The girl stood.
Not slow, not graceful. She exploded off the throne. Her body uncoiled like a spring. Her hands reached for Kaelen's throat. Her fingers were no longer cold and dry. They were wet. Hot. The nails had grown long. Black. Curved like the talons of the thing that had killed him in the water.
"You think I will let you leave?" Her voice split. Two sounds at once. The flat monotone of the girl. The deep rumble of the thing inside her. "You think I will let you remember?"
Kaelen stepped back. His heel hit the first step of the stairs. The stone was cold. His balance shifted.
The monsters moved.
Harwen lunged first. His fat fingers became claws. His mouth opened wider than any mouth should open. The teeth inside were not his. They were rows of needles. Yellow. Broken. Hungry.
Kaelen ducked.
Harwen's claws raked the air above his head. The wind of the swing touched his hair. He smelled rot.
