Chapter 79: The Night Dorian Came

Karina walked down the moonlit corridor with her arms wrapped around herself, her heels clicking a tired rhythm against the marble.

Hours.

The discussion had lasted for hours.

If something happens to me, Leonidas had said, his voice quiet in the dim study. If I do not survive Dorian, I want Valen sent to Shadow’s Edge. Immediately. He must begin his proper studies. He will be the next king.

She had been so angry that her hands shook.

You will not die on my watch, she had snapped. And Valen does not need a throne, Leonidas. He needs his father.

He had looked at her for a long moment. I do not plan to die, Karina. I just.... , he had said.

Then he had glanced away, and she had heard the rest of the sentence he did not say.

But you know I could die.

She had walked out before she could say anything she would regret.

That was such a dramatic exit, Host! Ten out of ten! I especially loved the part where you pretended not to care about the man who just told you his will.

Karina’s eye twitched. "Cheshire."

What? I’m just saying. He asked to talk to you for hours and you sat there with your arms crossed like a very pretty statue. You didn’t cry once. I was so disappointed.

"I am not crying over Leonidas."

You’re not crying over Leonidas yet. Cheshire’s eyes twinkled inside her mind. But let’s review. He’s got a hole in his side, a homicidal general trailing him, and he’s already writing his succession plan. That’s not a man with a healthy sense of self-preservation. That’s a man who’s basically handing you his crown and saying, ’Take my kingdom, take my son, take my hand.’ Very romantic. Very tragic. Ten out of ten again.

"I am going to find a way to delete you."

You already tried that. Next.

Karina pressed two fingers to her temple. The headache was back, right on schedule. She quickened her steps toward the nursery wing, and her chest softened at the thought.

Ah, my sons. She was supposed to meet with them hours ago, but had been delayed by a conversation which still echoed in her head like bells.

She had almost reached the last corner when she heard it.

A scream.

It came from somewhere ahead, from the direction of the nursery wing, and it was followed instantly by another.

"HE IS HERE! HE IS HERE!"

Karina’s blood turned to ice.

He. Could they mean Dorian?

She didn’t remember deciding to run. One moment she was standing in the corridor, and the next her skirts were bunched in both fists, her heels skidding across the marble, her lungs burning as she flew toward the noise.

Guards thundered past her, armor clanging, swords already drawn. Their faces were white. A maid stumbled out of a side passage and fell against the wall, sobbing.

"Cheshire," Karina gasped. "Cheshire, what is it? Is it him?"

For a moment, there was silence in her head.

Then the little robot’s voice came back, and every trace of joking had vanished. It was terrified.

Oh no.

"What? WHAT?"

Host, I’m reading a massive spike in the feral pheromone signature, right on top of the nursery wing. Same profile as the rabid panther on the road. He swallowed. It’s Dorian. He’s in the palace. He’s here.

Karina’s heart stopped.

Okay. Okay okay okay. Don’t panic, Cheshire babbled. Do not panic, Host. Listen to me. Your fastest route to the children is the west stairwell, three doors down on your left. Do NOT try to fight him. You are a human. He is a nightmare with claws. I repeat, do not fight him!

"I’m not going to fight him!"

Good! Because you’d lose!

She rounded the corner, and the world tilted.

At the far end of the long corridor, three small figures were tearing toward her through the torchlight.

Valen ran in front, his hair wild, his face streaked with tears. He had something clutched to his chest, a blanket, and inside it, a screaming bundle of scales. Soren. Rynan was right behind him, his little cheetah legs pumping quickly. And struggling far behind, sobbing, stumbling over his own feet, ran Daerys, his silver hair whipping behind him.

"Boys!" Karina cried out. "BOYS!"

Valen’s head snapped up. "MAMA!"

The cry tore out of him, and it went straight through her heart like a spear.

She lunged toward them.

Then the wall behind the children exploded. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Stone burst outward in a spray of dust and rubble. Something enormous crashed onto the marble in behind them, and when the dust slowly settled, her fingers shook.

It rose slowly out of the wreckage, a shape of black fur, and it lifted its head until it was looking straight at her. A huge panther. Its coat was matted and filthy, its ribs jutting out like a starved beast’s, and old wounds crusted its shoulder. But it was the eyes that made her legs go weak.

Dori...

Dorian! Cheshire shrieked. That’s him, that’s him, that’s HIM!

The panther’s lips peeled back. A rumble began and grew into a roar that shook the chandeliers, that rattled the windows and bent the torchlight. Valen screamed.

Dorian charged, trying to catch up to the children.

"NO!"

The scream ripped out of her. She ran forward and threw herself at the boys.

"Move! MOVE!"

She scooped Soren out of Valen’s arms in one swing, the snake sobbing and clawing at her collar, then snatched Rynan up beneath her other arm. His small body trembled against her ribs. Valen stumbled beside her, and she seized his sleeve and dragged him forward.

"Mama!" Valen wailed, looking back over his shoulder. His face crumpled in horror. "Mama, he’s coming, he’s coming!"

"Run! Valen, RUN! Don’t look back!"

Daerys was still behind them, his lungs heaving. "Wait!" he screamed. "Wait for me!"

Behind them, claws screeched across the marble. She could hear the panther’s breath coming closer with every second. She could smell the rot on it. Her vision narrowed to a tunnel. A dozen paces. Ten. Five.

The shadow fell over her back.

"Daerys run!"

Suddenly, something flashed past her, a blur of sleek black fur that soared over her head. It slammed into Dorian in mid-air with a crack like thunder, and the two panthers crashed into the wall together in a tangle of claws and teeth.

Karina stumbled, gasping. She turned.

The second panther had Dorian pinned against the shattered stone, its jaws locked on his shoulder, its purple eyes blazing with rage.

"Leonidas," Karina breathed.

He roared, and without a moment’s wait, she nudged both Daerys and Valen forward, and ran.