I waited for Nymbus and Lyren to return, but even as the sun set and the light disappeared, they still hadn't returned. As the night went on, a bad feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. I had fallen asleep in my room for about an hour when I was awoken by the sound of shattering glass. A roar ripped through the air, making me launch straight up in bed. I slung my belt with my daggers around my waist as I ran out of my room and down the hall. Madeline ran next to me, her gown flowing behind her. I skidded to a stop at the top of the stairs, seeing Lyren fighting a dark figure. They left the foyer and I grabbed one of my daggers. I looked at Madeline as she unsheathed her own dagger. Her large eyes moved behind me.
"Nimre!" She screamed. I turned just as I was tackled to the floor. Another figure attacked Madeline as I tried to fend off my attacker. Their skin was as black as the night and leathery. Their eyes were milky white and their razor sharp teeth bared at me. I grunted as I lifted my dagger to stab the faerie.
"Nuh-uh." It said with a raspy voice before hitting the blade out of my hand. I could hear it skitter across the floor as it grabbed and lifted me up. "I've got her!"
"Go! Run!" Another faerie laughed.
"Come on, Princess." The faerie tried to pick me up, but I thrashed. They grunted, grabbing my arms with a bruising force. I reared back until my feet touched the floor then I rammed my knee into its bony ribs. Sharp pain entered my knee as the faerie cried out and grabbed at its body. I turned to Maddy fighting another dark skinned faerie and ran to grab my dagger. I threw my hand back, bringing the dagger down at an angle as hard as possible. I felt the blade slice through its neck, a thick, sticky substance spilling onto my hand. The creature gurgled before falling to the floor. I didn't have time to think about what I did. Madeline and I looked at each other.
"You are their target. They're after you!" She panted. My heart thundered in my chest as my mind raced on what to do. "You have to hide, Nimre."
"No! I'm not hiding while everyone else is in danger!" I huffed. "We need to find your father." The sounds of glass shattering pulled my attention.
"Lyren!" Maddy gasped. I pulled my dagger from the faerie's neck and followed her down the steps and into the dining room. Lyren was fighting off two faes. One with black skin, one with gray. Not waiting for an opening, I threw myself into the fight.
"Madeline? Nimre?" Lyren breathed heavily.
"We're here to help!" Maddy answered. The gray skinned fae threw me to the floor and kicked away my weapon.
"You idiot! That's the target!" The black skinned faerie shouted. "SHe needs to be unharmed!" I spun on the floor, kicking my legs against the fae's. He fell to the floor next to me so I got on top of him and pulled out my second dagger. I stabbed the faerie in the chest before pulling it out, turning, and throwing the dagger at the second faerie. It hit him in the throat, going straight through. He fell to the floor, leaving Lyren and Maddy to stare at me. They stared for a long moment as if in shock.
"Alright, we need to hide her. Now." Lyren said.
"No. We need to find Nymbus."
"You may be a badass, but there are too many of them. Nym can take care of them." Lyren grabbed my arm and attempted to push me.
"I don't give a damn what he can do. I'm not hiding when I can help." I pulled away from him.
"You're already bleeding, Nimre. You don't need to get hurt any more." Lyren motioned to my knee. I looked down to see blood on my nightgown.
"It's not mine." I stated, ignoring the stabbing pain that began to appear. "Let's go." Lyren sighed before leading Maddy and I out of the dining room. We followed the sounds of fighting and crashing to see a beast surrounded by figures. Many more laid lifeless on the floor, blood everywhere.
"Tell us where she is!" A figure ordered. The beast in the middle snarled, looking around at its opponents. When it saw us, its demeanor seemed to change. Maddy and Lyren jumped into the fight while I stared at the beast. Its golden eyes and fur. Nymbus?
"I found her!" Long, spindly arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me up. A scream exited my lips as I grabbed at its arms. The beast roared, shaking the air, the sound vibrating through me. The other figures blocked the way as the one holding me turned to run.
"Let me go!"
"Nimre!" Nymbus boomed. I kicked and clawed at the arms, panic rising inside of me. Why are they here? Why do they want me? Where are they taking me? My breathing escalated dramatically as I tried to get free. All I could think about was Nymbus. The things I wanted to do with him. The life I wanted to live. My body grew hot. I got hotter and hotter until I burst into flames and the creature holding me screamed and released me. When my feet hit the ground, so did the creature's body. I looked at my hands and arms, seeing the red and blue flames. When I looked up, everyone was staring. After a few moments, the faes between Nymbus and I seemed afraid. They wanted to run. Acting on instinct, I reached towards them, palms out. Long rays of fire left my body and swallowed several black skinned faeries. They screamed until they went silent. Nymbus bit a faerie on the shoulder and shook his head violently, ripping it to pieces. None of them got away and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. I looked around, breathing hard as I looked at all of the dead faeries. Once my mind deemed it safe, the flames left my body and my knees buckled. I fell to my knees, trying to gain control of my breathing. Nymbus was the first to get to me, Maddy and Lyren behind me.
"Nimre." Nymbus cupped my face in his hands and lifted it.
"I-I'm okay." I panted. My eyelids fluttered as a feeling surged through me. I looked at his chest and arms to see claw marks and blood. "You're hurt." I pulled my face from his hands.
"I'll be fine." He took my hand and for once, he wasn't warmer than me. "Can you stand?" I focused on my legs as he pulled me to my feet. I stumbled and he wrapped an arm around me, stabilizing me.
"Is everyone okay?" Nymbus looked at Maddy and Lyren as I looked down at my nightgown. Several spots were burned.
"Just minor injuries." Lyren reported.
"Nimre is bleeding. She kneed one in the ribs so hard their ribs splintered." Madeline said. I looked down at my knee to see blood and something sticking out. A bone? Mine or theirs?
"Maybe we should take a trip to the infirmary. Check on everyone on the way." Nymbus suggested. I leaned against him as we began walking.