How much do I say? Anything?Ariana seemed to care for this kid, another way for Clause to torment her. Breaking her heart. How much could she withstand before sinking into hollowness so profound that she couldn’t escape it? I refused to allow my thoughts to continue traveling down that vein. No matter where she went, I would find her, even in that darkness. I would carry her out of it.
“What do you know of what is about to go down?” I asked. My question met with silence. I exhaled slowly. “Some shit is about to go down.” Cautiously so not to make much noise, I rose to my feet. “My suggestion is to lie low. Do not engage in the fight, and if you see an opportunity to run and escape this place, take it. And don’t look back. Or, if you feel an urge to fight, then feel free to come with me.” I left the kid with that parting advice. Hoping that he was smart enough to heed my warning.
He did not follow me.
Carefully stepping out of the servant housing, I met with fresh, crisp air. Not a guard was in sight, as if they were not needed in the city at all. All of them circled the perimeter. They would soon learn of the errors in that line of thought. We only needed to pierce their defenses and then had a clear path to their King.
The sky lightened before the first rays of light cut over the horizon.
Paws approached, drawing my attention to the wolf whowould guide me into position. The short cave that opened into the Sidhe lands was close to the city. Following the wolf, I headed towards the beginning of the end of this nightmare.
By the time we arrived, two Sidhe guards lay crumpled by the entrance, their blood pooling into the dirt. Kole and Eislyn stood above them, blades glistening with fresh crimson.
“It’s good to see you.” Kole’s gaze swept over me, ensuring I was unscathed, before darting back to scan the surroundings.
“I take it Ariana is doing well, seeing as you are standing here, and the city is not burned to smithereens?” Iver approached with Willis through the cave.
“No, she isn’t,” I replied flatly and everyone but Willis turned to me with heavy stares. The Leader Superior’s Second observed the forested area before looking at the main castle and our ultimate target.
“As soon as the army funnels through this cave, they’ll know we’re here,” Willis stated, steering the conversation toward strategy.
I nodded, turning to Iver. “You, Kole, Eislyn, and the Sparrow are a part of the extraction team.”
Iver grunted. “I haven’t forgotten. Though I am shocked you do not demand to be a part of those retrieving our Bavadrin.”
The decision to follow her lead in this graded on me. And even though Edda turned out to have been a snake in all of this, I trusted her when she said that following Ariana’s direction insured the best outcome. Edda cared for Ariana, even if she did not care for any other soul, she cared for Ariana.
“Get her and get out of there.” My voice somehow remained steady even though I felt caged. I understood why Ariana wanted me no where near Clause, but that did not make any of this easy.
Iver tilted his head, his eyes narrowing in scrutiny. “And if she decides she doesn’t want to leave?”
“She will,” I answered, refusing to entertain any alternative.
“And if she doesn’t?” His tone sharpened, testing the edges of my resolve.
“Iver.” I spoke his name in warning.
Willis moved towards us. “Then you do what she wishes.” His gaze bore into me, challenging not my authority but my intent.
For a fleeting moment, surprise flickered across Iver’s face before he schooled it back to neutrality. I held Willis’s stare with a cold one of my own. “I will not stop searching until I find her,” I stated.
“If she wishes-” Willis began.
“I promised her,” I cut him off. “I promised her I would find her. “
Willis studied me for a long beat before inclining his head. “Very well.”
We were wasting time discussing this. Ariana was likely already withhim. The monster who did not belong in this world. “Let’s go,” Willis said just before the sounds of wolves howling came from the other side of the cave. The signal.
The ground beneath us trembled as our army surged forward, their footsteps reverberating like a drumbeat of war.
Tension shattered as the vanguard broke through the cave’s mouth, spilling down the hilly slope, past the brush, and into the Sidhe streets, led by one of the wolves. We melded into the stream of solders. Chaos erupted—shouts cut through the air as the Sidhe scrambled. Moments ago, the streets had been eerily calm; now, they seethed with uproar. Most fled in terror, a few chose to fight.
My heart thrummed with power. Adrenaline sharpened my senses.
I felt it before I saw it—the unnatural shift in the wind, a subtle warning honed by my time among the Sparrows. My body reacted instinctively, jerking back just as the glint of a blade sliced through the air where I had been standing. A second later, two more knives came flying from the shadows. I spun away, narrowly evading one, but the other buried itself in the shoulder of the soldier beside me.
Following the trajectory, my attention locked on the male who poised to throw more knives. Flames sparked to life in my hand, ignited by the familiar pull of my power. Before the male could throw another, I unleashed a torrent of fire. The blaze surged toward him with force, engulfing him in a searing wave. The crackle of flames swallowed his scream, and when they subsided, only ash remained where he had stood.
