Rabbit wrung his hands. “I slipped away from the queen’s caravan. They were looking for a missing harpy. The harpy was supposed to return with news of your hideout.”
I stiffened. The harpy I’d saved. If I hadn’t intervened…
“And they have prisoners.”
Darius blurted, “Flint and Steel.”
I remembered them. They’d restrained me at first, but Darius cared about them. Flint and Steel were part of his family.
My hands curled into fists. I was done watching from the sidelines. I would help them get Flint and Steel back.
“Yes.” Rabbit’s pale eyes darted to Grump. “Along with your sister, Brynn.”
The cavern went deathly silent.
Grump’s jaw tightened. “And?”
“They plan a public execution. A message to anyone who defies the queen.” Rabbit swallowed hard. “The Whispering Hollow. Dawn tomorrow.”
Dawn. That was hours away.
“I can stop it.” I pushed myself to my feet—and my legs immediately buckled.
Darius caught me before I hit the ground, his arm wrapping around my waist. “No, you can’t.” His voice was firm. Final. “You’re too weak. You need to heal.”
“But they’ll die.” I looked past him to Grump—saw the way his hands had curled into fists, the muscle ticking in his jaw. His sister. And Flint and Steel meant something to Darius. I could see it in the tension radiating through his body. “I can’t just lie here while the people you love are executed.”
“You can and you will.” His grip tightened, not harsh but unyielding. “I won’t let you anywhere near the queen. You’re not ready.”
“Darius, I have saved you three times. I can do this. Just let me prove it.”
“Alice.” He turned me to face him, his silver eyes blazing. “You nearly died saving one harpy. What do you think will happen if you face Alanna herself? She’ll destroy you. Or worse—she’ll take you.”
“I’m not helpless, Darius. I’ve proven myself.” I pulled away from his grip and forced myself to stand on my own. I wasn’t as broken as my body insisted I was.
But my legs trembled beneath me. My hands shook. Even my magic felt distant—a faint flicker where there should have been a flame.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Alice
I lowered myself back onto the cot, my legs too weak to hold me. But my eyes never left Grump.
He stood rigid, staring at nothing—processing, calculating. Then something shifted in his face. The grief hardened into resolve.
He glanced at his brothers. “We can’t let our sister die. Or Flint and Steel. We need to intercept them before they get to Whispering Hollow.”
“We must leave now,” Rabbit said, wringing his hands. “You need to ambush them at nightfall. It’s the only way.”
“Agreed,” Grump said. He was already moving, signaling to his brothers.
I gripped the edge of the cot and forced myself upright. The room tilted. “You need me. I can stop them.”
“No.” Darius stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “You’re too weak. If we get caught, the queen will take you.” His silver eyes burned into mine. “I won’t let that happen.”
I wanted to argue. To shove past him and prove I wasn’t some fragile thing that needed protecting.
But the look in his silver eyes stopped me. This wasn’t about control. This was about a man who’d already almost watched me die once today.
