The door exploded. Shards of wood flew like needles, impaling Wmffre and throwing him back. Gabriel ran for the Huntsman as he staggered, blood dripping, pierced by hundreds of needlelike shards, but still alive, still moving, reaching for Gabriel—

Wmffre exploded, darkness plowing through his stomach and bursting out the other side, coming straight for Gabriel. Hands closed around both Gabriel’s arms, yanking him back, two voices spitting words in Greek. Every vine in the room shot up to shield Gabriel as the dryads dragged him away. He twisted, getting his footing and then shoving them, saying, “Go!” and pushing them ahead to where Meic was hauling Ricky into the room. He grabbed Ricky’s legs and pushed him inside, nearly tripping Meic.

The dryads slammed the door behind them and started shouting in Greek, calling on the forces of Nature. The first words had hardly left their lips before the door was ripped from its hinges, Alexios still gripping the handle, disappearing as the door flew. Helia screamed and ran for him, and before Gabriel could react, she truly screamed, a terrible shriek of agony, and Gabriel dove, falling on Ricky, shielding him, Meic doing the same, both of them barely touching down before the sluagh hurtled into the room, darkness filling it, and then—

Nothing.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

When the melltithiwyd attacked the raven, it happened so fast that all I felt was pain. One second of unbelievable agony, as my entire body was ripped apart, and for that split second I was still conscious enough to feel it happen.

I hoped that was just me, my consciousness operating on a brief delay, and that the raven itself hadn’t experienced that.

There wasn’t enough time between the strike and death for me to process the fact that it wasn’t actually me being ripped apart. I saw myself die. I felt myself die. I had that one moment of knowing I was dead. And it was the most horrific thing I could imagine.

When I came to, lying in that overgrown cemetery, my brain just gave up, as if my very psyche had gone into shock. I lay there, and while some part of me knew I was alive, I couldn’t process the fact. Even when true consciousness returned, it felt like the ebb and flow of a tide, a lapping awareness that I lived, followed by a mental and physical and emotional blank.

I don’t know how long it took me to raise my head from the ground. When I did, I saw Ioan, sitting beside me, upright, cross-legged, his eyes shut, as if meditating, and all I could do was stare at him and think, Who is this?