Page 20 of The Faceless Queen

He brushed a loose curl behind my ear. “What is this power you possess over me?”

I stood up on my toes, angling my face to his. “Kiss me, and you’ll find out.”

There was a crashing sound from downstairs, a loud boom I knew had to have come from the tavern’s entrance. But it didn’t sound like the door had been opened—it sounded like it had been barreled down.

The tavern shook, the walls of my bedroom rumbling. Brennan stumbled forward, and I caught him in my arms as the flames I’d stoked in the fireplace went out.

I’d been so focused on Brennan, I hadn’t noticed the robins outside my window, the ones that had chirped each night of the spring season, had gone silent.

Something twisted low in my belly, and my breath came in quick, short gasps, my body recognizing what was happening before my mind did. The robins had been acting strange the night before, too. Like they’d sensed something coming, something dangerous.

And then a scream of terror pierced through the walls, followed by another, and another even louder.

Finlay’s voice called out, his distinct yell rising above the others, carrying up the stairs and into my bedroom.

One word. The only one I never wanted to hear again. The one I’d learned to fear as a girl, the one that had haunted me since my exile.

Geoffrey’s Tavern was under attack by the most dangerous monsters in Eskalon. The ones that terrified even the witches. The ones in my nightmares. Nothing was more feared by women and men alike than these creatures.

Brennan paled, his green eyes widening as he whispered the source of my worst nightmare to me. “Chimera.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Terror ran through my veins, turning my blood to ice.

Chimera. Chimera.

“What the hell are they doing here?” I asked. My heart was thundering, and a pit had burrowed low into my belly. “How?”

Most of Eskalon lay beyond tall mountains and was bordered by dense woodlands—all landscapes chimera hated and avoided. The natural barriers acted almost like walls, making attacks on the towns and city incredibly rare. In fact, a chimera attack was rare across the entire country of Eskalon.

Though the same couldn’t be said of my country. Azeal was on the edge of the wildlands where they roamed free.

Brennan shook his head, his brows furrowed together. “I don’t—I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. They’re here.” There was a crash below us. His face paled. “From the sound of it, they’re already inside the tavern.” His body remained pressed against mine, while my arms were still wrapped tightly around him.

For a second, I felt like I was just a little girl again, hearing the monsters yell and snarl in the wilds beyond Azeal. Being told to stay still and hide by my mother until they passed, being warned by the guards not to go outside until they were killed.

At that moment, I held onto Brennan like he was my anchor. Like he could keep me from drowning in total panic. And something in the way he held me back told me that I was doing the same for him. That no matter how different we were, or how little we knew about each other, we were still both mortal, and alive. We both felt the same primal fear. Had the same need to survive. Because we’d all grown up in a world terrorized by these monsters.

The screams below us grew louder, the voices more panicked before they erupted into screeches of pain. There was a violent crash, followed by the sound of glass shattering amidst a chimera’s bone-rattling howl. Hoarse and deep. Deadly. A sound I knew well. This wasn’t just any chimera attacking. Only one kind could howl like that.

Fresh shivers of fear broke out across my body as I recalled something that had been locked away in my memories.

“It’s an adult,” I said, my hands gripping Brennan even more desperately. “It’s at its full strength.”

“An adult! Are you sure?” he asked.

I nodded, wishing I was wrong, wishing we could go back to a moment ago, to where it was just him, and just me, our lips a breath apart.

The muscles in his jaw tightened. But with one nod, I knew he believed me, trusted me. He pulled back, just enough to regain his balance, and our bodies separated. All at once, I felt the loss of his warmth, the comfort of his weight against mine. But his hands cupped my face, his eyes frantically searching mine.

“How do you know that?” he asked.

My throat tightened. I looked away. “Because I faced one. Once.” My voice shook. “Years ago.” Seven years ago. I’d never forget the sound it made. Nor could I forget my mother’s final gasp of breath. The sounds were tied together for me. They always would be.

So was my final touch of her skin, our last hug, the final feel of her arms around me. The last time she was alive.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”