But he hadn’t noticed my hand slip lower, fingers finding the hidden blade I’d tucked into the back of my waistband before the guards led me from my room.
“You have no idea what’s really going on,” he said, voice tightening now. “You Riders think your gods. But you’re just good little pawns, playing your part like the rest of us.”
I reached inward, searching for the fire, for my magic, but it flickered weakly, a dying spark. The runes… they must’ve been designed to suppress it.
Zander’s voice touched my mind through the bond.
Give it to me. Feed me your power. I am too weak to call my own.
I opened myself to him. My body felt laden as what little power I possessed without Kaelith fed the man beside me.
Dark Fire surged.
It snapped through the space between us like a whip, curling around his body in a rush of black flame laced with violet lightning.
The guards screamed as the fire scorched through their armor, searing flesh beneath.
Ropes melted from his wrists. Mine followed.
The courtyard lit up with fire and chaos?—
And we were no one’s pawns anymore.
Zander grabbed my hand, his grip iron-tight as he yanked me forward.
“Run!” he barked, his voice raw with command.
We bolted toward the castle gate, the Dark Fire still crackling at our backs, the acrid scent of scorched stone burning in my lungs.
The guards scattered before us, fleeing like rats from a sinking ship. They weren’t trying to capture us anymore. They were trying to survive.
Zander tore a path through them, a demon clad in black and violet flame, dragging me behind him as the chaos consumed the courtyard.
But not all of them ran.
One guard—a younger one, faster, maybe dumber—gave chase, his sword flashing in the dim morning light.
I stumbled as the blade caught my shoulder, slicing deep.
Pain exploded down my arm, and I cried out, half-falling to one knee.
Zander spun the second he heard me. His dagger, a blade he must’ve hidden in his boot, flashed upward in a deadly arc.
The guard gurgled and fell, clutching at his throat as crimson poured between his fingers.
Zander grabbed me again, pulling me upright without breaking stride.
We pushed through the narrow castle gates and into the winding streets beyond, the shouts and alarms fading behind us.
The village was waking up, but no one dared stop us, not when we moved like a storm barely leashed.
We sprinted through the outer rim of the village, boots pounding the dirt paths, weaving through startled merchants and abandoned carts.
Keep going!Kaelith’s voice slammed into my mind, loud and furious.Run to the trees. We’re coming!
We didn’t hesitate.
We ran into the forest, the heavy canopy swallowing us whole, the sound of pursuit fading behind the thick trunks and low-hanging branches.
