And ricocheted backward, flung clear onto the wooden table pushed against the opposite wall.
“Definitely not…getting through…that way,” I panted.
“Did you hurt yourself?” he asked, hurrying over to the table to help me to my feet.
I winced, swinging my legs back off the table as I picked a small shard of broken glass from my hand. “Just got the wind knocked out of me, and I landed right on all this glassware.” I peered down at one of the broken bottles, the last few drops of the green liquid it previously contained, dripping onto the floor. “Corvin,look!” I exclaimed, watching as the mysterious substance made contact with the sword I’d dropped, melting the metal right before our eyes, all the way to the hilt. I shifted my skirts, but not before the bottle’s final drop splashed onto the fabric, burning a small hole in the train of my gown.
“That could have been helpful,” he observed wryly.
“What about this other one? Should we test the last bottle? The red one didn’t break.”
“The color is different, but I suppose we might as well give it a try?”
He grabbed the bottle, chucking it against the prison bars.
The liquid exploded, but despite its foul odor, the metal appeared unaffected.
I plugged my nose. “That doesnotsmell good.”
“This prison cell is becoming less and less appealing,” Corvin affirmed. “Time to thinkoutsidethe box.”
He pursed his lips, running his fingers through several feathers. “Now, which should I pick…”
A thumping noise drew my attention upward. I craned my neck back, staring at the ceiling. “Does that sound like footsteps to you? We need to get out of here. NOW.” I stared at the bright plumage of his cloak. “Simple is overrated. Let’s blow something up. Got anything like that? The Fae may be arriving as we speak.”
“Blow something up,” he repeated, grinning wickedly. “That gives me an idea. I doubt they used magic to reinforce the wall.”
I blinked, confused. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, let’s use a feather to burst through that wall and get the storm out of here.”
I raised a single eyebrow. “No offense, but birds aren’t really known for their wall-busting strength.”
His smile grew. “You only think that because you’ve never come face-to-face with a Roc, even if you should be grateful that’s the case. They’re absolutely giant, one of the fiercest birds of prey in all of Olayra. And I have one of their feathers. Stand back and cover your head. I’ll try and direct the blast outward.”
He selected a feather near the top of his cloak. It was much longer than the rest—the bird it belonged to must be truly massive to have feathers that size. While the majority of the barbs were a lovely red-brown, the tip of the feather was vibrantly green.How big was this creature’s wingspan?!
The explosion was thunderous, even with my ears covered.
I gaped at the large hole in the side of the wall. “Are you sure you’re not a criminal?”
Corvin picked a piece of rubble out of his hair. “Believe it or not, I only seem to get in this much trouble when I’m with you.”
I looked at the hole again and back to Corvin, adopting his same wicked grin. “Personally, I think you’ve really nailed the subtlety.” I stepped up into the hole, hands braced against either side of the crumbling wall. “Let’s find Eterna and leave this mansion for good.” As I exited our prison, I took a chunk of rubble with me.
Better to have a rock than no weapon at all.
We emerged into a small storage room filled with barrels and wooden crates.
Door.This room had a door.
Not wasting another second, I turned the handle, walking back into the dungeon’s long corridor.
There was no sense in worrying about making a racket after that explosion.
“Eterna!” I shouted, running down the hallway, pulling doors open at random and shutting them if they did not contain what I sought. Time was running out. Corvin’s voice joined mine, desperately shouting out her name. “Eterna!”
The sorrowful sound of a trapped phoenix echoed down the corridor.
