Two down.
The taint began to burn in my veins as I turned to confront yet another soldier, but I kept my head down and allowed my rage to overtake me. My anguish at being separated from my mate fueled my blows, and I attacked the soldiers relentlessly, avoiding their magical attacks and using brute force and agility to crush and kill them.
They had shadow magic, but I was faster and stronger, and they had just taken away the most important thing in my life. There wasn’t a force on this earth that could save them from me now.
As I tore through the soldiers, I was dimly aware of the others fighting as well. Mavlyn lashing out with her thorny vines, Leap dancing around the room and shooting bolts of lightning at his targets. Even Mrs. Aeolan fought, expertly sliced at her opponents using sharp wind currents. They kept the soldiers distracted, allowing me to tear through them, painting Mrs. Aeolan’s once-pristine walls with their blood.
Before I knew it, I was standing in the middle of the room, panting, covered in shadow guard blood. The bodies of the soldiers were littered all around, nearly every piece of furniture reduced to kindling. Leap, Mavlyn, and I exchanged wary glances, and I strained my ears, searching for the sound of any other approaching enemies.
But there was nothing, save for the sound of our harsh breathing.
“Well, that was far too much excitement for this hour of the morning,” Mrs. Aeolan said briskly, propping her hands on her hips. “I’m going to have to have this entire room redone.”
“You’re going to have this entire room burned,” Leap corrected. He grimaced at the dark blood staining his left sleeve. “And we’re going to need some everbright potion for Einar and the rest of us. He was hit, and all this blood can’t be good for us.
“I have a few doses upstairs,” Mavlyn said. “I brought some along just in case.”
“We’re going to need to get rid of these bodies, too,” Leap said. “There’s no way the neighbors didn’t hear that commotion. Someone’s going to come looking.”
We leaped into action, Mavlyn fetching the potions from upstairs while Leap and Mrs. Aeolan used their air magic to float the bodies out into the backyard. We didn’t have an earth fae on hand who could bury the bodies, which would have been easier, so I was forced to use my fire to make quick work of the corpses, scorching them at the hottest temperatures possible so we could reduce them to ash.
By the time I finished, I was nearly dizzy with exhaustion.
“We can’t stay here,” Leap said as I sat down on the edge of the fountain. A sharp ache gripped my heart as I remembered Adara sitting here with me less than a day ago, trying to bring me comfort after I’d stormed out of the house in a fit. I’d foolishly pushed her away, had pushed her away many times, but now that she was gone I fiercely wished that I hadn’t. I couldn’t bear the distance between us, and the beast inside me roared and beat its wings, frantic to chase after her.
“Of course not,” Mavlyn said, folding her arms across her chest. “We’ve got to go after Adara.”
“You three should clean up and leave now,” Mrs. Aeolan said. “Don’t worry about the neighbors, or about this mess. I can take care of that.”
“Are you certain?” I asked, lifting my head to look at her. Soot and blood streaked her gown, her silver hair a frizzy halo around her head, and yet somehow, she looked more regal than any of us. “This isn’t going to be easy.”
“Oh, hush.” She waved a hand at me. “This will be far easier than taking on King Aolis in his stronghold. Though I really do wish you hadn’t destroyed the dining room quite so thoroughly.” She sighed.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Aeolan,” Mavlyn said, looking stricken. “I didn’t mean to bring so much trouble upon you.”
“Nonsense.” Mrs. Aeolan gave Mavlyn a brief hug. “It’s been a long time since these old bones have seen any kind of adventure, and it was lovely to see you. You three had better get going, and don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine.”
The three of us quickly cleaned up, washing the blood off our skin and changing into fresh clothes, then hurried out the back, hoods drawn over our faces. Walking as fast as we could without looking like we were rushing, we made our way back down to the lower city, where we could hopefully find a place to hole up until night fell and we could sneak out of Wynth entirely.
“So what’s the plan now?” Mavlyn asked as we slowed our pace, blending into the crowd. The streets were still decorated with the remnants of last night’s festival, but I noticed now that wanted posters of Adara’s face were plastered on the outside of some of the buildings. “Do we head to Castle Kaipei? General Slaugh had to have taken her there.”
“I don’t see any other choice,” I said. The ache of Adara’s absence was growing worse, especially now that I was seeing her face everywhere. I knew it was the mating bond punishing me for allowing her any sort of distance, demanding that I rectify the mistake at once and return to her side before someone else could claim her.
But it wasn’t just the mating bond that compelled me to rescue Adara. It was the fact that the pieces were falling into place, and I was beginning to suspect I knew who she really was. The knowledge of her true identity was eating away at me, but even worse, the fear that I might be too late to save her. I’d never experienced terror the way I had when that soulless bastard had opened that portal and dragged Adara through it.
What was Slaugh doing to her now? Torturing her? Or had he already handed her over to Aolis, to use and abuse as he saw fit? Just the thought of that rotten king putting his hands on Adara threatened to send me into a rage, and I had to take slow, deep breaths to calm myself.
Losing control wouldn’t help Adara. I needed to keep a clear head, and get out of the city.
“We’re going to need a few supplies if we’re planning on storming the castle,” I said. “I’ve never led an attack on Kaipei myself, but we had detailed maps of the defenses. It won’t be easy to get through.”
Leap nodded. “We’re going to need some explosives,” he said.
“And some everbright potion, to ward against shadow sickness,” Mavlyn said. “Is there an apothecary here in the lower city?”
We made a list of the things we thought we might need, then spent the final hours running around the city and purchasing supplies. It seemed to take forever, but finally, the sun began to creep below the horizon, painting Wynth in fiery shades of red and gold. My shoulder blades itched with the need to sprout wings and fly as fast as I could toward Kaipei, but even though I couldn’t see it, I knew the energy dome arcing over Wynth was still active. Flying directly out meant certain death, even for a dragon.
The shadows grew longer as sundown finally approached, and we headed for the alleyway that led to the secret passage Leap, Adara and I had used to get into the city. All seemed quiet as we entered the alley, but we only made it three paces before I heard the barely perceptible sound of several bodies dropping from the rooftops above. Tensing, I turned to see Storm and six other air fae youths with him, all armed to the teeth, weapons pointing straight at us.
