The Warrior King (Inferno Rising) by Owen, Abigail (reading a book txt) 📕

Shock protected her from what she was seeing, separating her from the moment so it almost seemed to be happening to someone else. Her mind trying to make sense of it. She’d only just found him. He couldn’t already be gone—

It hit her on a wave of nausea, and she pitched forward, hands on her knees, breathing hard. Her heart tore apart to shreds. Dragon talons would be less devastating. Then her empathic shields failed her in the face of her own devastation, the rage and hatred of Tyrek’s murderer beating at her, leaving her insides bruised and bloodied.

No. No. No. No! The words screamed in her head.

Then, suddenly, a wave of…resolution. From Tyrek. His white-blue gaze turning milky, her uncle had enough life in his body to mouth one word to her. “Run.”

Somehow, cutting through the explosion of emotions rioting in her, all those years of her mother’s training kicked in.

Her uncle slumped forward, and Meira jumped from the foot of the bed at the mirror on the dresser across the room, igniting her flames. She jumped through the reflective surface headfirst, tumbling off the console that sat in front of the wall of screens in the room where she’d talked to Kasia, the only other place with a reflective surface inside this mountain that she could think of on short notice.

A taloned hand followed her through the massive black monitor, and she shut off her fire with a yelp, even as she scrambled back on the floor. The second the reflection changed to normal, the hand reaching through was severed, dropping to the floor between her feet and twitching there as it returned to human shape.

“What the fuck?”

Meira tipped her head back to find Aidan looming over her, blue eyes a blaze of light in his dark face.

“Meira?” Sera, standing beside him, shook out of a stupor and squatted down. “What happened?”

She sucked in a shuddering breath. “Tyrek is…” Oh my gods. Her heart clenched so hard she couldn’t breathe. “Dead. He’s dead.” He’s dead hit a loop in her head until Sera took her by the shoulders and squeezed.

Meira sucked oxygen sharply in through her nose. “They’re inside the mountain.” Whoever the hell “they” were. “They’ve come for me.”

Rather than ask questions, Aidan immediately turned to a console, one with a microphone. He hit a button. “Level one attack.” That’s all he said.

“Oh God, Blake,” Sera choked, her gaze shooting to her mate.

“We’ll get him,” Aidan assured her, mouth grim. Then he keyed in a few strokes and every monitor in the room started going black, each giving a pop as the computer attached shut itself down. Aidan grabbed Meira by the wrist and yanked her to her feet. “We have to run. Now.”

Run? The word held no meaning. Shock was starting to creep back in on her, Tyrek’s face swimming in front of her eyes. Where was Samael? Only she couldn’t think about him or she’d start to hyperventilate. What would he do right now?

No. What should I do right now?

That resolution from only moments ago, her own this time rather than Tyrek’s, filled her up and she yanked against Aidan’s hold. “Wait. I can help. Where will everyone gather?”

Aidan’s brows snapped low in a glower of impatience, but Sera put a hand on his arm and answered. “A new chamber we can access through a few different means, each with a keypad set to our handprints.”

“Is there a mirror in there? Anything reflective?”

Aidan cocked his head and glanced over her shoulder at the hand still on the floor. “No, but there’s a natural pond in the cavern. It’s like glass.”

“That’ll work.” It had once when she’d rescued Skylar, at least. “Bring one of the bigger screens with us.”

“Why?”

She shook her head. “No time. We’ll get Blake first.”

At the mention of his son’s name, Aidan went into a mode she could only describe as unemotionally set, so like Sam. “Do it,” he said, and yanked a monitor off the wall as though plucking the head off a daisy.

Immediately Meira lit her fire. “Describe where he’d be,” she said.

Sera, surprisingly calm, as though they’d practiced for a moment like this, or had already lived through other moments like this, did so quickly. “Our bedroom, not far from Tyrek’s. He knows to stay put in an emergency and hide.”

“Is this it?” She brought the image up on the screen.

“No. One more down.”

In an instant she had it. “Go through.”

Without question, they stepped inside, and she followed.

“Blake,” Sera yelled.

“Mama!” Immediately the patter of small feet sounded before Blake appeared in the bedroom from wherever he’d been hiding. Sera caught him up to her.

“Let’s go,” Meira said, not sure how long she was going to hold out. Luckily, she had enough to get them into the chamber safely.

Walking through the screen into the pond was like being submerged in a pool sideways and immediately being immersed in pitch-blackness. Luckily the cavern pond was shallow and all she had to do was maneuver to her knees, Sera, Aidan, and Blake right there with her. Blake must’ve gotten water up his nose, his coughs echoing off the rock and water.

Feeling their way carefully, they stumbled out of the water, no doubt disturbing the glassy surface, which meant she’d have to wait for it to settle to use it again. Which was why she’d asked Aidan to bring the screen.

Meira lit her fire again, giving them enough light to see by. Immediately Sera reached for her, but stopped when Meira stepped back, not wanting to risk anything.

“Thank you,” she said, holding up both hands.

Aidan also gave her a nod of thanks.

“Of course.” Now for the others.

Soaked and shivering with the natural coolness of the cavern against her wet skin and clothes, Meira ignored the discomfort. Her fire would dry and warm her quickly. A glance around the room showed they were the first to get there. “Prop that against the wall. I need more light.”

Without question, Aidan did as she asked, and Sera