“I’m fine. I’m ready to call it a night. You don’t have to leave, though, if you want to stay.” I hugged her, loving my friend for her caring gestures. Emrys watched us, then heard someone call his name. Quickly, he set his drink down and walked over to us, his gaze constantly shifting around the room from the people to the windows and even to the ceiling above us.
“What’s bothering you, itsy bitsy spider?” I cooed, still under the influence of the wine.
“Something’s not right.”
The tone of his voice was full of worry. Emrys rarely looked serious. My body tensed and Dris’s trembling hand reaching down to interlace with mine. Her head darted from side to side like a nervous owl. The music stopped when everyone except me sensed a disturbance in the room.
Then it happened.
Glass shattered to the ground in an ear-piecing crash. Fae from all over the room screamed as soldiers armored in red and black descended upon the room. We froze as the men sliced all Fae in their path.
Verin’s soldiers.
Chapter Forty
My fear vanished in seconds, and even intoxicated, I managed to grab one of the knives by the banquet table. It was a simple knife but could slice into evil Fae flesh, if needed.
“We need to get out of here,” I told my friends, and we moved as one toward the exit where everyone else was currently rushing for their lives, trampling others in their frightened state.
Neither the queen or king were within sight, most likely having been pushed away to safety by their bodyguards. If the queen was not in her current state of mind, she would have fought off the intruders with her guards.
“Shit!” I cried out, as someone wrapped their hands around my waist and tried pulling me away from my group. The knife within my tight fingers was knocked out with unfortunate ease. Emrys came at the evil Fae with a swift kick, and I was free again.
But only for a moment.
“Get her out!” A man’s voice bellowed in the room and another solider grabbed me. This time Emrys and Dris could do nothing as two men with swords blocked their path. Dris called out my name, her hand reaching out, but then men walked close to them. Emrys pushed Dris behind his back, protecting her. He muttered something, and my friends ran as quick as their Fae speed could whisk them away. I got it and didn’t want them hurt, but they left so quickly that I felt a tiny stab in my chest.
I writhed, scratched, and stepped on boots as I was dragged toward a broken window. I needed one second to get free. Then I could use one of the moves that Najen and Rune had taught me to beat a Fae and to run afterward.
I stopped fighting and breathed in, taking in the sounds, sights, and scents around me. Verin’s men receded, and the queen’s guards fought them back, but many had fallen on both sides. The coppery tang of blood marinated the air, and the sounds of grunts and swords clashing echoed through the room. Diamonds from the tree behind the throne clattered against the stone floors.
The man dragged me while I pretended to relax. I needed to wait until he thought I wouldn’t fight back, then strike. We were almost to the window when my moment came. I struck him in the gut and stepped on his toe before using my elbow to uppercut him in the face. He released his hold to touch his bleeding nose, then with a feral glare he reached for me again. I avoided his fingers but something hit my head. Pain flared, and sounds went silent.
***
I wasn’t out for long. The knock to the head made my vision blurry, and my body jostled around as someone carried me outside the palace, past the garden, toward the Hallowstags. If they got me into the woods, it would be over. I screamed as loud as I possibly could, fighting, biting, hitting, and clawing my way out of my kidnapper’s tight grasp. He wasn’t going to let me go.
“Shut up, bitch!” Obviously they’d been after me. I had to be getting close to fixing Verin’s curse. By releasing the princess from her tomb, she would be able to save the Fae from his grasp.
Sounds of the falls came into earshot. We were going to cross the river. I screamed as the first cold rush of the river hit my skin. The soldier slowed in the strong current. One step in front of the other, he moved with an unrelenting purpose to get me far away from the palace.
Suddenly, a wall of fire grew in front of us. The soldiers scrambled back from the searing heat and flames. Another blast came and turned three of Verin’s men to ash before my eyes. The scent and sight made me want to vomit again. I’d never forget the scent of a burning body nor the sight of the black ash floating down the river that was once a body.
The roar that shook the Earth came from the Hallowstags.
Desmire.
With renewed strength, I fought with more boldness than before. My kidnapper tried to move beyond the wall of fire, but Desmire blocked his advance, his teeth dripping with saliva and his gray eyes narrowing at the man holding me.
The solder didn’t put me down. Instead, he tightened his grip. His wading body shifted and he ran in the water toward the opposite shore of the dragon. Crysia’s guards, along with the king and queen, ran toward us.
The queen stretched her hand out to me, willing magic to come forth, but none came. The king’s mouth opened and closed at the sight of Desmire.
“You!” he finally screamed at Desmire with a feral hatred. The guards hunted the scattering enemy, abandoning their plan to kidnap me.
Desmire roared, shooting fire from his mouth toward the soldier beneath my body, careful not to burn me. Knowing he was not going to win this fight, he dropped me down into the cold river, his arm going around my waist, pinning me to his hard-armored chest. Something sharp pressed against my neck, and I became still as stone. The tiniest whimper escaped my mouth.
“Let us go or I’ll kill her. Verin prefers her alive but said it didn’t matter if she perished,” the soldier said, looking at the royals and the snarling dragon.
