“Get close, Maris.” Ryder looked up to the woman standingover me, while Fisher beat on the invisible shield, dumping streams of water against it. “Stay close to me, I’ll keep you both safe.”
His comment was hilarious, even in my haze, or maybe I was delirious. Somehow he’d grouped me into the pool of people he’d protect, though he was the reason my lungs were on fire. I let a smile roll over my lips, which only enraged him and made him squeeze harder.
My body convulsed and I was quickly losing vision; my rasps were no longer bringing in any air. I dropped my clawing hands, and let my weight fall into the freshly plowed land. If my death meant my father’s love surrounded me while I found my end, I’d be grateful for the consolation.
“Oh yes, please do keep me safe.” Maris swooned and bent down. In one smooth motion, she grabbed two handfuls of his hair and threw a knee into the front of his face.
Blood erupted from Ryder’s nose, drenching me under him. He let go, shock washing over him as he grabbed at his injury. The shield fell, and Fisher’s water dumped over us, clearing Ryder’s blood from my vision. The collar on Fisher’s shirt shimmered with a single red ruby as he pushed the prince away.
“Kill the prisoners!” Ryder shouted, voice nasally as he pinched his nose. Guards clamored in, edging the three of us out.
Maris smiled at me. “You’re welcome.”
My throat stung as I remained gasping, drawing big gulps into my body. I stayed hunched on all fours while I tried to recover. Death might have felt better than the shambles I was in.
“We need to get to the prison,” I muttered, watching several guards flee. “There are members of the resistance there—friends of mine. And they’re going to be killed.”
Maris reached down and sliced the lower half of my dress. She pulled the remaining material off before doing the same toher own, revealing a thigh holster with an embedded ruby shining brightly. “Let’s go.” She looked around.
“It’s that way.” Fisher gestured with one hand and offered the other to me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“About your brother, I?—”
I shook my head. “Later. We’ll talk about everything later, let’s make it out of this first.”
We weaved in and out of the crowd, dodging blows while people fought all around us. Wyverns tore at guards, though several beasts sustained injuries from blades.
Maris and I stole swords from fallen guards as we made our way through the thick of it. Fisher picked up his pace to a run as we reached the perimeter. My magic hummed, coming back into me with a vengeance. The vibration was a furor I’d never quite felt before, but I welcomed the power.
“Could they have put it a little closer?” Maris huffed as we ran toward the massive gray building in the distance. Unpainted bitumen filled the cracks on the face of the stone, and small windows adorned the sides. A large door stood at the entrance with several guards running inside.
The shouts from the fights behind us faded as we moved closer to our next battle. My legs were tired, and the ground shook beneath each of my steps. But with screams erupting in the prison, it only pushed me to move faster.
“Keep your eyes up and your heads moving.” Fisher blew out a slow, steady breath as if he were merely taking a walk in the gardens. “This won’t be easy, we’re going to need to work together.”
35
AUDRYN
The trembling earth stopped shaking just as we made it to the prison. Relief found me; my father was safe if he’d stopped using his magic. Letting it loose, for all to see, had surprised me. The last time I’d seen him use his magic was when I was a child, and he didn’t even know that I’d witnessed it. Things were so much simpler back then.
I cleared my mind and focused on the task in front of me. I needed to get to Jaspar before it was too late.
Two guards confronted us the moment we entered. I’d expected them to refuse us entry, but I hadn’t thought they’d outright attack us. Fisher fought one while Maris and I took on the other. Without a second thought, I pushed my sword through the man’s stomach, and it glided in like a fiery blade through butter. Blood gushed onto the floor, leaving the stone slippery. The man fell swiftly, and I turned to see Maris stab the other guard in his neck with her resistance dagger.
“Okay then.” Fisher lifted a brow. “We only have to do that a dozen more times.”
“Thankfully, I had a big breakfast.” Maris smirked. “Let’s go.”
We moved through the prison halls, taking on guard afterguard as they multiplied with each turn. None of us made it through unscathed. A guard’s fist struck Maris’s face and my left arm was cut while side-stepping a sword. Fisher only had a minor cut across his knuckles from striking stone when a guard ducked a blow.
By the time we made it to the end of the halls, we found a large holding room filled with people. A female guard plunged her sword through a young man’s chest. Two other bodies lay lifeless, while more than a dozen people knelt on double knees against the stone floor. Jaspar was at the end of the line with his chin held high.
The three guards turned on us. I immediately recognized the female with red hair. “Asher, don’t!” My eyes met hers and she looked just as conflicted as she had in the street with Hunt. That was before I ever stepped foot in the castle. “You know me!”
She stepped around me and took Fisher by surprise, slicing into his upper thigh. Blood spurted, but didn’t pulse; the cut was deep, but wouldn’t be fatal if tended to. He fought through it at first, but his skin paled and he dropped to a knee. Jaspar grabbed his sword and directed a male to work on the injury while he entered the battle.
