Chapter 28 Nerina
Nerina
Shadeau
The door swung open, and warm air spilled out, heavy with burning herbs, rotting roses, and something metallic beneath it.
Séraphine leaned against the frame, her silhouette caught in the molten glow of candlelight. Her golden-ember eye found me first. The other—black as obsidian—gleamed with an oily, unnatural light. Her smile curled slowly, balanced perfectly between welcome and warning.
“Well now,” she drawled, voice honeyed and low. “Back so soon, cher?”
Rion shifted beside me. “You two know each other?”
“I know all I need t’know.” Her gaze swept me head to toe, lingering long enough to raise the fine hairs at my nape.
Inside, the air was thick and shimmering, heat tangled with shadow. Shelves sagged under jars, bones, and talismans that seemed to twitch when I stared too long. My mark pulsed harder with every step, each throb echoing in my ears.
“Y’come for the Eye,” she said, closing the door with a soft click that seemed to lock the world outside away. The sound was final.
I crossed my arms. “Then you know I’m not leaving without it.”
Her golden eye narrowed. “Mm, non, cher. You ain’t ready t’see what it’ll show ya.”
She began to circle, slow and deliberate, each step a whisper of skirts and the faint scrape of boot leather. Her presence pressed like a clenched fist.
She hooked one lacquered nail under her lower lid, tugging it down until the orb shifted with a wet, deliberate squelch. “I carved my own eye out,” she murmured, almost fond, the words rolling slow and smooth. “Slid this Eye in the hollow so I could always see what it sees.”
My stomach rolled.
She rolled the Eye between her fingers for a moment, the black sphere glinting in the candlelight.
Séraphine’s smile returned, more dangerous now. “So tell me… what you willin’ t’lose, t’take it from me?”
“Well,” I said, voice tight. “If I don’t get that Eye, I lose everything.”
Her golden eye glinting with something between amusement and pity. “Then… you best be ready t’pay in more ways than you can count.”
Frustration flared hot in my chest. “What more could you possibly want? You already have my blood.”
Rion’s head snapped toward me, surprise flashing in his eyes. “You gave her your blood?”
“Yes,” Séraphine cut in smoothly, voice rich with satisfaction. “An’ it is truly fascinating.”
Rion stepped closer to Séraphine, his tone shifting to something smoother—almost dangerous in its charm. “Really? I think I’d like to see it.”
Her smile curved knowingly, a predator humored by the prey. “In the back.”
“Lead the way,” he said, offering a roguish grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Rion leaned in close to Séraphine, his smile all silver edges and easy charm. He said something low, something only she could hear, and she laughed—head thrown back, jeweled throat shimmering in the lamplight. The room shifted around them, her focus caught entirely in his orbit.
That was when she placed it on the counter. The Eye. Not forgotten. Left.
She chuckled low, clearly enjoying the attention, and turned toward a beaded curtain at the rear of the room. The strands clinked softly as she pushed through, candlelight catching in her hair. Rion followed like a shadow, keeping his voice low and teasing—every word meant to coil around her focus.
Rion met my eyes for a heartbeat longer than necessary—long enough for something unspoken to pass between us—then tipped his head toward the counter.
The instant her back was turned, the world narrowed to the counter. My pulse hammered so hard I thought it might shake the shelves.
I moved without thinking, fingers brushing cool glass, the weight of it a shiver in my palm.
Why would Séraphine be so careless with it if it was truly so special? My stomach knotted. Either she didn’t know what she held—or she did, and this was some cruel test.
Without a sound, I tucked it away and slipped toward the door. The city’s cool air hit me like a wave as I stepped outside, swallowing the scent of myrrh and roses with the taste of freedom.
It was almost dusk, the sky bruising into twilight. I needed to get back to the ship before the streets turned dangerous.
My thoughts snagged on Rion—this mysterious man who’d bought me food and helped me get the Eye, the one thing I so desperately needed. Now I might never see him again. Never get the chance to thank him. Never know his true intentions.
I hurried through Shadeau’s winding streets, weaving between market stalls and shadowed alleys.
Alaric would wake any moment now and realize I’d left—after making it clear he wouldn’t approve of me putting myself in harm’s way…
again. And soon, Séraphine would realize what had happened—and who knew what she might send after me.
I reached the edge of the forest that stretched between the city and the docks. Through the thinning trees, I could see the Black Marrow waiting, lanterns blooming to life along her rigging as the crew prepared for nightfall.
