FOR HER, HE WILL SET EVERY KINGDOM ON FIRE.
Kyron LeFur never wanted to be king. He may have united a torn people and ended a bloody war, but none of that matters without his queen. She sacrificed her crown for him, and now he will stop at nothing t...
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Every time I've passed through Stigian's walls I've been astonished at how grand the city was—the sleek architecture, the scientific advancements, the lights, and the loud fashion. Even the single-mindedness of the reason for my first venture here couldn't over-shadow how utterly amazing it was. Stigian is unlike any place I've ever been and now, it's ruins of what it once was.
The shadows of the buildings are like decrepit skeletons against the dark velvet sky. Small storefronts stand open to the elements with smashed windows and ajar doors. The air is thick with smoke, and ash drifts down on us like snow. Bodies... so many bodies litter the streets, torn to shreds by the sharp teeth and deadly talons of our enemy. I thank the Statera for the veil of night, that shadows the gruesome scene, but it does nothing to dull the copper tang of blood.
I ride beside Kyron with Greer and Terro leading our group, and Ulric and Ashavee following behind. The same devastation I feel is written on Kyron's face. We left these people to fend for themselves. How many of them could the six of us have saved if we stayed? We didn't have a clear-cut answer. Chances are that one of us would have ended up in the pile of bodies. All we can do now is hope that the choices we made spare more lives in the end.
"It's too quiet," Terro says, his brown eyes surveying every nook and cranny we pass.
The observation goes without saying. The silence sends icy fingertips crawling up my spine, and I can practically hear the eyes lingering in the shadows watching us. Nothing may be left of this city, but those who destroyed it are lurking all around. They are waiting for that right moment to ambush us and take us to their king. Zek wouldn't pass up an opportunity to make a spectacle of our capture, to make our deaths a slow display of his power.
We weave through the streets, keeping to the narrower passages and the cover of what little structures still stand. It takes longer than it should to reach the center of Stigian, but the precautions are necessary. The shifter birds still soar above, searching for the dead to scavenge from and the living to kill.
Ashavee moves to the head of our group. Her sleek feline form makes her impossible to see when she peers around corners, and her lithe steps are undetected when she steps into open spaces before the rest of us follow. My gut turns thinking about the risk she is taking for us. The Allaji hold loyalty above all else, and she is now a traitor to their kingdom. It doesn't matter that she wants better for them, to make them a productive part of our continent. When she helped me escape, she went against their king and therefore all of her kind. If she were spotted, they would kill her on the spot.
We reach the last corner before the sanctuary comes into view. Ashavee prowls around it and just as quickly steps back while shaking her head. I glance at Kyron as he leaps down from Samson's saddle and calls forth his shadows. They surround him in an ebony cover that rivals the night sky. He doesn't look for long, jerking back to face us. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he says, "The steps of the sanctuary are crawling with shifters. They are either waiting for us to arrive or standing guard until those hiding inside are forced out due to hunger. We aren't getting in through the front doors."
