“Oh,” I say, heat rising to my cheeks as we look at the shattered barrier in front of us. It will let us through. It will also let the demons through too.
“They’ve already found a way to break through to our realm,” Fox says with a shrug, walking towards the shattered border.
Blaze is up in the air and flying back to our realm before any of the rest of us are moving. I guess he hates this place as much as we do.
We follow after him, all of us sprinting, desperate to leave the oppressive nature of this realm. As soon as we step through to the other side, we’re blinded by starlight and the moon’s rays. Even though it’s still night here, it’s a million times brighter, a million times more beautiful, a million times more uplifting than the place we’ve just left.
I can’t help but drop to my knees, place my hands on the cold earth, the brittle grass weaving between my fingers. I feel the mud beneath it. I feel my knees sink into it. I breathe in the air of home and though it’s cold and bitter, it’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted. And I’m determined no one – not even the Empress of this realm – is going to force me to leave again. Not ever again.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Thorne
I’m certain that the destruction of the magical barrier that protects our realm from the demons will not go unnoticed. Back in Onyx Quarter they’ll be sending a team out to investigate – perhaps the Empress herself. She clearly altered the magical spells to keep us out. Now it’s broken, there’ll be several suspects, but we’re the most likely.
I scan my gaze over the horizon and the sky, searching not this time for demons but for our own people. Our whole world has been shifted on its axis, toppled upside down. Everything I believed was the truth was, in fact, lies.
I never sought the spotlight, never craved the praise that came with being a prince, that came with being one of the most powerful shadow weavers in the realm, which came with being Beaufort Lincoln’s bond brother. I never sought it, but I’d come to accept it. It was my life. And I never questioned it.
Now, though, will we still be esteemed, revered, worshipped in that way? Or have we been reframed as outcasts or worse, traitors?
I never craved the role I had before, and yet this new one seems absolutely bizarre. I’ve always done what the realm required of me, always obeyed every order the Empress issued me. I never questioned. I never refused. I never rebelled. And yet I am now, most probably, an enemy of the state.
Far worse, the woman that I love, my fated mate, is one too.
The ruins of the Slate town where the demons attacked several weeks ago hover in the near distance. The blood is gone, washed away by snow and rain, but the charred remains of buildings still stand, a testament to the carnage this place witnessed so recently. There’s no one here. It’s a ghost town. But there’s no reason to stay.
“I don’t think we should hang about here,” I say.
“Yeah, but where are we going to go?” Briony says, worrying at her lip. “We can’t go back to the academy – I won’t put Clare and Fly in danger. The palace is obviously not an option. Who can we trust?”
We’re all quiet, thinking this over.
“Yeah, whocanwe trust?” Dray says, finally. “Because as far as I see it, with the Empress out to kill us that leaves virtually no one. Every one of our allies is aligned with the Empress. Those that aren’t are our enemies. They’re hardly about to turn around and help us.”
“Henrietta,” I suggest.
Dray snorts and Beaufort grimaces.
“Henrietta Smyte,” the professor says, clearly surprised by that suggestion. “You think you could trust her?”
I shake my head. “No, not really. But who else is there?”
“My brothers,” Dray says, bouncing on his toes. “My brothers – we can trust them.”
This time it’s Beaufort’s turn to snort. “Your brothers? The seven of you are constantly trying to kill each other. I wouldn’t trust one of your brothers as far as I could throw them.”
Dray marches up to our bond brother and stares him right in the eye. “That’s shifter business – shifter bullshit. When it comes to threats from outside, we’re as strong as brothers can be. We can trust them. And they’ll be on our side. They’ll help us.”
“I don’t like it,” Beaufort says.
“Doesn’t look like we have much choice,” Tudor says.
“What’s the quickest way to get to your homestead, Dray?” I ask him.
“Displacement,” he snaps, “or …” He jerks his head in the dragon’s direction.
“Flying’s too dangerous. They could be on the lookout for a dragon in the skies and he’s hardly subtle.”
