“What’s happening?” I yell as Kassiel spins, grabbing hold of me, and rushes towards the treeline.
He continues to pull on my arm, dragging me farther from the castle. We stop just outside the broken gate as horns bellow throughout the cleared space of fallen stone and damaged statues. Kassiel hides me behind a rubble pile, urging me to be quiet by holding his pointer finger to his lips.
He whispers, “Whatever happens, you promise me that you’ll make it to that treeline, promise me.”
A maelstrom of thoughts hammer my mind. This is all happening too fast, too quickly without explanation.
I need more time.
Weneed more time.
He shouts over the blaring that continues, “Promise me, Alora!”
I nod my head, speechless by the chaos as Helianate soldiers spill into the courtyard with their swords drawn.
My eyes widen at the sheer force by which they come. We’re almost completely surrounded.
Oak’s white wings flutter near me and I watch her attempt to land on a statue of a horse that’s layered in lichen.
An arrow zings past her, the whistle of the feathered fletching slicing the air.
“By the goddess...” Kassiel mutters while rolling his sleeves before grabbing a dagger from his boot.
He hands me the sleek hilt and the familiar weight of it only breaks me a little more. He’s giving me back the only thing I truly own. My dagger that glints like the beaches of Zuria.
He rips the leather strap from his hair and loops it around an object hidden within his hand. I can’t see it clearly as he forces it in my hand and closes his fist around my own.
His black wavy hair sways with the breeze.
“This feels an awful lot like goodbye.” I whisper as the clamor grows closer.
Another arrow zooms past us, striking a tree trunk near our faces.
He ignores my statement, refusing to say any words that might seem too final.
I shift uncomfortably knowing that we don’t stand a chance here with the Helianate closing in.
He must feel it too because he pivots on his heels, scanning the treeline for gods knows what.
Something shifts in the shadows and he straights his neck. I snap my head in the same direction, eager to see what’s caught his attention.
A blonde bobs in the distance. The same color I’d know anywhere, Leeson.
Other familiar faces move towards us. Members of The Hidden and one that shocks me, Rune.
He’s standing next to Caym, both of them drawing their swords and ready to charge into the worsening tension.
They’re a good length between Kassiel and me. Arrows continue to rain down and I’m beginning to question the excessiveness of it all.
“Why does the king send so many after us?”
He looks down at me, a feral look gleaming in his eyes before pulling another dagger from his boot.
“He’s afraid of what we might become and what ending that might cause for him.” He lifts his lip in a half smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Euron can not bear to see us together. He would chase us in any lifetime.”
A frustrated growl tears from his throat as an arrow grazes his arm, ripping right through his sleeve.
