My heart lurched into my throat, Time’s shout echoing off the chasm walls as I plummeted.
The shadows below twisted and churned, reaching for me with long, inky tendrils. At their base sat a cloud of pitch-black fog, thick and seething, making the hairs on my neck stand on end.
They writhed, waiting. The closer I fell, the deeper the pit of dread in my stomach grew.
Whatever those things were, they were bad news. And instinct screamed that I could not—under any circumstances—let them touch me.
Easier said than done.
Only a handful of yards remained between us, my heart hammering with every inch lost. Then, through the panic, a voice rang out.
“Nikolas!”
I jerked my head upward, just in time to see Dominicus streaking toward me, wings unfurled in a sharp dive, his hand reaching.
Relief crashed against the terror surging through me, and I reached back, exhaling a shuddering breath when his fingers locked around mine.
With a powerful beat of his wings, he yanked me to his side and veered upward, dragging us away from the abyss.
The tendrils followed.
They lashed up, stretching impossibly long, one of them whipping at his wing. He hissed, twisting sideways as another shot past. Our ascent slowed as he focused on dodging, dipping and rolling to avoid the grasping shadows that clawed for his wings.
I freed one arm and swung my staff at the nearest tendril, exhaling in relief when it dispersed.
It reappeared a heartbeat later, writhing wildly—agitated.
“Tenacious things, aren’t they?” Dominicus grunted, diving sharply to avoid another strike.
I clamped an arm around him, striking at the ones within reach. “Without a doubt. What are the odds you can fly us back up like this?”
His jaw tightened as he threw us left to dodge another tendril. “Low. I’m barely reacting in time to dodge them, and I need focus to ascend properly.”
Perfect.
Before I could come up with a plan, the tendrils below froze in eerie unison. A heavy silence followed, and dread settled like a stone in my gut.
“Dominicus?”
He didn’t answer immediately, his brow furrowed as he stared down.
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Then I saw it.
The shadows convulsed, pooling into a vast, undulating mass. A sea of darkness.
“Fly.”
He didn’t hesitate. Tightening his grip on me, he surged upward.
The shadows shuddered—then rose.
A wave of solid black, thick as a tree trunk, surged toward us. Slower than the tendrils, but massive.
The ledge was close. Just a little farther and—
Darkness twisted like a thorned vine, lunging higher.
I barely had time to curse before it struck, slamming into Dominicus’s right wing.
Weightlessness returned as his wings crumpled. The impact rattled my bones, and before he could recover, the shadows surged again, closing in above and below.
Trapped.
I gripped Dominicus tighter, mind racing.
Think, Nikolas! There has to be a way out of this!
I could disperse the shadows with my staff, but not all at once.
…Or could I?
The darkness heaved, closing in.
I made my decision.
“Throw us down!”
Dominicus jolted, staring like I’d lost my mind.
Maybe I had. This could go horribly wrong.
But we didn’t have another choice.
“Nikolas—”
“Just do it!” I snapped.
He hesitated for only a breath—then obeyed, yanking me close as he hurled us downward.
Adrenaline roared in my veins. The wave hesitated, as if startled, or perhaps deeming pursuit unnecessary.
Good.
I stretched my staff downward, pouring mana into it, shaping the spell in my mind.
“Bramble’s Embrace!”
The spell was meant to entangle enemies, but if I could just modify it—
Thorned tendrils erupted from the ground, tearing through the shadows in a violent arc, spinning and slicing apart the abyss beneath us. A perfect, cleared circle appeared in their wake.
“There! Land there!”
Dominicus didn’t argue. He twisted, throwing us into the opening.
The landing was rough, the impact jolting through my bones, but there was no time to dwell on it.
I shoved Dominicus under me, raised my staff, and willed the thorns to curl around us like a twisting dome.
The shadows recoiled, hovering just beyond our protective cocoon. They couldn’t get in.
I slumped, shaking from head to toe, laughter bubbling past my lips. “Fucking hell, I didn’t think that would work.”
The shadows had been solid. If they were more ethereal, they might have slipped through the thorns.
But they hadn’t.
I’d take the win.
Dominicus furled his wings with a grimace, rubbing at the one that had been struck. He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re mad. Completely insane.”
I grinned, dropping onto my back beside him. “Insanity is just genius under a more eccentric name.” Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I added, “Thanks for jumping after me. Let’s hope this doesn’t end in both our deaths.”
Our odds weren’t looking great.
But I’d figure something out.
I always did.