His eyes got huge and he clutched my head to his chest. “The human world is so dangerous! Thank goodness you came here where it’s safer.” He patted my head like I needed comforting.
I couldn’t help chuckling at him.
“Your Highness!”
We flinched all over again, but this time it was a guard rushing in, so I set Hydris on his feet.
“Did you find the source of the noise?” Hydris asked.
The guard nodded, looking shocked to his core. “The barrier with Summer is falling, Your Highness. General Albion sent word?—”
“How excellent!” Hydris exclaimed.
“—asking permission to begin the attack.”
“What?”
“Oh, shit,” I glanced at the table we’d pushed out of the way hours ago. “The soldiers are already there. Mannix already sent them.”
“No,” Hydris breathed. “No, they can’t.”
“Your Highness?” the guard asked, clearly confused.
“I did not consent to an attack,” Hydris barked. “Send word immediately that they’re to stand down. Retreat.” He waved that away. “No, I’ll go. They might not believe anyone else.”
Hydris flew out of the room, and I ran to catch up with him, grabbing his ankle. “Hold on! You’re not going alone.”
“I can do this,” he said and tried to shake me off. “They just need to see me say to stop. Mannix did everything in my name and?—”
“I don’t mean that you can’t,” I said as I grabbed his waist and pulled him down to me. “I just mean I can’t let you go into danger without me. Those sounds? They sound like the barrier is exploding.”
He settled against me with a little grin. “You want to protect me?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Okay.” He gave me a kiss, and I let him stand on his own feet. “Come on then,” he said and took my hand to fast walk down the hall.
“So what’s the fastest way for both of us to get to?—”
“Silver Sparkle.”
“The unicorn? No way can she hold me.” She was entirely too delicate for my bulk.
“Of course she can,” he said with a frown. “Don’t insult my unicorn. She bites.”
She also had a dagger on her forehead. “Wouldn’t dream of insulting your unicorn.”
We ran for the stables, Hydris leading because I had no idea how to get there from inside the palace. Eventually, I realized someone else was trying to catch up to us, and had Hydris slow down so Ottokar could join us.
“Something else wrong?” I asked the man.
Ottokar shook his head. “Our forces were under me before Mannix was made. I assumed I should be there to?—”
“Yes, come with us,” Hydris said before he started pulling me along again. “You’ll handle the retreat. And I want to know how the soldiers have been treated.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
We ran and ran, and I just knew that if we’d gone outside, it wouldn’t have taken nearly as long. The palace had a lot of pokey little hallways that zigged and zagged in every direction except the one we wanted to go.
