Reece was able to pickpocket this off the lead guard when he stumbled past them onto the steps. I was more than grateful for his fast hands.
Still kneeling on the floor, I began working on the shackles along my ankles.
“Hurry,”he signed as he stumbled on a step while attempting to rise to his feet. “It sss-eeee-mmms I need a refill!” Reece announced to the guards, who thankfully didn’t turn and look at him, which meant they still had their attention away from me.
I quickly unshackled the cuffs along my feet, gently placing them on the ground without a sound. Next, I adjusted the iron encircling my neck. The skin beneath it stung as I moved the ring around my collar tofind the lock. This one was more difficult to manage because I couldn’t see the keyhole.
“Would you look at those females?” Reece joyfully said as he found his feet and looped an arm around the lead guard, keeping their attention on the crowds behind my back.
There. The lock turned, and I unlatched the iron around my neck. With my hair loose, I was able to conceal the area until finally, I worked on my wrists.
I sighed with relief as the iron chains and shackles finally dropped to the floor. I remained utterly still, silently waiting for the distraction Reece said I wouldn’t miss.
“You know what thi-ssss party need-sss?” Reece asked.
“Less wine?” One of the guards snickered.
“Never!” Reece scoffed. “What’sss the matter wiitttth youuu two?”
Looking at their feet behind me, I could tell Reece had his arms around their shoulders and pulled them toward him. “Some pizzazz. Some excitement,” he said in a hushed, sober tone that gained their attention. “Somefireworks.”
I grinned.Here we go.
Chapter Forty
Daxton Aegaeon
The room erupted in pandemonium.
Sparks of color and fire soared in every direction. Guests began screaming as the loud booms and explosions from the colorful displays meant to burst high in the sky erupted in the enclosed area. Panic set in as the blasts set fire to the draping curtains, blew holes through the walls, and shattered windows. I could smell the familiar scent of blood beginning to pool. Those injured by the blasts screamed in pain as the others trampled over them in fear for their own lives.
I sprang to my feet, forcing my aching body to push onward. Ignoring the shooting pains along my limbs, I raced toward the pedestal where the scroll lay untouched near the golden throne. I covered my skin in a thin layer of ice as I leaped over a fallen column, burning in decadent golden decor.
I glanced over my shoulder, thankfully not seeing Reece anywhere. I sighed in relief, hoping he had an escape route already planned and was able to find it without getting caught.
Skidding to a stop, I reached for the scroll and rolled it before quickly tucking it safely into my shirt.Pivoting around the pedestal, I dashed toward the throne only a few lengths away. The center was covered in crumbling rubble and destruction.
Fireworks indeed. The entire structure was falling apart. It wouldn’t be long before the ceiling came crashing down.
As I dashed toward the rendezvous point, my heart thundered inside my chest. I didn’t see her. Zola wasn’t waiting behind the…Fuck. There were no shadows cast around the throne. With the room illuminated by the explosions and fires, there were no shadows for her to hide in.
Where the hell was Zola?
“Gahhh!” I roared, feeling the force of the queen’s magic, collapsing on my knees in front of the throne. I grasped my head in agony as she attacked my mind, attempting to split it in two and force it to explode like the fires swirling around us all. “No!” I screamed.
My eyes sprang open, finding her in the center of the chaos. Her hair was a tangled mess. Her crown was missing, with a large open wound along her black brow. If I could have managed to laugh at the state she was in, I would’ve.
“You!” she sneered as her magic flared with her finger pointed in my direction.
I simply smiled at her. “Me,” I answered, unleashing the power I struggled to keep veiled during these weeks locked in Minaeve’s dungeons.A blast of iceerupted from my hands, shards of deadly, sharpened points targeted straight for Minaeve’s blackened heart.
“No!” Seamus screamed as he rushed to shield Minaeve, using his magic to create a barrier to protect them.
My shards slammed into his magic, knocking them backward into the rubble.
“Z!” I roared, frantically searching for my spymaster.
Where the fuck was she?
