Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
LYRIANA
My feet hit the ground, and my knees buckled, my entire body shaking as I stumbled forward.
My palms slammed against the dirt floor, my skin scraping across random debris as dust flew into my eyes.
I groaned in pain, disoriented, and reached blindly around, trying to sit up, but I grabbed hold of a loose rock that only cut deeper into my palm.
I spat into the back of my hand and wiped at my eyes, desperate to see.
There wasn’t much. The terrain was filthy, and uneven, riddled with random sticks and rocks.
It seemed to go on forever, the edges of the room vanishing into shadows.
Gingerly, I shifted back on my heels, and blinked, tightening my core as I found my balance and stood.
I brandished both my dagger and sword, tight in my hands, the blades reflecting moonlight that poured in from above.
I took in my surroundings, surveying Ma’Nia’s playground.
Endless swaths of rocks were strewn across the dirt field, broken up only by a few small hills.
But that was it, no sign of the creature I knew stalked me.
There was a soft groaning above, and the ceiling began to close, returning the floor of the throne room to its original shape.
Now only a small circular opening remained above my head; right where the pool had been, casting me into an even deeper darkness.
The Afeya watching from above, peered down as they leaned over their balcony ledges.
Some of the Afeya lay on the floor of the throne room, their hands gripping the edges of the pool, their heads leaning over to watch me.
Their excitement and bloodlust, the energy of their auras pulsed with a kind of morbid curiosity that twisted my stomach.
If I died I’d be nothing more than entertainment to them.
Entertainment that they were far too eager to observe.
Because if I failed—it was nothing to them.
I’d reincarnate, I’d return. And I’d end up in this shit-hole again.
The hell I would.
I took a deep breath, and instantly regretted it, the smell was horrific. Whatever lived down here clearly had for a long time—shedding, eating, and relieving itself.
A smoky snarling erupted in the shadows. I went still, barely daring or wanting to breathe, and turned slowly, tuning out the throne room’s cheers and applause.
The snarl came again. Foreign, monstrous, and deadly. It wasn’t human or Afeyan. And it wasn’t an akadim either. I didn’t get the feeling I had when near them. Whatever was down here, this was something else. Something I’d never encountered before.
The knot in my stomach tightened.
“Behold,” Queen Ma’Nia shouted. “Goddess Asherah, Guardian of the Valalumir has been reborn. Once a great warrior and Arkturion of old—let’s see how she faces off today against one of her lost, ancient foes.”
I turned again, searching desperately for my opponent.
I didn’t like this. Not knowing, not seeing.
And I didn’t like being so damn exposed.
There was nowhere to hide, nothing to use to my advantage aside from the weapons on my body.
I couldn’t use the terrain in my favor, or climb to higher ground, or use anything beyond a small rock as a weapon if needed.
The cheers and applause suddenly shifted to encouragement. But not for me. They were urging the creature to come out, taunting it to attack.
And it seemed to listen. It snarled again, the sound low and vicious.
I still couldn’t see it. But I knew it had moved closer to me.
Its scent of decay had grown stronger. I nearly gagged as I tried to identify the stench, to recall the sound of its snarl.
But nothing I’d faced or read about came to mind.
Pulse quickening, I turned again, feeling the distinct sensation of being watched in secret, of eyes set upon me.
An answering sniff in the air told me that the creature was now scenting me out.
Fuck.
But a minute passed, and still there was no attack. No sight of my foe.
“What is this?” I yelled. I was losing patience, my fear growing with anticipation of its reveal. If this thing was going to play and hide and seek with me, the least Queen Ma’Nia could do was tell me what the hell it was.
Fresh laughter filled the throne room, the sound echoing in my playground. But through the noise, Auriel was shouting, desperately calling my name, trying to tell me something, trying to warn me.
“What is this?” the Queen mocked. “You mean to tell me you still don’t know? The smell hasn’t brought you back? Your memories are weaker than I thought.” She laughed. “You haven’t read Auriel’s Valya, have you?”
“Haven’t exactly had the time,” I snapped, my fingers tightening around my weapons.
“Lyriana!” Auriel called out. He said something, a word in High Lumerian that I didn’t recognize.