Relief swelled in my chest—until the hair on the back of my neck rose. I wasn’t alone.
Four of them emerged from the shadows—creatures I had no name for.
Their eyes burned crimson, locking onto me with a predator’s hunger.
Patchy fur clung to bodies half-rotted, ribs and sinew exposed like something that had clawed its way out of the grave.
Their muzzles dripped black saliva, teeth jagged and too long, glistening in the fading light.
The air around them shimmered with heat and shadow.
I didn’t know if they were Séraphine’s doing… or simply the kind of horrors that roamed Shadeau.
I was so close to the Black Marrow—but there was no way I could outrun them. I’d gotten better with my legs, but these creatures had four—and there were four of them. Sixteen legs to my two.
Fear settled in my stomach as the last threads of sunlight bled out of the sky.
My options were slim: fight them off—four of them—with a single dagger and mediocre battle skills… or try to outsmart them. Either way, it felt like it ended with my blood soaking into the forest floor.
They began to fan out, slow and deliberate, their low growls vibrating through the ground beneath my feet. My mind raced. I needed a distraction—something to pull them off me long enough to slip past.
Then I remembered: the body of the vendor Alaric had killed earlier would still be lying on the path just ahead. There weren’t exactly clean-up crews for that kind of thing here. If I could reach it, maybe the scent of blood and death would distract them.
I’d have to move fast—keep their focus on me long enough to lead them to it—then break away before they decided I looked like the fresher meal.
I forced my legs to move, slow at first—keeping their attention locked on me—before I broke into a sudden sprint toward the body. Their snarls deepened, claws tearing at the earth as they gave chase.
The metallic tang of blood grew stronger with each step until the crumpled form came into view. I skidded to the side at the last second, tossing a loose stone so it struck the corpse with a sickening thud. The head lolled, spilling a fresh trickle of blood onto the dirt.
The pack faltered, the scent hitting them like a whip crack.
One lunged for me, but the others turned toward the body, snarling and snapping at each other in a frenzy.
I used that heartbeat of chaos to dart for the tree line, lungs burning, praying the distraction would hold long enough for me to reach the Black Marrow.
It didn’t.
The frenzied snarls cut off, replaced by the thunder of claws closing in behind me. I risked a glance over my shoulder—they were on me, eyes blazing.
My foot caught on a root and I went down hard, the ground slamming the air from my chest. Dirt filled my mouth as I scrambled, but they were already circling—growling, snapping their teeth close enough that I felt the heat of them against my skin.
Fear surged icy in my veins as I curled in on myself, throwing my hands over my head. My mark blazed to life, pulsing against my skin in time with my racing heartbeat.
I forced myself to stay still—to remember every fragment of training I’d had, every word about focus and control.
Drawing in what little courage I could, I let the fear steady me, not shatter me.
And then I released it.
Magic ripped out of me in a blinding wave, searing the air with cold sweetness—luminous and strange.
The world tilted violently. My vision fractured at the edges, a ringing roar flooding my ears as my knees nearly buckled beneath me.
The force knocked the beasts back, their snarls turning to yelps as the blast hurled them into the trees, splintering bark and shaking the ground beneath us.
They lay scattered—dazed and snarling—but not defeated.
My pulse thundered in my ears as I stumbled to my feet, the mark still burning against my skin. The forest had gone unnaturally still—no insects, no wind. Only the rasp of my lungs and the distant lapping of waves against the docks.
I ran.
My legs screamed with the effort, but I didn’t dare slow. Lanternlight from the Black Marrow grew brighter through the trees, swaying gently in the salt wind. I could hear shouts now—crew voices calling out, unaware of what hunted me in the shadows.
The mark still burned—not fading, not quieting—like whatever I’d unleashed hadn’t finished with me yet.
Branches clawed at my arms, the forest closing in like it wanted to keep me. Behind me, the creatures were moving again—slower, but relentless, their growls a low, steady drumbeat of pursuit—
Until I collided with something solid, the impact folding me in half.
Strong hands caught my shoulders before I could fall. I looked up, heart hammering, and met Alaric’s shadowed face. In the dim light, his eyes burned with relief and fury, the tension in his grip making it clear he’d been out here looking for me.
His hands locked on my shoulders, pulling me behind him as his head snapped toward snapping twigs in the dark.