Adria: A Sarah J Maas Fancfic

Chapter Eight

I whirled to Tarquin. "What?" I exclaimed. "You two know each other?"

"What are you doing here Cassian - and what do you want with Adria?" Tarquin demanded.

"Now is not the time for this Adria." Cassian said "We need to go. Please."

The "please" made me hesitate, but I still backed out of his reach. "Not until you say why. I'm not going to let you tuck me away inside of your safe little paradise again Cassian!"

"Adria you don't understand we need to leave. Immediately." He pleaded. Staring into his eyes, I noticed that behind the rage and fury, there was a touch of fear. Suddenly, a weird feeling entered my body.

"What are you guys talking about? Adria, you were trapped somewhere?" Tarquin turned to me, his eyes wide.

"Yes - and I'm never going back there again."

"You don't understand." Cassian seethed. "There is no dome to go back to. And we have to go." He reached for my arms, but I spun away from his grasp.

"What do you mean, there is no dome?"

"I mean you shattered it Adria - It's gone." My eyes widened in disbelief. I couldn't have done that... right? "Adria, they're coming after you. I don't know what happened, but after you shattered the barrier, it awakened something. Something evil."

"What was awakened?" I asked, my stomach sinking.

"The Skoteina."

"What the fuck?" Tarquin said in horror. "They haven't been alive for centuries."

"Look, I'll explain everything, but we need to get somewhere safe."

"We can go to my kingdom." Tarquin offered. "You know that we have some of the best spell weavers in all Prythian, it'll be nearly impossible for anyone to break the wards."

"You'd think." Cassian said, gazing at me. "Let's go - now. Tarquin, you're flying with me."

"Wait." He halted. "Where's Finnigan?"

"Don't worry, she's hidden. We'll get her on the way."

He thrust out his magnificent wings and launched into the sky, with Tarquin hanging onto him.

I raised my wings and prepared to fly. I shot into the sky, gliding on a thin breeze that seemed to appear out of nowhere. I couldn't believe this was happening, everything seemed have to shattered in a matter of seconds. And besides, was it even possible for me to shatter the barrier? That should have been -

The hairs on the back of my neck raised. I instantly whirled around and began scanning the ground. I didn't see - there. A dark shadow.

It darted in and out of the trees so quickly, I wasn't even sure I saw it. I could barely track its movements. I saw a flash in the corner of my eye and there was another one, on the complete opposite end of the forest. And another one. They kept multiplying until there were at least half a dozen darting through the shadows.

Shit. Are these the Skoteina? Why are they after me of all people? I kept my eyes on them, afraid to look away. Suddenly, one appeared on the cliff that Tarquin had dove off of earlier.

Gazing at this one, I realized it was different.

It had a slightly narrower build, but it seems more... solid than all the others. It grabbed something from behind its back, which appeared to be a bow made of swirling shadows. It reached for an arrow, the tip of it glinting silver in the sunlight.