“Amira, go back!” Elyssa yelled, but Amira wasn’t listening.
She ran in a zig-zag, arrows racing past her ear. One grazed her shoulder, tearing her blouse and leaving a bloody stain, but Amira kept going, pushing her power to protect her.
Out of breath, she reached the cell and grabbed the bars. Elyssa stared at her, lips parted in an incredulous expression. “I told you to get the hell out of here!”
“I’mnotleaving you,” Amira said as the sounds of fighting intensified behind her. “I don’t care how many arrows I have to dodge, how many guards, you’re not staying behind. I’ve said it before,you’reworth saving.”
Elyssa’s lips turned upwards. “You’re crazy, sunshine.”
Amira laughed. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the exact same thing.”
“Touché.” Elyssa looked over Amira’s shoulder, and Amira followed her gaze. More guards surrounded Eyden and Farren. “You have to use your powers. Help them first, then come back for me. I know you can do it. I trust you to save us.”
Amira knew she meant it. For once, Elyssa seemed ready to accept help, to accept that she deserved to be saved. They wouldn’t leave her.
Taking a deep breath, Amira turned around, determined to make a difference. Eyden was now fighting three guards. One of them managed to inflict a gruesome cut on his arm, causing Elyssa to curse out loud. Even from farther away, Amira saw the splash of blood. Eyden dropped his weapon, and the two other guards moved forward just as he disappeared. Confused, the guards looked at the empty space before turning their attention to Farren.
Reappearing behind the two guards, Eyden grabbed his weapon off the floor. Before they had time to react, he knocked them out in two strikes. But more guards were coming.
Amira’s heart beat so fast it made the fabric of her shirt flutter. She felt her pulse, her fury burning her skin. Her hands twitched, agitated by a strong current of energy.
Her focus turned to the guards targeting Eyden. A buzzing sound muted the noise of the fight. Electric waves ran through her body. She felt powerful and weirdly in control. Her gaze locked on the ceiling where she knew more arrows were hidden, waiting for the trap to be activated again.
Without thinking, Amira stepped into the crossfire. Elyssa yelled a warning, but Amira could hardly hear over the blood rushing in her ears. As the first arrow shot from the ceiling, Amira launched her hands in the guards’ direction, redirecting the arrow’s path as she manipulated the air around her.
The arrows didn’t just fly through the air; electricity encased them, turning them utterly lethal. More and more arrows rained down, and each found a new target in one of the guards.
They yelled out in shock, dropping to the ground one by one, yet Amira made sure not to hit their hearts as she didn’t want their deaths on her conscience. The electricity seeping from the arrows knocked them out, their bodies twitching.
Eyden stared back at her, an awestruck look on his face as he stood by, sword raised yet there was no need to strike again. He seemed to consider ending the guards’ lives to make sure they couldn’t talk, but Farren had other plans.
Kneeling next to the fallen guards, Farren said, “I’m going to remove their memories.” He took out a lazuli crystal and pressed it to the guards’ foreheads.
Eyden walked up to Amira. “Nice job, Amira.”
“I don’t know how I did it,” she admitted while looking at her hands. She’d never felt that in control. The arrows had stopped raining down on them.
Farren joined them. “It’s the talisman,” he said, pointing at her chest. Amira noticed that the crystal had burned a hole through her blouse.
Clearing her throat behind them, Elyssa said, “I’d love to continue this riveting conversation, but can we maybe find a way to get me out of here first. I’d rather not make friends with the goddamn skeletons.”
Amira’s heart tightened in her chest. They needed to free her before more guards found them. She turned to Farren, an idea in mind.
“What if we tried visualising a door going through the bars, using the talisman?” Amira asked, unsure how all of this worked.
Farren’s eyes widened. “It should work, given the strength of the talisman.”
A few guards started to whine as consciousness gripped them. Amira removed the talisman from her neck. The ruby crystal glowed brightly, and it was hot to the touch.
Eyden moved closer to her. “While you get El out of here, I’m going to drift the guards to the woods,” he said. At Amira’s confusion, he added, “They can’t suspect anyone has been here. Hopefully, they’ll think they were black-out drunk.”
Amira nodded as Elyssa looked at her brother. She put two fingers behind her ear, and Eyden returned the gesture before stepping back reluctantly, even though it had been his idea. Their sibling bond made Amira think of Wryen. They had never shared any connection, any affection. She feared the next time she would have to face him, especially after running away from him in Carnylen.
While Eyden took care of the guards, Farren put his hand on the crystal in Amira’s palm, pulling Amira’s attention to him.
“El, you’ll have to be quick. We don’t know how long we can maintain the door,” Farren said, his concerned face turned to his friend.
Elyssa clutched the cell bars. Looking at the bars in front of them, Amira focused the last of her energy on imagining a simple cell door, right in between the metal bars. She pictured the rotten wood, the rusty iron hinges, the open lock. Her nose filled with the scent of pine, the material she imagined was used for the door. Pine reminded her of Elyssa, who always had a comforting woodsy smell like she had just walked out of the forest.
