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Arianna

Instead of fighting, Arianna quickly left the chaos behind. Fae were screaming and howling in pain as she let her magic cover everything in her wake. She didn’t have time to see who died or survived. Not with the urgency pulsing through her, urging her down, down, down.

Run.

Hurry.

Something was pulling her into the depths of the castle, drawing her in with magnetic force.

Something.

Or someone.

She kept sprinting, bounding down staircase after staircase, weaving through halls, and passageways until it all just … ended.

Arianna carefully stepped into the silent, dark hall. The sconces lining either side only held a small flame, telling her they might blink out any moment. She scented the air, tasting blood and fear.

Large cells spread along the walls, each door torn through as if some giant creature had burst free.

Arianna inched forward on silent feet, keeping her breathing even. She peered into the first cell and covered her nose, trying to block out the stench of rot and decay. Straw littered the floor in a corner. A nest. Bones were scattered around the enclosure as well, with flies buzzing between chunks of flesh that she didn’t want to examine too closely.

She should creep right back up those stairs, find a different route, but Arianna couldn’t turn away, not when her magic was begging her to move faster. It promised that whatever she sought waited right at the other end of this hall.

Arianna crept through the gloom, staying close to one of the walls. As her feet scraped across bits of dirt and unknown debris, Arianna found herself thankful she’d stolen someone’s shoes, even if they were a bit too large.

Something crunched just ahead and cold dread swept through her like a biting winter wind. She paused to listen, then crossed to the other side of the hall. Whatever it was resided in the cell just ahead.

Rustling, then the sound of something tearing had Arianna cringing. She shuffled forward, bent slightly to make herself smaller, then peered around the edge of the wall.

A thick muscled frame stood hunched over near the rear of the cell. Tufts of black fur jutted out at awkward angles. It stood on all fours like a giant dog. Its head pulled back again and she heard the distinct sound of bones crunching between its massive jaws.

Bile rose in her throat when she glimpsed a limp hand laying in the straw.

Now she understood exactly why Conall had wanted to rescue the prisoners. If they weren’t experimented on, they were used for fodder. Arianna hoped the victims had been brought in dead. She doubted Vairik would be so merciful.

Arianna had encountered a similar creature when the Dark Fae had attacked the village, back when she’d been standing beside—beside—she shook her head. This one looked even bigger. It was at least six times her size with enough muscle to rip her to shreds with little effort.

Arianna looked past the cell. It was only a matter of time before the beast finished its meal, then went searching for the next. Her eyes traveled to the open door. The latch appeared intact. If she moved fast, she could close it and trap the creature inside long enough for her to sprint down the hall.

She craned her neck to listen, hoping the other cells were empty. Maybe Vairik had summoned them to attack another innocent village. Her fists clenched. She needed to destroy them, but she needed to get to Vairik first.

Perhaps that was where her magic was leading her. It seemed to hate the High Lord more than she did. Arianna recalled the conversation she’d had with Vairik in his study. What had he called her magic? Laoise?

Arianna returned her attention to the door as another crunch resounded through the silent space. She prayed the beast wouldn’t be very agile with a full stomach.

Arianna loosed a quiet breath, then moved, sprinting on nearly silent feet. She grabbed the door and yanked, slamming her full body weight against it. The hinges let out a shrill shriek that had the creature spinning to face her. It charged without hesitation. Arianna grabbed the latch and dropped it into place right as the beast slammed against the thick door with a resounding thud.

Arianna fell back, landing on the dirty floor as she watched it relentlessly pound against the door over and over again.

The iron bent inward and Arianna staggered to her feet before sprinting down the hall. It roared after her, it’s fury sending a spike of fear straight down her spine.

She didn’t slow and passed cell after empty cell as she kept running. The hall split, but her magic urged her left and Arianna followed it, squinting in the dark. No cells here, just a long corridor with the same barely lit sconces.

Something prickled against the back of her mind and Arianna skidded to an abrupt halt. She cursed beneath her breath and searched for any signs of a glamour. The cracks were still on the walls and the sconces hadn’t changed. Had she entered some sort of barrier?

Arianna growled into the gloom, searching for anyone who might be hiding in the shadows. Her magic reacted too, coating the area around her feet. It crawled up the walls, forming thick, jagged spears of ice.

She kept moving, following the guide of her magic one step at a time.

Click. Click. Click.

The hair rose on the back of Arianna’s neck. She pressed herself against the damp wall and stared down the hall from where she’d come.

Click. Click. Click.

