As night fell, the screeching rose. Astrid shivered at the sounds, curling her knees to her chest and watching Wraith pace across the room. “What happened to the Shadow Guard?” Astrid asked at last. “The corruption that Arcann told me about…it doesn’t fit with the legends.”
Wraith’s face tightened. “Arcann is trying to shield you from things that I shouldn’t speak of,” she said carefully. “You’ve interacted with the Shadow Guard before. It was in their arena that you faced the werewolf.”
Chills skittered down Astrid’s spine. “Oh,” she said softly.
A massive BANG rang through the air and the tower shook. Wraith cursed and readied her knives, focusing on the doors. “Stay behind me,” she commanded. “This is going to get messy.”
Astrid cried out as the doors blew open with such force th
