Maybe he really was weak.
But I could tell them none of that. They had no idea what I knew. That the winged one was no longer under the king’s control. That I wasn’t, either.
Though maybe the female suspected I wasn’t.
Her eyes flickered to mine before going to the male onher left. “If you aren’t sure, then you aren’t with him. You aren’t loyal. Let me out.”
The male shook his head. “I can’t just do that.”
“Do you have much of a choice?” the creature growled. “Once this barrier releases us, I will tear you apart and free her myself.”
The one with the white hair flinched, fingers moving to one of the bars. He hesitated, hand hovering over the runes that would free her. I’d watched it a thousand times. Even the creature knew; he’d seen it before.
The female’s heart raced louder, thundering with fear and anticipation. Her scent, still mixed, somehow grew heavier in the air. Her fear made my beast angry. He wanted to break through the barrier and tear her free from the cage himself. Protect her in the only way he knew how.
By tearing soldiers apart.
The dome around us flickered again, this time the magic weakening significantly. I looked over my shoulder at the dark corner where the keepers of the magic usually stood, but rather than darkness, there was a ball of light.
Not fire. There was no smoke in the air. It didn’t tickle my nose when I breathed in. There was no scent to it at all.
“What the hell is going on over there?” the female asked, her voice tight with fear. “What is that?”
When I looked back, both her guards appeared startled by the light. If I could form words, I would tell them that I didn’t know, either. It was nothing I’d seen before.
The other world creature moved to stand directly in front of her cage, like he could protect her if it exploded. If the barrier went down, then he possibly could. But her cage was likely protected from any kind of danger. It was the safest place for her to be.
But the ground rumbled beneath my feet, and from the other world creature, a fissure opened in the stone. I watched, feeling the rise of magic shift around us, as the crack moved across the arena, opening the wall at the other end of the ring and splitting the cavern in two.
The dome of magic trapping us blinked out of existence. I felt the moment it disappeared; the magic dimmed to nothing, and as soon as it did, the other world creature jumped over the wall between him and the female.
With us being able to escape, it also meant we were no longer safe from the soldiers. They flooded the arena immediately, pulling weapons from their belts. It took me too long to climb over the wall, my large body not made for it. Not with the pains that radiated through my joints from the different punishments Watcher used against me. The skin of my back, which had been split so many times by his whip, grew taut with each movement I made climbing over.
When I landed on the ground, her guard jumped back. He reached for his weapon, fingers curling around the grip. My lips pulled in a snarl, though when he pulled it from its holster, he didn’t aim it at me.
He fired the gun, a loudbangechoing through the Pit. I didn’t have to look back to know he’d hit one of the approaching soldiers.
In the cage, the female made a sound in the back of her throat. When I looked at her, she had her mouth covered with one of her hands, while the other was pressed firmly against her stomach. The white cloth she’d been clutching between her fingers floated to the ground.
The guard put his gun away with a trembling hand and looked at his companion. “Let her out.”
The other male said nothing, activating the runes on the cage and opening the door. He didn’t reach for the chains they would put her in to drag her back to her cage. For a heart pounding moment, my beast watched them help her from her prison without shackling her.
As soon as her feet hit the ground, the earth rumbled again, shaking more debris free from the cavernous ceiling above.
“We must leave,” the other world beast said, “before the mountain takes us, too.”
38
Ivy
Freedom tasted like dirt and fear. It clung to my tongue, making it impossible to swallow or form words. All I could do was grunt when a stalactite came tumbling from the ceiling, crashing into Dante’s throne without remorse, tearing the silly, gaudy piece of furniture apart.
It was actually a little satisfying, if I were being honest with myself.
And it might have brought a smile to my face.
Icy-eyes wrapped a hand around my upper arm, tugging me out of the way before the rocks could crush me. I stumbled into his chest before being torn free of his hold, the Primal appearing in front of me.
