Torin froze and stared across the boardwalk. About a hundred yards away, Ferius stared back and smiled—the smile a snake gives a mouse. The city gatehouse rose across the wide, cobbled boardwalk. Torin stood upon a stone pier that stretched into the...
He moaned, head lowered. If not for the chains that held up his arms, running from his wrists to the ceiling, he'd have collapsed. "Tilla," he whispered through cracked lips. "Please." She had not wanted it to come to this. Why wouldn't he just speak the words? Why wouldn'...
"There's only one challenge left to face." She swallowed and shuddered. "But it's the most horrible, terrifying enemy of all." She clutched Neev's hand and squeezed it. She hated this part of the journey. Hated it. She was tempted to turn back and run to Earth. "What is it, Romy?" Neev asked. He ...
Alina fell, banging her knees against the dirt floor. She coughed, her robes tangling around her, the ropes chafing her wrists and ankles. At her side, Dorvin and Maev thumped down into the dirt, their limbs tied with thick ropes. The chamber was dark; only a small hole in the ceiling let in a be...
The rest of her quartet walked around her, forming a protective ring. Tam especially was fuming, his face red, his fists clenched at his sides. "My father will hear of this," he said, barking out the words, as they moved down the columned corridor. "Who does that Atratus think he is? My parents d...
Bailey had spent the past few hours cursing, spitting, and grumbling about Ferius, about the fools who followed him, and—just as vigorously—about how slow Torin walked. Standing here, the wind in her hair, she gasped and her eyes dampened. She reached out and held Torin's hand. "Look," she whispe...
The flames rose everywhere. Houses, shops, trees—they all blazed. Tilla flew, eyes stinging, the smoke swirling around her. Blood spilled. Dragons burned and fell dead. Soldiers ran, swinging swords, and explosions tore through alleyways, ripping men apart. Streets cracked. Buildings tumbled. Wal...