Page 55 of Lady of Starfire

“What?” Scarlett demanded, but she was already gone among ashes.

Kailia moved fast. As fast as Rayner had when he had ripped organs from bodies on the ship. The floating beings tried to ignore her.

Until they couldn’t anymore.

She appeared in the thick of them, stabbing an arrow into the skull of one before yanking it free and firing it from her bow at another. One reached for her, and she dropped to the ground, disappearing into ashes. The rumble of frustration from the beings shook the earth beneath Scarlett’s feet. She blinked, and another arrow whizzed past her face, sinking into the skull of a being several yards to her right. Three others skirted around it, white eyes fixed on her.

Kailia could have at least given her a couple of those damned arrows. She stooped down, swiping up the arrowhead left behind from the first being. The one that had cut her with his blade.

And what exactly was going to happen because of that?

And wait. Where the fuck was Cethin? He let Kailia come out here and fight these things alone?

Scarlett rolled her shoulders, stretching her neck. Then she raised her sword to meet a golden blade, shoving back against it. The being bared his teeth in a snarl, fangs like a Night Child appearing as it pressed forward. Her arm buckled under its strength, but as he lunged for her throat, her other hand came up. She plunged the arrowhead into its skull. His mouth fell open, his wail piercing the air, mixing with the cries of the ones Kailia was slaughtering.

A hand gripped her tunic, yanking her back. How could they grasp her when her sword slid right through them? She managed to keep her hold on the arrowhead as she was tossed to the ground, her spine screaming at the impact, and the air whooshing from her lungs. Two of the creatures stood over her. They all looked exactly the same. There was no differentiating between them. A third joined them, all of them inhaling deeply.

“Blood of death,” one murmured.

“The same, yet different,” another added.

One brought the tip of his sword to her chin, tilting her head to examine the cut along her throat. She tried to raise her own weapon, but something was wrong. The movement was sluggish. Her arm was too heavy. Her entire body was too heavy. Her movements were all in slow motion. The figures were blurring, shimmering on the edges. She blinked, trying to clear her vision.

A swirl of ashes had Kailia appearing near her head. She held two arrows, thrusting out with both hands into the heads of two of the beings. Scarlett blinked again, and she’d pulled her bow from her back, both arrows on the string aimed at the third who had backed away, hissing at her.

“You were cut,” the Avonleyan Queen observed, releasing the arrows. “I told you not to let that happen.”

“Where is Cethin?” Scarlett asked, struggling to sit up. Her voice sounded different. Shallow. Breathy.

“Trying to lead them away from you,” Kailia answered. She dropped to a knee beside her, a small hand tilting Scarlett’s head to the side to examine the wound. “How long ago were you injured?”

“Before you got here,” she answered. She managed to raise a hand to her throat. “It is not deep.”

“That does not matter. The sword blades themselves are poisonous.”

“Fantastic,” Scarlett muttered.

“It will not kill you. Just paralyze you,” she added.

“Even better.” It explained why holding her head up was getting difficult. “Are there any left?”

“No. Cethin will be here to get you as soon as he can. We will need Tybalt and Cassius with Razik unavailable.” She plucked the arrowhead from Scarlett’s hand, and it disappeared in a swirl of ashes.

Scarlett flopped down onto her back. “I think I need a Healer, not a dragon,” she muttered.

Kailia was back on her feet, amber eyes watching warily. She had another arrow nocked and ready. “No. A Healer cannot help you.”

“Is there an antidote?”

“No.”

Her head was becoming too fuzzy for this conversation right now. Her magic was fading. She could feel the shadows and starfire slipping away, just like her consciousness was starting to do. Traveling was impossible.

Kailia glanced down at her again. “Stay awake, Scarlett.”

It was the last thing she heard before she slipped into the darkness.

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