I keep a hold of his hand as I give a shallow curtsy. “Sorry for the misunderstanding. We’ll be going now.”
Damien snorts at my irreverence.
“Stop them,” Nevina snaps.
Guards swarm in. Six shades. They block the exit, drawing swords from their scabbards. “Shades,” Damien whispers to me. “And young ones at that. Try not to hurt them.”
“Only if I have to.” I run a thumb along my bottom lip.
“Just say the words, brother!” Brahm yells. He charges up to us with the perturbed swagger of someone who is chronically annoyed.
Damien whirls to face his brother. “No.” His fist shoots out and slams into Brahm’s nose. Blood pours down the king’s face. He staggers and then falls. Banias draws his sword, and all eight guards stationed in the courtyard rush us.
“Shit.” I palm my daggers.
“Shit,” Damien echoes, and then he’s gone, broken into shadows that swirl past me. Metal clangs against metal as I block a strike from above and behind simultaneously. I stab through the smoky gut of one soldier, then connect with the head of another. The heel of my boot smacks into a cheek a split second before the guard breaks apart. No permanent damage but that will definitely sting.
I shoot my hips back, narrowly avoiding a sword in the side. Banias. I sandwich his blade between my two daggers and twist. He’s too strong and stabs through my defense, slicing my corset. Damien is there. He snaps the man’s neck from behind. It’s the type of injury that will heal on a shade, but he’ll be out for some time.
One by one, we make short work of the guards, careful to avoid the partygoers as they exit the courtyard, some slowing their steps to watch the show. I chance a glance back at Nevina and find her standing now, screaming something at Adril and pointing her hand at Brahm and Banias’s unconscious bodies. As the last guard falls and we run for the stables, we learn what happens when her father answers her plea.
Fire stabs through my biceps, and I scream as a hole the size of a quarter appears in my right arm. “What the fuck was that?”
We both look back to see Adril nock another arrow enchanted with sunlight into a bow that’s appeared out of nowhere. Behind him, a few elves are smiling like we are the night’s entertainment.
Damien’s eyes widen. “Run!”
I do. The arrow flies, but so do I. I leap in a way that would be impossible for a human. The arrow misses me, and I’m gone. Damien breaks apart and surfs the night as only a shade can, in the opposite direction. In seconds, we’ve circled around and entered the stables, him through a window and me through the side door. He slings the saddlebags over our rabble beasts.
From the castle, Nevina’s meltdown carries to the stables as she realizes we are stronger than her guards and out of range of her father’s arrows. She calls for more guards, but it’s too late. We ride as fast as Borus and Romulus will carry us toward Wickham Wood.
Away from what remains of Damien’s family and home.
24
Celebration
ELOISE
Once we’re sure we haven’t been followed, Damien leads us deeper into the forest. No path guides our steps. We pick our way randomly through knee-deep foliage, our rabble beasts weaving between trees. It’s an irregular pattern that leaves me disoriented and confused. We turn sharply, double back, advance again.
“Are we going to the festival?” I ask.
“Not yet. I’m taking you to the place we’ll stay tonight. We’ll store our things, and I’ll cover our tracks before we meet the others.”
“Good idea. We don’t want to put anyone else in danger.”
The forest opens up at the base of a mountain. It’s notably colder here, and I realize that’s because we’re so close to Dimhollow.
“No one will be in danger,” he says. He dismounts, and it’s only when he leads his beast inside a slim cave opening that I realize he means for us to sleep here, inside the mountain itself.
“We’re spending the night in a cave?” I dismount my own beast and lead it in after Damien.
“It’s better shelter than a tent and safer for our animals.” He turns the corner, and I see what he means. The entrance to the cave is deceptively small, but inside, there’s a large gathering place with a firepit. The remains of logs and ash tell me we’re not the first ones to stay here.
“Cassius, Morpheus, and I used to come to Dimhollow during the war. I trusted the witch Aurora and would often seek her counsel. This cave provided a safe, private place for us to meet to make war plans. At the time, Aurora had enchanted the place to be undetectable by the enemy. Without knowing if she’s still alive, I have no idea if the wards are still in place. Either way, it’s secluded and off the beaten path. We’ll be safe until morning.”
My eyes rove to the cavernous ceiling and a gentle drip along the far wall that feeds a shallow pool in the stone floor. Borus and Romulus sniff the liquid and begin to drink.
