Page 101 of The Dragon and the Dove

A gap ground open. She hurled herself underneath just as Andreas arrived, staggering through Ransom’s shadows like it was nothing but a dense fog.

He screamed her name but she didn’t look back. His fury turned to desperation so wild and thoughtless that he sent his own soldiers into death’s shadows. Over and over again. They fell in a heap, choking as their eyes turned black.

Clear of the grounds, Sera ran headlong into the blackness. It continued to yield for her, like a stream breaking around a rock.

In the distance, Ransom appeared. He ploughed towards the castle, a god of night and death and monsters, with eyes like burning coals.

He saw her and stopped. The darkness stilled. Tears streaked her face as she ran to him, hard stone turning to grass under her feet. The last time she’d seen him he was crawling to her on his hands and knees. Slipping in his own blood.

Here he stood, towering and furious, with life and rage pulsing through him like starlight. Soldiers swarmed the battlements, sending out a fleet of arrows. They skewered the ground as she ran but without the light to guide them, it was only guesswork.

He opened his arms for her, the dark billowing at his back. It had never looked so beautiful. She collapsed into his embrace. He swung her away from the next volley, putting his back between her and the castle. His breath was hot and fast against the shell of her ear. ‘Spitfire,’ he murmured. ‘I have you.’

She gripped his arms. ‘I knew you’d come.’

He slid his hands through her hair, brushing his nose against hers. ‘Death’s hand could not stop me.’

As rage simmered into relief, his shadows faltered. Exhaustion tugged at him, his eyes shedding their golden sheen.

A shriek scorched the sky.

The Strix were taking wing.

They made for the cover of the trees. Arrows whistled past, chasing their every step. Once bracketed by a thicket of branches, they stopped to gather their breath. Sera’s feet were badly cut.

Ransom knelt to inspect them, but she drew back. ‘We have to keep moving. Andreas’s soldiers will come on foot.’

He stood, ghosting his hands up her arms. ‘How did you lose him in the first place?’

‘Mistbane.’ She gestured to her torn hem. ‘I soaked a rag and shoved it into his mouth.’

His eyes glimmered with pride. ‘That gives us an advantage. I doubt he’ll be able to string more than a few words together.’

But for how long?

The sound of a snapping twig made them look up. Sera tensed, suddenly aware of how vulnerable she was in her torn nightgown, her aching feet caked in dirt and blood. ‘I need a weapon.’

‘I’m your weapon,’ he said, pulling her close.

A figure appeared through the trees.

Sera didn’t know the horse but she recognized its rider. ‘Paola?’

‘You were supposed to flee,’ said Ransom.

‘Too damn loyal for my own good,’ Paola sighed. ‘Just as well, since you’ve got a whole army on your asses. Get up here before a Strix decides to eat poor Bolt for breakfast.’

Wasting no time, Ransom gripped Sera’s waist and hoisted her onto the grey horse. She scooted forward, occupying the sliver of space in front of Paola.

He stood back. ‘Go on ahead. I’ll follow.’

‘You’ll ride with us or you’ll die in this forest,’ said Paola, patting the space behind her. ‘Bolt can bear you.’

‘We’ll lose speed.’

‘Better than losing you,’ said Sera. ‘I’m not going through that again.’

He wavered, looking back the way they’d come. Shouts reached them through the trees, the drumbeat of bootsteps drawing closer.