Amira was glad to be reminded of why they were doing this. Why they were risking it all. For the sake of the children. With Layken’s interruption, their alibi was gone. They couldn’t lie and say they were knocked out like the guard at the cell. They were in it now. No backing out.
Mylner and his sister reached them. Before they went any further, Amira unfastened her silver bracelet and quickly put it in Mylner’s hand. “Here. You’ll need this,” she said.
She could feel Rhay’s eyes on her. He probably hadn’t been expecting her to give away the piece of jewellery Karwyn had gifted her, but it felt fitting to her. Something Karwyn had given her was now being used for good.
Mylner avoided Amira’s eyes when he replied, “Thank you. And…I’m sorry about my behaviour the other day. I will make good use of the second chance you’ve given me and my family.”
Amira wasn’t sure she believed him. She hoped that his brush with death would indeed make him a better man.
The four of them walked out into the open and the door closed behind them. Amira looked up at the starry sky. She knew she was going to be punished by Karwyn or her brother—probably both. The terrifying thought was crawling back into her head, trying to sound the alarm. But it was too late now, she had made her choice. Amira had finally saved someone. She couldn’t regret her decision. If it wasn’t for her mother, she would run away with them. Instead, she’d have to face the consequences.
She closed her eyes, trying to take a deep breath. What mattered right now was that Mylner and Sydna were safe. Maybe that would be her purpose, saving the ones Karwyn had wronged.
But just as the happy thought landed, four guards came out of the woods, quickly surrounding them. Layken must have managed to sound the alarm after all.
The guards were drawing closer. Like an enraged bull, Mylner launched himself at the two closest guards while screaming, “Run, Sydna!” He managed to throw a few punches, but he was soon overpowered by two guards.
Instead of running away, Sydna joined the fight with her brother and tried to stop the guards from beating him senseless. Her powers were still hindered by her exposure to almandine and she merely managed to get hit in the face. She fell to the ground, unconscious.
Amira looked at Rhay. His feet were buried in the ground like hers, incapable of movement. She thought he would have been stronger than her, but he was just as shocked and helpless. Deep in her heart, she resented him for it. Maybe it was because he reminded her too much of her own weakness. But unlike her, he had training and power on his side. Why wasn’t he helping them?
She stepped between the two other guards and the siblings, not sure what her next move would be. Her experience in fighting was non-existent and she had no power to fall back on.
“Move aside, princess,” said one of the guards.
She leaned over and picked a handful of stones off the ground.
The two guards raised their almandine swords. “Don’t make us use these on you,” one of them said.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she replied, trying to stop her voice from shaking.
The two guards looked at each other. Before they could decide on an action, Amira threw one stone after another. The guards seemed more annoyed than anything else. Their indifference increased Amira’s anger. She threw harder, putting all her strength into it.
The stone hit a guard’s nose even as he tried to deflect it with his sword. He cursed and Amira immediately bent to pick up more, but her triumph was short-lived. The youngest of the two waved his hand and suddenly vines tied themselves around Amira. Unbalanced, she dropped the stones and tried to tear the vines away from her body, but they kept growing. She could feel them wrapping around her throat. Amira couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her.
“Stop,” Rhay demanded, finally moving forward.
The guard didn’t give in as he turned his head. “You better stop right there, Messler, or I’ll have to tie you up too. I can’t hurt you, but I can stop you myself if I have to. I’m sure the king will not be amused by your interference.”
Rhay froze, his eyes darting to Amira. She could see he was battling with a decision, yet he chose to do nothing. Anger bubbled in Amira’s throat. Completely stuck, she barely managed to turn her head to witness the rest of the fight.
Mylner’s efforts had been in vain and he went limp when the guards slashed him with their almandine swords. Sydna was still on the ground with a split lip and a black eye. She watched helplessly as the two guards smashed Mylner’s face with their hardened fists. The young fae let out a desperate cry that would haunt Amira for the rest of her life.
The rest of the night was a blur for her. The four of them were seized by the guards and taken back to the palace. She almost expected them to throw Rhay and herself in a cell too. But it seemed like Karwyn hadn’t ordered them to take it that far. She got separated from the rest of the group and was accompanied back to her room by a guard.
He pushed her inside the room and said, “I’ll be guarding your room for the night. King’s orders. He will come to get you tomorrow morning to see the execution.” He slammed the door in her face before letting her reply. As she heard the key turn in the lock, Amira collapsed on the ground, flashing memories haunting her mind.
Her brother had done that countless times, locking her away in her room, restraining her freedom so that she would bend to his will more easily. Her skin was burning up and she had trouble breathing evenly as an inescapable boulder started slowly crushing her lungs.
Once again, she had failed to save anyone. She deserved to be overpowered by everyone around her.A broken doll,Karwyn had said. Well, now she truly felt like one, with each of her limbs scattered and lost forever.
Chapter48
Lora
The sun was as unrelenting as ever when they exited the cave the following morning. Lora’s eyes drifted to Eyden, the vivid memory of their time together in the woods washing over her. It was a welcome distraction, yet she knew she’d have to get it out of her mind for the sake of their mission.
Lora focused on the map in her hand. They were close. Whatever they were walking into, there was no going back now.
