overwhelming sense of regret and loss punched through me as my time with her was cut short. Rage pounced at the realization, and my body struggled weakly against the goddesses holding me in an iron grip of power.

Ganmira and Renova’s teeth lengthened as they raked their talons over my body, slicing through my scarred skin and muscle…

butchering me as we fell. The sickening squelch of my shredding flesh melded with the snarls slipping through the Embodieds’ lips.

Blood leaked from the wounds as they slashed, and a quiet numbness began to spread through me.

Hot pain slid into foggy aches… Shock. My body was going into shock…

My mind ebbed. My vision blurred as the end neared. No… I grappled for her connection as my life began to slip away. I should have told her…

A dark ocean spread below us, and a rocky island appeared in the distance.

Stars shot across the darkening sky, leaving trails of light in their wake.

My body became lighter, my pulse slower.

The goddesses removed their fangs from my neck and paused before they turned their wrath on each other.

The buffeting wind ripped their howls away as they screamed.

Blood clogged my throat, but I breathed in the fresh scent of this world, the purity of the wind anchoring me, reminding me…

I am not alone…

My eyes closed as the precious oath slipped from my fingers, and a single, hopeful thought materialized… before it all ended.