A fierce light erupts from Florian's hands, almost blinding us all. I rip my eyes away for a moment, resting my hand across my brows. A blazing light with molten streams of golden tones surges beneath Kaine's skin. The radiant energy courses violently through his veins, raging like a wildfire until it reaches the wound, pulsing like a heartbeat.
I drop to my knees next to Theon. “Do not take him,” he pleads out to the Gods.
“Why did the guard do it?” My vision blurs, tears puddling.
Theon glances over towards me, his braids freckled with blood and his eye bruised. “Some hate the Royals for the curse. Some praise the Royals for it. The guard might be a part of the Darklands, somehow snuck into here for a sick agenda to kill us off. They have a hatred for us. They’ve been working on a poison so deadly, it can kill a Royal in minutes. Even the Vitaei won’t save us from that sort of magic.”
He nods over to his mother as she traces his path to where the guard stands and he mouths out, “Darklands.”
“Take him,” the Queen shouts, pointing towards the guard.
As the other guards take formation around him, one kicks him on the back, knocking the helmet off of his face. He falls to his knees, and a loud grumble emerges from his throat. Inked, pitch black markings cover the left side of his face, twisting and circling around, almost resembling the language of the flames. But this feelswicked.
The piercings cover his pointed ears, filling his earlobes, and his eyes beam with a crimson red, reminding me of Skydance’s.
“Where is Skydance?” My heart sinks.
Theon rubs his head violently. “He got away.”
Shit. Which means…
“He’ll be back for me.”
“I know.” His eyes soften. “Take Florian’s offer, stay in the Kingdom. You’ll be safer there.”
“What about you… Kaine?”
“Don’t worry about us. We can handle him.” A side of his lips tug upward.
I crave to reach out to him, to hold his hand. But I’ll never be able to.
“She is coming for you all!” The man with the pointed ears maniacally laughs. “All the Royals must fall for their crime!”
“What crime!” Queen Antivianna grabs a blade from her thigh, pressing it firmly against the pale skin of his throat. “Who are you!”
“You won’t know until it’s too late.” His yellow teeth show as his lips curl into a wicked grin.
The Queen digs the blade into his throat, blood dripping down his neck. “Tell me, or I’ll have your head!”
“I’m dead anyway.” His head shakes as he rises upward on his knees. “She is here watching us.”
An arrow on fire soars through the sky overhead, catching his throat before he can say another word. He gurgles on his blood before falling to the ground. The guards panic, circling around the Queen as they shield her with their body.
“Take them all to the courtyard of the Kingdom!” Queen Antivianna orders, her arms flailing widely in the air, pointing at multiple guards. “We must take shelter at the Pyre! Order the archers to stay guard!”
We sprint forward, the guards encircling us in a protective formation, their bodies a living shield against any potential arrows that might come. Their armor clinks and clatters with each step as the night falls to dark. Florian carries Kaine in his arms, looking over his shoulder towards me with worried eyesbut gives me a sudden smile, showing me everything will be okay.
But it isn’t. Nothing will be okay. He must never use his hands to heal again, orhe dies.
As we charge ahead, the dimly-lit tunnel stretches before us, its stone walls cold from the night air. The faint light from flickering torches guides our way as we make our escape towards the safety of the Kingdom. We flee through a different tunnel, not the one that would take us to the dormitory, but one that leads us… to the Kingdom courtyard. A fountain of five horses comes into view once we enter. As if one was forged by fire, another by ice, one by water, one by air and lastly, one by darkness.
The cobblestone structure with a few solid onyx doors wraps around in a circle, enclosing us safely in. Torch light flickers in arch windows, hovering up to the clouds above.
“What is this place?” I step forward, catching sight of the lights weaving around the trees and connecting to the walls. “Where did you take us?”
“This is for the chosen eight.” Queen Antivianna’s chin rises. “Only those who are chosen once a year to fight to break the curse may live here for a year. They train night and day, finding ways to defeat the Wailing Mother.”
My brows pull in, glancing over my shoulder towards the Queen, who dusts off her dress and gestures to the guards to leave. “The chosen eight continue to fight for a year?”
