Page 24

“Okay, everyone, follow me as quickly as you can,” Liv ordered as she used her wind to unlock more cell doors. “Grab who and what you can. We don’t have a lot of time.”

It had been frighteningly easy to free the vitki from their cells, but it seemed that Liv had been too late for so many people.

In more cells than she’d like to admit, still forms that reeked of new death littered the floors.

She had gagged when she found the first cell, their bodies still not entirely cooled from lack of blood flow.

Something about the dead didn't sit right with Liv as she opened yet another cell to find the four inhabitants long passed from this world.

The veins on their limbs were black, and the skin around their throats was an angry shade of scarlet.

It looked like they had ice burns on their throats, the slim band a permanent reminder of whatever horror they faced before their painful passing.

The further into the dungeons she got, the more cells she found full of death.

The smell of rot grew stronger the further she went, and it only made Liv more determined to free as many as she could.

Every cell she opened felt like a small victory when the vitki would emerge, a new spark of life in their sunken eyes.

With her heightened senses, she could see that the people she freed were struggling with the light from the torch she held.

She suspected that when they reached outside, the sun would blind them.

They had lived in darkness for too long now.

Thankful that she had thought to bring medical supplies, Liv handed out strips of linen to everyone she freed.

The large group consisted of adults and some children, their emaciated form hiding their true ages.

The mothers held their children tightly, some being reunited after being split into separate cells based on the type of galder they could wield.

Liv’s chest caved in at the sight. There would be a lot of healing that needed to be done within this group, if any ever occurred at all.

When Liv had offered them a hiding place from the Kingdom of Flame, some had hesitated. It wasn't until Liv had dropped her glamour that they had started to believe her. She told them of Nida and how the King of Shadows was extending refuge to all who could reach their walls.

Quickly, her group had become so large that she started to worry about drawing attention, but Liv couldn't turn her back on them now. As soon as they exited the dungeons, stepping over the guards Liv had slain, they raced for the servant’s corridors.

“How do we know your King will honor this refuge? How can we trust that you’re bringing us to safety?” One of the mothers asked, her eyes hard and untrusting as she clutched her child.

“You don’t know, but Elven have been thought to be extinct until now, and it's clear I am not lying about that,” Liv said over her shoulder as she cleared the hall for them to move through. “I travel with the Kolbecks from the Kingdom of Rivers, and they will confirm my story.”

Several of the vitki nodded, but the woman still held a healthy suspicion in her eye.

When Liv waved them all forward, they began the last of their trek through the empty halls toward the docks.

Light footsteps betrayed the group she traveled with, but the halls were oddly deserted.

She had met no resistance other than the few guards who were stationed before the entrance.

Perhaps Aeric’s spy was clearing the way for her to free these people.

Soon, they reached the doors that led outside to the docks.

“We’re going to step outside now,” Liv said, turning to face the group of vitki . “Your eyes will hurt you if you don't cover them. I promise that as soon as you are in the longship, you can take them off.”

The woman who had questioned Liv earlier eyed her again before she hesitantly tied the strip of cloth around her eyes.

“Everyone join hands. Younglings, if you can hold on to your parents, do so now. We will all go out in a line together,” Liv instructed. She turned to the woman again. “What’s your name?”

The thick strip of cloth covered her blue eyes, but her light hair lay limp over her sweating forehead, the gold color still beautiful under the grime in the darkness of the hallway.Her fair skin was pale as her nerves seemed to take over when the artificial darkness surrounded her.

“Astrid,” she said, her voice still strong in the face of forced blindness.

Liv nodded before softening her voice slightly. This woman was clearly not one to back down from a fight, but she had also experienced countless horrors. It would shake anyone.

“Astrid, I want you to hold onto my belt and not let go under any circumstances. I’ll protect you from any attacks. I swear it to all the gods.”

Astrid was quiet for a moment before she gave a shaky nod and allowed Liv to guide her trembling hands to the back of her belt.

Before she could grip it, she reached one hand backward to the girl who had trailed Astrid quietly.

Her silver hair was dirty, and her form was thin, but Liv could tell she was older than a child.

The lack of nourishment really stunted these poor people.

