Page 49

Chapter thirty-one

N ickolai and I shared a wide-eyed look before he whispered, “Cover yourself.” I barely had time to register his words before he practically lept off me.

Quickly pulling my dress down, I stood, my eyes landing on the guard, who blushed even though his head was turned. Several other guards in armor stood in the hall, their backs to the door as they waited for Nickolai, their king.

“What happened?” Nickolai demanded.

“It’s Lengenfurt, Sir. We just received word that they are under attack by a resistance group.” The guard said with nearly as much command as Loughlan on his bad days.

Nickolai tucked in his tunic that must’ve come loose during our tryst, “How many?”

“The scouts have counted at least two hundred.”

Nickolai cursed under his breath before nodding toward the door. The guard immediately exited, with Nickolai placing a quick kiss on my forehead before moving to follow.

I reached out my hand to his arm. “Wait! Take me with you.”

He released a heavy sigh, not bothering to face me fully, as he stated, “Mira, I can’t.”

“I’m a trained fighter, Nickolai. Please, I can help!”

Turning toward me at last, he said, “The rebels are trained fighters too. I can’t risk it.”

The realization that I was still a prisoner hit me harder than I was prepared for. Taking a step back, I deadpanned, “Am I at least allowed to leave my room, Your Highness?”

He rolled his eyes, “Mira, don’t do this now, I don’t have time.

. .” At my unchanging expression, he added, “Of course you can leave your room, just stay with the guards.” He didn’t wait for me to say anything else as he briefly kissed me once more and turned to jog to his awaiting men.

They handed him his sword along with his cloak, catering to him before they all disappeared from sight.

I began to pace my room, my pent-up energy sitting directly beneath the surface of my skin.

Catching a glimpse of the remaining guards in the hall, each of them no doubt feeling left out as well, a thought popped into my mind.

My feet instinctively began walking me in their direction.

I didn’t know their names, but I didn’t need to know that to tell that they were men, all of whom had a way of being manipulated.

“You guys should join them!” I exclaimed with a concerned look on my face.

The leader shook his head, “The king ordered you to stay here. Where you are, we are.”

So they heard us.

“He also said that I could leave my room as long as I stayed with you,” I countered.

The guard only nodded.

“So I’m leaving for Lengenforth, or whatever town that guard said.”

The leader now met my eyes. “I can’t let you do that, Miss.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I said, “Either you guys suck as guards, or you must not be confident enough in yourselves to protect me. No matter which way you look at it, the king must apparently agree.” The other two guards shared a look of dread while the leader kept firm, his face unwavering.

Throwing my hands up in exasperation, I began walking back into my room right as the leader said, “Wait.” Twisting back around with a large smile on my face, I waited for him to continue. He glared down at me, leaving no room for argument as he commanded, "You stay with us, understand?"

"Understood. Let's go."

They hesitated before one of the quiet ones quipped, “Wouldn’t you like to change?”

I leveled him with a look, “Are you suggesting I worry about the outfit I have on when people are dying?”

He shook his head and I turned back to the leader—a slender man with thick dark stubble forming over his chin.

When I looked at his eyes, they were dark.

Even with them being hazel, it was clear that they no longer held any spark left in them.

I tossed him a nod, which he returned before handing me the belt for his second sword.

Working it around my waist, we took off on a jog.

I managed to secure it by the time we reached the bottom of the stairs.

The whole castle was erupting with mayhem.

Servants were practically running through the main entry hall, narrowly avoiding the massive amounts of left-behind garbage and armor.

Few men were still yet to join the rest of their group, having apparently not woken up fast enough.

My guards led me through the main entrance of the castle where we each immediately broke out into a sprint toward the stables.

Before training, I would’ve most likely fallen behind during the run, even if the guards weren’t using their fae speed. But now. . . now I had to hold myself back in order to stay in pace with them.

We reached the stables to find them nearly cleaned out, with only three horses remaining.

Without delay, the leader worked out the problem by saying, “Mira, ride with me.” He mounted the horse, reaching down a hand to pull me up behind him instead of in front.

Most likely trying to decrease Nickolai’s wrath if we were caught.

Even I knew that Nickolai wouldn’t take kindly to seeing me riding a horse with my arms wrapped around another man, let alone that man's front pressed against my backside.

So the former seemed to be the better option.

Once we were each mounted, we took off faster than I’d ever gone on a horse before. I awkwardly clutched my arms around the guard’s waist while tightening my legs against the horse's rear. The powerful pounding of each hoof hitting the ground went through me like shockwaves rattling my core.

The skirts of my dress had risen up my legs once more, but this time the fabric was tucked beneath me in an attempt to conceal myself.

While it was the only way to ride the horse, it left my legs completely exposed to cold air.

My teeth were fully chattering within two minutes and I tried to distract myself from the never-ending breeze by shouting, “What’s your name? ”

The leader was quiet for a moment before answering, “Nelson. Big one is Finley, and the stupid one is Griffith.”

I looked behind me. Both men followed closely. Griffith, a narrower but taller man than the leader, had been the one to ask me whether I wanted to change. Which, now that I was suffering from the decision, I realized that he was probably thinking better ahead than the rest of us.

Finley, on the other hand, was massive. His shoulders would no doubt span the entire length of my torso and had tattoos that peeked out from the neckline of his armor. He seemed to be the most comfortable out of everyone to be on a horse—surprising since was he almost too big for it.

