“All the evidence adds up, so don’t even try to deny it!” I raged. “Someone fucked up our warding potion when we went to the Devil's City, which left us exposed to Salvatore’s mob. You aren't an Alchemist, but you've got a hell of a lot of knowledge about potions. You were trying to keep us from getting that vampire key so the Warden could get there first, which is so obvious now. You were reckless over the coms and exposed us. You wanted us to get caught. I don't know if you're working for the vamps or the Warden, and I frankly don't care, because your days of passing along information are over!”
“If you don’t trust me and don’t want me around, then I don’t know what I’m doing here!” Alistair raged. “I’ll try my hand at the Warden’s world, because we all know it’s better than yours. You guys were my friends, and you stabbed me in the back just like everyone else has. So you know what? If Hemlock’s death breaks you, I’m happy she’s gone?—”
His voice was cut off as someone struck him across the face, and a heavy thump resounded as two bodies hit the floor. Wicked screams rang throughout the room. I realized Ava had launched herself out of her chair to tackle Alistair to the ground, punching him as hard as she could.
“Damn… you!” Ava screeched, her voice a combination of sobs and screams. “Just… die!”
Her fury made my entire form shake. If Ava had her magic still, she would’ve combusted Alistair into ash. But she couldn’t, so she was resorting to beating the shit out of him.
“Princess, please!” Eddie begged, and it sounded like he dragged her off. Just then, the sound of armed guards reached the room.
Before they could ask what was going on, Ava was already barking orders. “Arrest him! I WANT HIS HEAD!”
The guards rushed forward, but they only got a few steps before the clank of their armor halted. Instead, the guards turned on us. The guard nearest me unsheathed his sword, and I ducked out of the way as the blade sliced through the air where I’d been standing.
The sword hit the bed, and feathers went flying everywhere. Oberi gave a mad bark as he threw himself between Ava and a nearby guard. Magic exploded throughout the room as chaos erupted.
Alistair laughed madly. “You’re so scared I’ll betray you, Charlie? Too late. It’s already happened. Who knew treason could feel so good? Have fun with my puppets!”
Alistair dipped out of the room, his laughter and Pig’s meows echoing down the hall.
I ducked another incoming blow, punching a guard across the face. My hand hit a metal helmet, making my fingers throb. “Somebody stop him!”
“There’s nowhere to go!” Kallie shot back. “Do you want us to kill the guards?”
These guards were innocent, and I wasn’t going to have them pay for Alistair’s transgressions.
“Whatever. I’ll do it myself,” I grumbled.
My Air magic swept through the room, blasting the guards to either side to carve a path to the door. I raced into the hall and sprinted in the direction of Alistair’s footsteps.
I turned a corner… but found it empty. My Air magic swirled up to the ceiling and all the way to the end of the hall, but Alistair had vanished. More people came scrambling behind me.
“Where’d he go!?” I demanded. Someone must’ve seen something I couldn’t.
“He’s gone, sire,” Eddie said.
I shook my head. “No one just vanishes into thin air. You know something, don’t you, Eddie?”
“What do you expect me to know? The future?” Eddie had apparently picked up some attitude from his boyfriend, because it was the first time I’d ever heard him use sarcasm.
I marched straight up to Eddie and grabbed him by the collar. “Lives are on the line! Hemlock is dead, and I’m not interested in waiting around for another one of us to die at Alistair’s hand. We’ve already lost too many people. So you’re going to tell me what you know, or so help me, you’ll be next!”
Our bond trembled, like I’d yanked back on the spiritual rope tethering us together and let it spring forward. It didn’t break, but I felt the tension nonetheless. Eddie had defied my orders before because I’d given him permission to do so, and he didn’t want to help me now.
“Eddie, please,” Ava begged, weeping freely. “We can’t let Alistair get away with this.”
Her tearful tone made him relent. “Fine. I showed Alistair where the secret passageways are within the palace. He must’ve used them to escape.”
“Then show us,” I ordered.
Eddie led us down a few winding hallways to the other side of the palace, over to a statuette on a marble pedestal. I felt around for any sort of lever, but I couldn't find one.
“Push down on the statue’s arm,” Eddie instructed sourly, like it was my fault I couldn’t see where it fucking was.
I did, and a panel in the wall slid out of place to let us through. The passageway was wide, and the ground was flat. Ava was able to navigate it easily in her chair.
I led the way, and the others followed. I listened for any signs of Alistair— the click of his cane, the pad of Pig’s feet, anything— but the passageway was silent. Marcus complained it was too dark to see anything, but I had no problem navigating the wide, straight passage ahead.
