The smell of blood filled Nerine's nose as she stepped carefully into the outer chamber of the cave. Her eyes widened with horror at the sight before her.
Corpses lay scattered like broken dolls across the cold ground. Their limbs bent unnaturally, their necks twisted in ways that no human strength could have managed. Pools of blood gleamed in the faint candlelight, reflecting the nightmare she had only dreamed of before.
Her chest tightened. This… this is just like my dream. No… it can't be…
And there, in the very center of it all, stood Kael.
His tall figure was drenched in blood, his dark clothes heavy with it. His chest rose and fell, though he seemed unbothered by the carnage at his feet. In his hand dangled a man's body, limp and lifeless, tossed aside like refuse.
Nerine's eyes darted among the dead and then froze. She recognized one of them—the man who had just brought her food. His eyes were wide open, staring at nothing.
Her stomach lurched, bile rising in her throat.