Before I knew it, we had gone through the wall and the sounds of metal meeting metal mixed with the screams of both men, women, and even children as it permeated through the trees. We cleared the tree line and the sight was one that even the most seasoned fighter couldn’t have prepared for.

Homes were engulfed in flames that reached well over twenty feet in the air.

Burnt remains of bodies laid face down in the streets as people battled around them.

There was no use in watching where they stepped—each spot on the ground held either another body, or the organs that belonged to those bodies.

Nearly every single one of the dead had round ears.

Families tried to cower against the buildings that were untouched by the flames, with the children screaming in their mothers’ arms, some who had blood pouring from gashes on their faces.

Men and women in silver armor fought men in black leather using either a sword or their seals of ice, water, fire, and more.

The fire bounced off what looked to be clear shields in front of its targets, ricocheting to hit someone else nearby.

Spears of water, however, would hit the shield and shatter into thousands of droplets.

Proving to be only useful when used against the fire.

Nelson neared the town, slowing the horses to a gallop as he looked for places that needed help.

When he saw them, he quickly ordered Finley or Griffith to step in.

I looked around as well, but I looked in the areas that I knew he wasn’t—where it seemed like the fight was far from.

It didn’t take me long before I found what appeared to be two men nearing a family of four with the father already severely injured.

I didn’t hesitate. Jumping off the back of the horse, I took off toward them.

Nelson called after me while trying to follow before he was surrounded by three men who pulled his attention.

I didn’t hold back my speed, this time letting my legs push off the ground with all the strength I had.

As I neared, I could hear the men chuckling at the cries of the children.

The first man grabbed for the girl who looked to be about five. But the mother clung to her arm for dear life as she pressed her other hand to her husband's wound.

Almost there.

The other man lifted his sword above his head and moved to swing it down on her outstretched arm.

No!

Pulling out my blade, I lifted it above me as I stepped beneath the blow. The strength of his hit slammed my sword into my shoulder, cutting into it. They looked surprised by my arrival, but it didn’t last long.

“Who are you?” the second one asked with intrigue. I could faintly make out a gold tooth taking up one of his canines as he leaned in with a snarl, dragging his eyes over me. Bile licked my throat as I tried to push down the throb in my shoulder.

“Look at her dress. She must be a princess, Feroz. Coming to save her people!” the first one joked, which had both of them chuckling.

The second one collected himself enough to ask, “Weren’t we supposed to be looking for a girl like her, Biorn?”

The second man, Biorn, scanned me. “I believe so!”

“Bringing you in will certainly put us in his favor.”

I didn’t bother saying anything to them as I focused on the person within me, bringing her to the surface to get her fill of the fun she had been anxious to have.

An uncontrollable smile spread across my face, and their laughter stopped as they took me in once more.

Most likely noticing my eyes changing color.

“Let's make them eat their words,” I said in my mind. Her only response was the evil laughter that ricocheted within me.

I didn’t feel any pain as I swiftly kicked the first man back and pulled my sword from my shoulder.

They both launched a strike at the same time—trying to trap me between their swords.

Turning sideways, I held my blade perpendicular above my good shoulder, using it to carry a majority of the weight as my other one healed. Luckily, it wasn’t my steel blade.

Both of their weapons hit mine with an ear-piercing screech.

I moved out of their path, withdrawing my sword from under theirs.

The removal threw them off balance and caused each of them to take a step forward to catch themselves.

With a turn, I dropped my blade only to bringing it back up and slice one of their calves.

The man groaned, cursing, “You're fucking dead.”

“Don’t, we need her alive!”

Fuck that.

Both of them launched an assault again, but I stepped out of the way.

The man I had injured was slower than the other, opening a perfect moment for me to slip around him on the side of his bad leg.

He tried to turn with me, which resulted in him dropping to his knee.

I didn’t hesitate or give him time to even lift his sword as I gripped his hair and sliced the blade through his neck, severing it from his body.

There was a loud yell from my side before the second man tried to launch after me again—this time, swinging his blade down where I stood. I stepped back, narrowly dodging his hit.

So much for trying not to kill me.

Taking the head still hanging from my hand, I swung it at his face, making contact along with what had to be the most disgusting sound I’d ever heard. The man dropped to the ground in a daze.

I kicked at his hand, causing him to drop his sword, and moved to stand in front of him. Dropping the other head, I gripped the one still attached and set my blade against his throat. Blood and brain matter were splattered across his face, but that didn’t hide the sneer that appeared on it.

I worked to catch my breath as I looked down at myself before meeting his hate-filled eyes.

“You got blood on my dress.” I once again slid my blade through the thick cords of muscle and arteries.

The head became lighter as the heavy body fell away to the ground.

I dropped the head onto the pile of dismembered bodies, and my stomach lurched.

I killed two men. Whether or not they deserved it—which they did—it didn’t stop my mind from wondering who was going to be waiting for them to return, only to find out they never would. Who would tell them the people they loved were dead?

The hair on my arms stood and I looked up.

Among the tree line were the unmistakable glowing eyes of the aufhocker that had saved me in the woods.

My heart quickened as I once again watched the black smoke swirl around it in a mesmerizing dance.

Everything within me told me to go to it, to be near it.

My body answered the uncontrollable pull as I took a step in the direction of the forest.

In the next moment, the mother behind me screamed, “Look out!”