“Well, your plan wasn’t very well thought out if you didn’t even consider a sound barrier as a part of our escape,” I hurl at him, but I struggle to get the insult out and control my breathing.
“Sorry, did you want to get out? Or would you prefer to go back to slowly dyingin that bedroom?”
He comes to a stop and shoves me into an alcove, pressing his body against mine. I raise my hands, fully intent on shoving him away from me, but he grabs them before I can.
“Someone’s coming,” he whispers, his breath tickling my nose.
Muted footsteps approach, and I don’t move an inch. They pass, and my blood pounds in my ears as I hold my breath. Marik pulls away and pokes his head from the alcove. “Just a guard on patrol,” he says. “Let’s go.”
He grips my hand in his and takes off, all but dragging me behind him. We make it exactly three steps before something strikes our barrier. It disintegrates on impact. I whirl, but Marik shoves me behind him.
Cora’s black aura pulses around her angrily. “And where do you two think you’re going?” she hisses.
I fully expect Marik to burst into laughter, to finally reveal the game he’s been playing. I flinch when he moves, but it’s not toward Cora. He throws up another shield and tosses me over his shoulder, turning and running down the hall. Okay, now I believe him. This is happening. He really is trying to get me out.
Cora bobs in my view as he sprints away, but she doesn’t make a move toward us. She just watches us with fascination. Marik cuts down a side hallway and she disappears, but it does nothing to lessen the way my stomach twists.
“What’s the plan here, Marik?”I ask, not bothering to hide the panic in my question.
“Get you out and funnel you away from here,” he grunts below me.
“That’s it? You planned for years to get on the throne, but you couldn’t come up with a half-decent strategy to get me out of here?!”
He mutters something unintelligible, but it sounds an awful lot like obscenities hurled in my direction. “There are wards on the inside of the castle that prevent funneling. I need to get you outside to funnel you out. That’s the only plan. Get you outside,” he huffs as he runs.
“Let me down. I can lead us out of here. It will be faster.”
He slows his pace, then all but throws me from him. Without the sound of his heavy breathing and his feet slapping on the floors, I make out the sounds of…many pairs of feet running toward us.
Shit.
I take off. He easily matches my pace, trailing slightly behind me to follow my lead. He handsme a dagger, and I jump at the sight of it, ready to defend myself. But the hilt is facing me.
“Mar the mark. It will help,” he says as he jogs beside me. “And take the necklace off. It’s not locked.”
I yank the necklace and throw it to the ground, then grab the dagger and slash at the hidden sigil on my stomach. My dress rips, but it works. I feel like my lungs can fully expand, like I’m no longer carrying a weighted rucksack over my shoulders. My steps lighten and I palm the dagger in my hand as my legs pump. I cut down another hallway, my mind racing at the quickest way to get the fuck out of here that also is the least populated. The library. It’s near the throne room, so it’s a risk, but it might be the best shot.
Even with the dark magic no longer weighing me down, my thighs still scream, begging me to stop. I press forward, panting, sucking deep breaths into my lungs, urging them to continue to justhold on, please hold on, we’re almost there.The racing footsteps behind us grow louder. Closer. My heart is a pounding mess of adrenaline and fear and full-blown panic.
If I don’t make it out of this, they will kill me.
I will not die. Not today.
A turn ahead looms closer. The final turn before the library doors. I round it and skid to a stop. Marik slams into me from behind.
Cora blocks the path to the library door, a group of witches behind her.
Fuck. Think, think, think.
But I can’t think as she stares at me, and the sound of footsteps behind us is nearing and time is running out, ticking by so slowly, so quickly. I didn’t have enough time.
I don’t want to die.
A burst of fire flies past me, landing at Cora’s feet. It spreads around her and the witches, flames licking and growing higher. I turn, ready to defend myself against the witches behind us. But it’s a group of waitstaff. With gold necklaces.
Asmo’s friends.
I don’t waste a second. I turn and cut through them, sprinting back down the hall. Marik follows close behind me. The front doors arethe only option now. I’d rather face a line of guards than Cora and her witches.
