Page 76 of By the Flames of Her Fury

The skeleton reared its hand back and clawed her down the arm, leaving deep red gouge marks in its tracks. She screamed and stumbled backward. I tried to get to her, but the one chasing me raised its spear. The scent of moldy dirt and dust crashed into me. Its mouth opened wide, jaw unhinging with a clicking sound.

I blocked its blow with my own sword, but it was too strong for me. It pushed hard and forced my arms back into my chest, making me drop my sword. Clenching my jaw, I brought my fist back and bashed it into its face. Pain radiated up my knuckles. Its skull snapped sideways, then slowly turned back to me, jaw hanging loose.

I could’ve sworn it smiled.

It raised the spear to my neck, but I brought my arm up to block it. The tip of the spear cut into my skin with a sting. I cursed as drops of blood splattered to the ground.

All of a sudden, the skeleton went rigid. Its spine straightened as it backed away and held its spear at its side, staring at me with soulless gold eyes.

I blinked. “Okay, what⁠—”

Around me, the rest of the skeletons mimicked its actions. They stopped fighting and stood at attention. As one, they turned to face me.

And they bowed.

36

Vera

“Care to explain what’s happening here, Vera?” Tessa asked warily.

“I have no idea.” Holding my breath, I carefully slid away from the skeleton in front of me. When he made no move to attack, I shuffled the rest of the way to where Odessa knelt over Kieran. He was unconscious, but still breathing. Odessa cradled her injured arm to her chest and tried to stem the bloodflow. Everett unlatched his sling and, with one arm, pulled his white tunic over his head.

I was so unprepared for the motion, I couldn’t stop my mouth from falling open. The fabric peeled off his toned, dark arms. His muscles flexed, still damp from the ocean, and a sprinkling of black hair trailed down his hard chest, disappearing into the cut of his hip bones.

But that wasn’t the only thing that caught my eye. Over his heart was a tattoo of a bird. Delicate black wings stretched to his collar, with a pointed beak opened upward as if in song.

My chest tightened. He didn’t have that tattoo last time I saw him. I was frozen, my gaze locked on the ink. It wasn’t until Tessa nudged me that I shut my mouth with a click. Everett hastily wrapped his shirt around Odessa’s injured arm, then knelt to check on Kieran.

“What are we supposed to do about these things?” Starke asked, brandishing an arm toward the skeletons. They all stood facing me, unmoving.

“Why don’t I just ask them?” When I took a step forward, they shifted in unison to follow. “Umm…” I paused, swallowing. “Who are you?”

“We are the guardians.”

I jolted at the voice—no, voices. It sounded like a multitude of deep, gravelly voices speaking all at once, rumbling off the cave walls.

“Okay,” I said slowly. “And why are you here?”

“To serve the Fates.”

I pursed my lips. “Well, that’s great. How do we get out of this cave?” I asked them, taking a step toward the hole we fell through.

The two skeletons nearest me instantly reacted. They held their spears in midair, crossing each other to form an X. I came to an abrupt halt.

“You cannot leave this place.”

“Why not?”

“No one may leave once they have entered the flame.”

That humming sound was back. “The flame? As in, the lost kingdom?” I asked eagerly. “Does that mean we’ve found it?”

“You cannot leave this place,” they repeated.

My head jerked around, searching the cave walls. “We’re close,” I said, mostly to myself. “The entrance must be here somewhere.”

“What about where we found them?” Tessa suggested. “They were all in front of that wall. Maybe they were guarding it.”