“We need to get out of here.” I gripped Rummy’s arm until I was sure my fingerprints would bruise. It was the second-best thing to throwing her over my shoulder and flying out of the palace.“Now.”
I expanded my angelic wings around us, creating as much of a barricade as possible while I turned my sights on the ballroom doors. Any sliver of dignity left in these fae had long escaped, along with any plans of remaining calm.
“And go where?” A rare wave of panic laced Rummy’s voice. Bodies shoved at us from every angle. My senses flared to life and everything told me to get her very, very far from here.
Another blaze of fire flared on my left. More screams split the air.
“This way.” Free hand on the sword that strapped to my hip, I snaked us forward, elbowing and shoving until we reached the ballroom doors. More of the attackers—the alleged rebels—filed into the room, causing even more chaos. But they weren’ttargeting us. I glanced over my shoulder in time to see one of them using an axe on the chain that held the prisoners together.
The king was nowhere in sight, which was no surprise to me. A coward like him would duck out at the first sign of conflict.
What in all hells had we just witnessed, anyway? He wasstealing their magic.
And for what? What was his end goal?
I pulled Rummy in front of me, moving my hands to her shoulders and guiding her forward. She used her elbows and sharp fists to shove the others out of the way. We trekked through the busy halls of the castle and out the front doors.
Fae were crawling the castle grounds, some screaming. Some crying. Some bleeding.
A large body shoved me from behind, and I nearly catapulted myself over Rummy. “Calm the fuck down!” I screamed over my shoulder.
More bodies pushed forward. I was two seconds away from pulling the sword from my hip when Xavier’s voice sliced through the destruction around us.
“Jessiah! Rummy! Follow me!” His hair was disheveled and the top three buttons of his shirt had been undone, but he dominated the crowd with a fierce aggression. Rummy followed tightly behind him, and I kept as close as possible as Xavier led us away from the building.
“Shouldn’t we be going back there?” Rummy asked once we were far enough away from the screams. “He might need our help!”
“Absolutely the fuck not,” Xavier answered. “You both saw what just happened in there, right? You saw what was doing to those prisoners?”
“He’s stealing their magic,” I answered. I clenched and unclenched my fists over and over again until I was sure I wouldn’t accidentally explode with anger. I had known men likethat in my life. Men who wanted power so badly they would take it at any cost, purposely ignoring the pain they caused around them. “Those ‘rebels’ were only trying to help those fae keep their magic. That cowardice piece of?—”
“Why would he do something like that?” Rummy slowed her pace beside me. “Why reveal to us now that he’s taking magic?”
“Did you know about this?” My words rushed out much sharper than I intended. “Did Cornelius tell you his plan to steal magic?”
Bewilderment drenched her deep eyes. “How could you even ask that?! Of course I didn’t know! I never would have?—“
“What?” My words boomed while the chaos echoed behind us. “You never would have what?”
Rummy stopped marching and spun to face me, fists tight and chin high. “If there’s something you want to ask me, Jessiah, just ask.”
My heart skipped in my chest. This was Rummy, stripped of all masks. Not pretending with anyone. She was a wild animal unable to ever be tamed. Maybe that was the best part about her. But it was also the part that made my stomach twist into a tiny knot.
“Can we, like, not do this here?” Xavier asked, stepping between us. “Because this entire castle is being attacked, we just discovered the king is a power-stealing serpent, and I’d rather not get killed in the crossfires.”
“He’s right.” I ripped my gaze from Rummy. “We need to go.”
“And go where? Cornelius knows that we know about the magic. We all just stood there and watched it happen.”
“Follow me.” Xavier pulled us farther from the castle until the light from the moon above was shielded by the shadow of the tall stone wall surrounding the building. We were half running, half creeping through the streets like criminals.
The large blasts from within the castle had distracted the guards that patrolled the perimeter. Even if we were seen, nobody would look twice. Fae everywhere screamed and fled the scene, desperate to get away. To get home to their perfect, luxurious lives.
Knowing damn well that the king was stealing power from the gifted. That he was keeping them prisoner until they agreed.
It made me sick.
“You have a plan, Xavier?” I asked.
