Page 91 of Tides of Shadows

“Nerissa, tell me what happened,” he urged, his tone both commanding and pleading. “Did he harm you?”

I wrapped myself in the blanket like a shield, feeling naked and vulnerable. I looked at him with a mixture of fear and suspicion. How did he know? How did he know someone was there?

“What are you doing here?” I asked coldly, my voice trembling but sharp as a knife.

Aidenar stepped back half a pace, as if my words had struck him.

“It’s complicated,” he said quietly. “But she… she told me he would come for you. I knew he would want to hurt you. I came as fast as I could.”

He looked at me with pain in his eyes, and I understood nothing. Who was she? How did he know what was happening in my dreams? Was it possible that I wasn’t the only one who felt the presence of this darkness?

He reached for my hand, but I pulled away sharply. Then screams came from the hallway. Louder and louder, filled with panic.

“Rats!” someone shouted. “The Plague!”

Chapter

27

“Nerissa, listen to me. I will explain everything, but not now. Palace is overrun with rats, Plague is everywhere. Take your father and servants, find a safe place and stay there. I must help at the court.”

I sat there, numb. Aidenar took a step toward me, but I recoiled once more. Pain crossed his face before he turned and left my chambers.

Mirabel entered soon after and helped me dress in my leather outfit. I rose to my feet, plunged my face into a basin of cold water, trying to wash away the grime of that dream. But I knew it would take more than water to cleanse me.

My father burst into the salon. His face was confused when he saw the shattered mirror and glass everywhere. But there was no time for questions.

“Nerissa, the palace is overrun with rats. They carry the Plague, do not go near them. There are too many. We must move to the upper floors. They’re coming from the cellars. Kael, Brenn, take her and bring her to the other Lords and Ladies.”

Everyone moved in chaos. I stood silent as Mirabel tied my hair back, then pulled me toward the stairway that led deeper into the palace. Beneath the arcades, people screamed and fled, some bore the marks of bites.

Then one of the rats lunged from the shadows. It was massive, the size of a hound, yellow teeth bared, froth dripping from its maw. It hurled itself at us. Kael swung his sword, cleaving the beast in two at the last moment.

That sight jolted me back to life. My mind cleared amidst the panic.

“No. Go without me,” I said coldly.

“My Lady, your father commanded it. You must flee!” Mirabel pleaded.

“Take Mirabel and find somewhere safe,” I ordered Brenn, no longer listening to their protests. He tried to seize my hand, but I wrenched it free.

I moved through the Inner Court, where guards and servants battled the swarm. The rats poured from beneath stones, from grates and drains, as if the underworld itself had split open. I carried only two daggers, knowing they were poor defense. I needed reach, not speed. The long sword would have served me better.

The world seemed to slow down for a moment. The air thickened with stench and screams. I realized I could not control the rats; their bodies were poisoned, their blood corrupted. And if I summoned the water from fountains, the flood might sweep away both rats and men.

They were coming from somewhere.

The catacombs.

The fifth bowl.

It had to be here, beneath the palace. I needed to find Dricus.

I ran to the Cineris quarters, but they were empty. I shouted to the guards along the way, asking after Lord Cineris.

“They’re defending the stables!” someone cried. “The rats are everywhere!”

I turned toward the stables. Panic raged through the courtyards. Then I saw it, a pack of rats chasing a young maid, just a girl. If they reached her, she would die. Just like Cedric. There was no cure.