“We are almost free, minn blóm ,” Astrid whispered and readjusted the young boy on her back who gripped her so tightly his knuckles were white.

Liv swallowed her anger at this family’s situation and turned to face the door. “Is everyone ready?”

Silence responded until Astrid’s grip on her belt tightened. “Yes, we are ready.”

Liv nodded and opened the door. Sunshine and heat poured through the opening, and the vitki with her exclaimed at the feel of fresh air on their skin, some of them releasing a quiet sob.

“Let’s move,” Liv said, her weapons drawn as she stepped out into open space.

The line of vitki behind her was silent as each person followed her out into the unknown, to freedom.

Maude poured all of her focus into diverting the natural winds away from the longship. Herrick had just boarded, reluctant and stubborn every step of the way, but she was glad for it as Hakon’s muscles shook with exertion next to her. They were running out of time.

Shouts rang out from over the wall, and Maude stiffened—Bryn and Liv were still inside the palace walls.

A pyre of flame shot out from where the barracks were, the structure exploding into chaos as fire tore through the building.

“Over the wall, now!” Liv’s voice echoed from beyond the wall.

She had finally found the prisoners and brought them here.

Maude pushed through her fatigue, ignoring the burnout that she felt coming on quickly.

Hakon grit his teeth and did the same, the tendons in his neck and arms straining with the effort to wrangle the tides.

In the blink of an eye, scraggly forms climbed over the walls and landed on the soft sands.

They all reached out in front of them, feeling for the way to go like they couldn’t see.

They’re blindfolded , she realized.

“Over here! Follow the sound of my voice,” Maude shouted.

Immediately, the freed vitki straightened and sprinted toward her as fast as their malnourished bodies would allow.

“To your right, there is going to be a wooden gangplank,” Maude yelled. “Follow it into the ship, and you’ll be able to take off your blindfolds!”

One by one, groups of vitki made their way onto the longboat. But she still hadn't caught sight of Bryn or Liv. The pyre could have only been Bryn’s doing as Liv had made herself known by helping vitki over the walls.

Metal on metal clashed again beyond the wall. A woman shouted in surprise, the familiar high-pitched sound cut off abruptly.

“Bryn!” Maude shouted, her arms going limp at her sides as she sank onto her knees in the sand when her exhaustion started to win the battle over control of her body. Her strength was starting to wane; already, she was having trouble keeping herself upright.

Ropes of vines shot out from the longship onto the sturdy trees that lined the beach, holding it in place.

“Go!” A golden-haired woman yelled through clenched teeth from the deck, her blindfold still in place.

Maude did not hesitate, she would not leave her sister behind again.

Pushing herself off the sand, she sprinted to the wall and launched herself onto the stones to pull herself up.

Ignoring the irony that she was running toward the palace and not away from it, Maude tried to make sense of what was unfolding below her.

Soldiers shouted on the other side, the screech of metal louder than before.

When Maude finally crested the wall, she saw Bryn’s limp form hanging over Liv’s shoulder. Her Elven ears were pointed again, her reflexes faster than any mortal she was fighting. Maude jumped into the palace grounds and withdrew her sword and axe.

“I’ve got this. Get Bryn to the ship,” Maude growled as she engaged the closest soldier to Liv and her sister.

“I’m not leaving you,” Liv said, swinging her sword through the belly of a Flame Soldier, spilling his entrails out onto the dirt.

“I’m right behind you,” she replied, downing two more soldiers before making her way to the last small group.

“No way in Hel,” Liv gritted out. “I’ve heard that before.”

Maude swung her axe into the shoulder of a soldier, sending him to his knees, but not before he jabbed his shield up into her jaw. Her teeth connected with her tongue and drew blood with the force she bit down on it.

She spat her blood onto the soil, the ground sizzling where it landed.

The soldier started to get to his feet, but Maude kicked out her boot, connecting with his chest and sending him sprawling onto the ground.

Sinking her sword into his gut with a savage smile, the blood from her mouth staining her teeth in a gruesome way that she knew would have been the face of nightmares if he had survived.

It was too bad Maude wasn’t feeling particularly merciful today.