For my freedom, and theirs. For freedom against the threats on the Enduares. For a better life for my baby.
I must end this.
Weary, I press my hand to my throbbing shoulder, and then I pull my hand away to find it coated in crimson.
Hostia puta?1.
My Fuegorra glows to life, but I push on. I drag my dizzy form toward the manor. Not two steps in, I trip. My gauntlets land in a puddle of blood. I twist around to see the ripped open stomach of a slave.
I gag, trying to drag myself to my feet while avoiding catching my feet on any more lifeless forms.
There are few giants left, and all of them are engaged in battle. It’s pure luck that my stumbling is met with no resistance.
When I finally reach the manor, a tendril of cold, black mist extends toward me.
Grey hands reach out and latch onto my arms.I turnabruptly to come face to face with a vaimpír. I screech, scratching at their limbs with my gloved hands, but the creature is not the same skulking, hunting demon from the caves. It holds me in place as it drags me along—as if it were following orders.
“Estela!” my mate screams across the battle.
Turning toward the sound only makes me stumble. My strength is depleted. There is none left to fight against the gray hands. While my energy is sluggish, they don’t seem like they are going to hurt me, and I need their help to get to Rholker. I feel my magic working to save me, but between ridingdrathorinnaand fighting that giant, everything is moving in slow motion. This might be a mistake, but…
Seconds later, just as the door comes into view, a vaimpír hisses, and chilled blood sprays over my face.
Then Teo’s hands are on me. The smooth surface of a crystal is pressed to my face, and a few coarse notes of song pass through his lips. A wave of energy washes over me as the stones on my armor glow to life. Strength returns to my legs, and I can stand.
Vann appears next to Teo. They hold onto either side of me.
“We need to find Rholker,” I pant, even as the mist fills my lungs, and a memory of torture returns.
Teo doesn’t speak as he pushes open the door. I step across the wooden threshold and choke. Waving my arm, I inhale deeply and use the heat of my magic to burn away as much of the mist as possible.
A staircase materializes abruptly in front of us, just as the piercing wail of a baby shatters the silence. A forceful gust of wind surges through the room, hurling Teo and Vann backwards, out of the manor.
“No!” I scream just as the heavy door slams shut with a resounding thud. My anguished cry echoes as I whirl around to pound on the solid wood barrier.
The piercing wail of the newborn reverberates through the room, triggering a surge of primal urgency within me. My imagination conjures thoughts too awful to speak out loud. Babies are so fragile—akin to the life blossoming within me. That fuels my determination to ensure its safety. As I take a step towards the staircase, a chilling creak sounds from the door to my left.
I leap back as Dahlia steps out. And then, towering behind her, Rholker emerges holding a massive baby in his arms, a surreal and primal sight that sends shivers down my spine.
My eyes go wide, and rage coils itself up my spine. I need to get that baby away from him.
“Estela.” My name on his tongue sounds like an exhalation. Almost as if he’s been holding his breath since I left. Then his voice deepens. “Have you come to kill me?”
Our eyes meet, and I see the red that rings his once-yellow pupils while black veins creep up his neck, like rot.
There is an undercurrent of dark magic in the room.
He’s turning into a vaimpír, I cast the words to Teo.
I feel his recognition spark as he pounds against the magically sealed door. When he tries to reply, his message is muffled.
My gut drops, and I take a slow step forward, looking at the child squirming in his arms. He could kill the helpless thing faster than I could blink. Rholker would only keep a baby if it would be of use to him.
Nandi’s face flickers in my mind. I remember her screaming at Rholker, dirty and hungry. She called for her son, the true heir to the throne.
Do you see Nandi’s son in this court?
He never said the child wasdead.
