Plagued by nightmares of her father's imprisonment and Kellan's disappearance, Wren enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth.
But can she be honest with herself? Promised in marriage, she faces the toughest decision of her life--which gu...
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When Stephen turned in my direction, his grey cloak swung around him. With his hand open, he held out his arm as if asking the guard to wait a moment. The dim light sparkled off the gold ring stuffed on his index finger.
"Send in my hounds," he instructed.
The guard nodded, stuck two fingers in his mouth, and let loose a high-pitched whistle.
The distant barking got louder as I held my tremoring hand to my chest. Their yowls sent chills through me, and with the sneer gracing Stephan's face, something told me they weren't like any dog I'd seen before.
A moment later, two massive creatures, panting and howling, rounded the corner. The bigger one had to be at least three-feet high at its shoulders. Neither of the ugly beasts had any fur and reminded me of a creepy hairless cat with its pink skin. The smaller dog sniffed the air, then snapped its attention to the exact spot where I stood. Its eyes glowed a soft purple, and through its growling lips, drool poured from its razor-sharp teeth.
Stephen sauntered over to the guard, taking both dog's leashes in his hand. "Excited to get some exercise, my pets?" He patted the head of the larger one, while the second tugged at the leash with its freaky eyes locked on me.
I pulled all the way onto the astral plane and edged over to the hallway leading to the treasury.
Through snarling teeth, Fido's gaze tracked me while I walked. Its drool pooled on the floor at Stephen's feet.
I shuttered. They shouldn't be able to see me on this plane—but clearly, they could. No way I was going to find out why while I hung out here and waited for Kellan.
I backed up down the hallway toward the treasury. Kellan?
Both dogs pulled at the leash growling, jerking Stephan's arm. On the astral plane, the creatures had horns like a bull and a blood-red aura surrounding them. Stephan chuckled while reaching for the clasp on the smaller one's collar.
My feet pressed into the stone floor, sprinting down the cavern.
He raised his voice and said, "Go get them, Mixie."
Skidding around the corner at the far end of the hall, I screamed when the first dog launched into the air in pursuit. I tore past the lit sconces bolted to the walls.
Their barking filled the space, getting louder with each step I took. They were close, but I didn't dare look back. With my breath ragged and my heart pounding, I dropped back on the physical plane in a full run. Ahead the ground turned into ice and formed a bridge, spanning a gorge.
I sucked in a deep breath and called to the flames within me. Heat cycled my leg and tore through my core until I tasted ash. A burst of fire shot from my fingertips. A dog yelped. Only ten more feet to the bridge, four, three, two. I pushed off the stone floor and leaped onto the ice. The heat continued to build in my muscles, and my feet slid over the crest of the bridge. When the flames felt like they would pierce my skin, I released a firebomb behind me. I jumped and spun around mid-air.
