Chapter 243: Reign of Terror (1)

The new king of Dravial didn't know that new enemies had entered his kingdom—or that the newly crowned queen of the Court of Nevernight was one of the maidens he sacrificed to the Court of Shadows in a futile attempt to keep the darklings out of their land—and had returned to collect their debt. 

The wind harshly blew against her face as her emerald eyes scanned the surroundings. Iris rode a black wyvern as an army of darklings and night critters stood unmoving below them. On top of them, several unseelie faes were flying. 

A small village before them was decimated into nothingness, leaving charred beams and crumbling stones from their ruined dwellings—the ravages of dead bodies scattered on the ground, drenching the parched soil with their blood.