Someone screamed over him as he tried again.
But the beast’s snarl had me snapping my head, searching for it in the dark.
I could tell that the snarl had come from the same place as before, the beast hadn’t moved—but this time, it sounded completely different.
More of a growl, but not from any animal I’d ever heard—not even the one I’d just heard.
Maybe animal wasn’t the right way to describe it.
It was more like scraping bones together.
I shivered as I stepped in the direction of the noise, sweat beading my forehead, and lifted my sword.
A gate creaked, my hand trembled. This was it. The thing had been inside a cage. That was why I hadn’t seen it yet. That’s why it hadn’t charged. So Ma’Nia could fucking taunt me.
Metal cranked against metal as it lifted, and rolled back, causing the chinking chains to echo in the dark.
Steady. Steady. I repeated the words like a mantra.
Whatever was behind the gate, it was going to charge— before I could even see it. I had to be ready to fight. And whatever came into view, I had to face it. For Rhyan.
And just like that, I felt him. Whether it was his soul somehow reaching out from the void, or my imagination, it didn’t matter. A cool calm aura washed over me. The sensation of being snuggled up beneath blankets, held tight against a warm body. Rhyan’s hand on my belly. His lips against my ear.
Partner.
The sensation vanished, and the shadow came towards me.
The snarls came again. There were two of them, sounding off simultaneously. In the darkness, two sets of eyes appeared. Two yellow eyes. Two white.
Two sets of eyes … two snarls … Had another joined? Had it been waiting in the cage behind the other?
My stomach turned. And then the beast came into view under the light of the moon. Just one beast.
I moved back on instinct, my eyes widening as I bit back a horrified scream.
It was seven or eight feet tall, the same height as an akadim.
Its body was equally wide, and covered in gray fur.
At first glance, it looked like a giant fucking wolf.
But instead of a fluffy tail, there was a nahashim, stretching and shrinking with each breath the beast took.
Its scaly body curled and then extended into a violent thrust, its head shifting forward, fangs glistening before it hissed right at me.
But that wasn’t what had created the second sound.
The one that sounded like bones. Whatever this thing was, it had two heads.
Two fucking heads! They were squished together, like they were both trying to occupy its neck at the same time.
One was a kind of wolf, with cruel yellow eyes, long sharp fangs protruding from its opened mouth.
Two white horns, reminiscent of a bull, but sharpened at the tips, poked out of its temples.
The second head was the one that sounded like bones.
And now I knew why. It was the skull of a wolf.
It had matching horns, like it was the other’s twin, just lacking muscles, skin, and fur.
And though this skeleton head looked and smelled like it had been dead for ages, its glowing white eyes told me that it was very much alive.
“Does this bring back memories for you yet?” the Queen asked. “Memories of another life? Do you recall the last time you faced a chimera?”
A chimera? That’s what this abomination was?
That’s what Auriel was trying to say.
I’d never heard the term before. Never learned it in any of my studies. But as I tested the word in my mouth, something began to tickle the back of my mind.
A flash of memory. A knowing. I had seen this monster before. Auriel had been right to worry. With two heads, and a nahashim for a tail, it was going to be impossible to kill.
Both heads opened their mouths to howl. Their yellow and white eyes set on me as its front paws, full of elongated, sharpened claws pawed the ground. The chimera was preparing to attack, acting more bull than wolf. It made a huffing sound that ended in a vicious growl. And then, it charged.
I dodged rolling onto the ground out of the way before jumping back to my feet. I didn’t know where to strike or how to defeat this thing. Was the skull head always there? Or had its original head been slain, and replaced by that abomination?
I looked behind me, trying desperately to better understand the lay of the land. If I could figure out how far back her playground went, I could use it to my advantage. I could build up momentum when needed, and use the wall in my favor—just like I used the bindings in habibellums.
The hiss of the nahashim had me tracking its movement more clearly, but uneasily. I still remembered how venomous its bite had been. How paralyzing. The power of its squeeze. Forget the two heads. I could be paralyzed and unconscious within minutes from one snake bite.
Dead.
I ran back, hearing its snarls turn into a haunting, echoing howl that left me chilled to the bone.