A City of Flame and Scales

2

Astraia bit down her scream and curled farther into the shadows, choking on the sob that tried to claw its way from her throat as she pressed her shaking hands into the cloth of her nightgown. Oh, Mother save her—that voice alone, so deep and rough, reminded her of rocks being rubbed together...

"I won't harm you," the voice came again. His shadow rippled across the floor as he took a step forward, and Astraia flinched—not that he could see. Around her, the darkness seethed, as if knowing it could do nothing to protect her from whoever waited behind that door. "If I had any intention to hurt you, I would have left you for the Nidhogg to eat."

A Nidhogg? What a dumb name—Astraia regretted the thought as soon as it came to her. What good would insulting that thing's title be? Maybe the Nidhogg was under this male's control, and he'd merely commanded it to leave her be so he could bring her here to do...to do what with her?

"What is your name?"

Again, she shuddered and said nothing. Why wasn't he storming into the closet and dragging her out by her ankles? Unless...if he'd brought her here, that meant he had information on how he'd gotten her here. And where her mother was. And why she smelled like Death—

The male muttered something that sounded like a curse—she didn't recognize the words, but she knew that tone as the same one Cassian used to grumble foul language when her mother wasn't around—and asked, "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Of course she could—she was lost, not stupid. "Yes," she snapped, before common sense could keep her mouth shut. The regret flooded through her, hot and thick with shame and horror, sweeping within her veins. The darkness around her tensed as the male inched forward—he had appeared on the edges of the crack now, and she could just make out the hulking figure of...Mother almighty, he was huge. He was even bigger than Cassian, and Cassian was the biggest male she'd ever seen—

The whimper that escaped her was perfectly justified.

Instantly, the male paused. "Like I said," he reminded her in that rumbling voice, "I have no desire to hurt you. Would you...do me the favor of coming out?" A shoddy attempt at politeness—his voice alone suggested he was a stranger to court finery.

And no, she certainly did not want to come out, regardless of what he claimed about not wanting to hurt her. Astraia kept her mouth shut, which was definitely the wisest thing she'd done since she'd woken up in that bed.

The male huffed a sigh. "If you're going to be stubborn, you should let me know now—I have a million things to do besides entertain a girl who would rather hide in the shadows than thank the one who saved her from an unpleasant death."

Astraia winced, curling her arms around her legs as she huddled in the corner of the empty closet and waited for him to tire of her. Save her from an unpleasant death...but he hadn't, had he? At least, not from the first one.

Rhysand.

The name pounded through her as if it was the only thing keeping her heart beating.

Cassian.

Azriel.

Mor.

Her family.

And, finally, her mother. Her mother who...something had happened to her. The dream had been a memory, and something about it made her chest feel heavy, as if there was something she was missing. She had to be missing something, because if she'd died...

Tear tracks stained her cheeks. The shadow waiting for her shifted—the male must have turned away. "I'm not introducing myself until you come out," he said, the growl to his voice now returned. "But if you need sleep...you'll be safe."