Page 86 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
I gripped the dagger at my thigh, its cool weight grounding me.
I could do this. I had to do this.
Then I heard it.
A groan—low, wet, and guttural.
I spun sharply, the dagger raised, my heart hammering in my chest.
They emerged from the shadows like nightmares given form. Two figures, crawling low to the ground, their limbs twisted unnaturally, like spiders. Pale, white skin clung to their frames in torn, peeling patches, exposing raw, blackened flesh beneath. Saliva dripped from their gaping mouths, pooling into the dirt as they hissed and snapped. What little hair they had clung to their skulls in sick, oily strands.
But it was their eyes—neon green and glowing—that froze me in place.
I knew this kind of creature. I had seen it before.
The creature on my left—a girl, once—lunged for me, her bony fingers clawing at my ankles. I slammed my boot into her forehead, recoiling as her skin stuck to the leather.
“Oh, gross,” I muttered, my voice faint as nausea rose in my throat and I tried to kick the flesh off my shoe.
The second—a man who had been older,his face half-rotted—launched at me with a snarl, his skeletal hands latching onto my arm. Pain shot up to my shoulder, and I cried out, dropping my dagger.
“That’s enough!” I snarled, shoving my magic outward. The creature flew backward, slamming into a tree, but it didn’t stop. None of them stopped.
Two more emerged from the darkness, their groans rising into an unholy chorus. My dagger yanked itself back to my hand, and I spun, slicing into the neck of one as its claws tore through the leather at my side.
They just kept coming.
Then a blade sliced through one of the creatures as it lunged for me. It's head fell heavily and rolled in the dirt.
“What in all of creation are you doing?” Caldrius’ voice thundered as he appeared at my side, his face streaked with blood, his sword dripping black gore. He looked furious—wild, like the battle had ignited something ancient inside him.
“Oh, thank the Gods,” I gasped, stumbling backward as another creature charged.
“Behind you!”
I ducked just as his blade sliced through the air, decapitating the creature looming over me. Its blood splattered across my back, warm and acrid. My stomach twisted in sudden nausea.
“Oh, Gods!” I squealed. “That isdisgusting!”
“That’s what you’re worried about right now?” Caldrius barked, incredulous.
“I can’t kill them!” I cried, pointing at the severed head still blinking on the ground.
Caldrius shot me an exasperated look over his shoulder. “They’re already dead.”
“Sowhat do we do?!”
“We start by not wandering into cursed woods in a foreign realm!” he snapped, swinging his blade to take down another Undone.
I rolled my eyes, jamming my dagger into the throat of one of the creatures. “Very helpful advice right now, thank you.”
“Come on,” he growled, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward.
“The woods don’t end!” I protested, trying to keep pace.
“They do if you’ve lived here for hundreds of years and know your way out.”
Fair point.