A shadow grew along the floor and Arianna’s heart beat faster. A low growl echoed off the walls, then the creature from the cell prowled around the corner, pausing and turning its head as if it knew exactly where she’d gone.

Click. Click. Click.

Arianna’s heart sank as another appeared beside it, standing twice as tall as the first. The broken doors suddenly made sense.

Arianna didn’t move, hoping beyond hope that they might not see her in the shadows. But the larger one sniffed the air then something dropped from its mouth. Whatever it was slapped against the stone floor. She shuddered.

The larger of the two sank back on its haunches then barreled straight for her. Arianna’s magic exploded.

A shield of thick ice covered the entirety of the hall and she shoved it forward, hoping it might knock the creatures back. The large beast burst through the thickened glass with little effort, sending shards flying in every direction.

Arianna sent ice skimming along the floor, and the beast slipped, slamming its massive head on the ground before scrambling to its feet. The smaller one chased it, followed by several others that’d just appeared.

She quickly formed several large spears, launched them at the creatures, then ran in the opposite direction as fast as her legs could carry her. Arianna kept freezing the ground in her wake and her magic shot out from the walls in thick jagged spikes. She prayed they would slow the creatures down.

The clicking behind her didn’t cease. It grew closer and closer and Arianna swore she could feel their hot breath against the back of her neck.

She covered the floor ahead in a thin sheet of ice then dropped down to slide around the next corner right as one of the beasts dove for her. It collided hard with the wall and one of its claws cut the bottom part of Arianna’s leg. She cursed from the pain but forced her body to keep moving.

Arianna peered behind her to find more colliding with the first, stopping them all momentarily as they clamored over one another to rise again.

Her magic pulsed beneath her skin, the creature within her rising as if it’d been holding itself back, for what, Arianna didn’t know.

She spun and let the magic burst from her very bones. It coated the hallway in seconds, then crawled over the beasts, freezing them into a heap of solid masses that didn’t move again. Arianna collapsed, breathing hard as she stared at them. At least a dozen. Gods, what was Vairik breeding down here? Had they previously been Fae or were these the dark creatures she’d been warned about as a child?

A burning sensation pulled her focus down to her leg and Arianna twisted it to examine her calf. Blood poured from the wound. She grimaced, then dipped her fingers into the crimson liquid and drew one of the runes Sive had beaten into her brain.

It glowed, then part of the skin stitched itself together. It did nothing for the pain, but at least it wasn’t bleeding as much as it had been.

Crack.

The sound sent a chilling wave of dread through her.

Crack.

It echoed against the walls. Arianna stood, watching in horror as spider web cracks spread from one end of the frozen Dark Fae to the other.

A chunk fell off, revealing the largest one’s mouth. It snarled, then its front leg exploded from the frozen mass.

How? She’d never—another piece of ice broke off, then Arianna turned and sprinted down the hall. Maybe she’d find a narrow staircase somewhere that they couldn’t follow her through. She’d seen enough small doors and nearly hidden steps to tell her the castle was littered with them.

But the walls were solid here, as if the creator had only intended there to be one way in or out.

A roar echoed from down the hall and Arianna turned to find the large creature bounding toward her. Her magic swelled and rose before darting out to encase the creature again.

The resounding silence was short lived as the ice began cracking again.

Arianna stepped back. Everything that’d ever been hit with her magic had been frozen inside and out. Were these creatures impervious to magic entirely or just hers?

She didn’t have time to think as the others slid around the corner.

Arianna took off running again, throwing spear after spear of ice in her wake. It was only now that she realized they weren’t hitting.

She sprinted around another corner and nearly cried at the sight of light flooding the end of the tunnel. She could escape. As soon as she entered the room ahead, she’d find another door, hopefully one more narrow where they couldn’t follow.

Arianna sprinted faster, her heart and lungs burning. She could feel the pull just ahead. She was close. So, so close.

Arianna glanced behind and gritted her teeth. She summoned her magic to her fingertips and with one big pull, Arianna spun and let her magic burst from the center of her body.

It rose from the floor and ceiling, one part of a wall rising up while the other raced down until the two collided, thickening as it spread back to the wall, then inward again.

She knew it wouldn’t hold. It didn’t matter. She just needed enough time to make it down the hall.

Arianna kept her magic flowing, growing the wall thicker and thicker until the first body slammed against it.

Just a little further.

In seconds, she emerged from the dark passageway and shielded her eyes against the offending light. She squinted up toward a balcony, right where her magic had led her.

And stared straight into the eyes of the High Lord of Pádraigín.