Chapter 25
Draevyn
The moment the castle doors slammed shut behind Atlas, an eerie silence fell over the foyer.
Draevyn lay still for a breath longer, seething beneath the tendrils of living shadow wrapped around his limbs and chest. They encased him like chains, tightening whenever he shifted.
He was so utterly fucked. The look in Atlas’s eyes when he put it all together, that Draevyn had something to do with the prison bells, would surely haunt him for the rest of his life. But the first half of the crew was free, and there was no turning back now.
Especially with the damage already done.
Sucking in a slow breath, heat rippled off his skin in waves as a pulse of flame pushed outward. The shadows slowly loosened their hold as they sizzled, hissed, and writhed, until finally his flames burned through the bindings.
Draevyn pushed himself to his feet the moment he was freed and sprinted down the corridor.
He needed to get to a horse, and he needed to do it fast. It was bad enough Atlas already had a head start, and if he saw that it was Sam and Tommy freeing Esmyra’s crew, Draevyn would never be able to live with himself.
He may as well tie their nooses himself.
As he raced through the courtyard’s door, he caught the faintest glimpse of the last of the riders disappearing into the dark, torches in hand.
The stables loomed toward the back of the yard, the scent of hay thick in the air as he shoved open the wooden doors. Inside, the horses whinnied nervously, their hooves clattering in protest.
Draevyn rushed in, eyes scanning the rows. He reached for a tall black stallion, its eyes wide and gleaming like onyx in the darkness. “Easy, boy,” he said softly, holding up a hand.
The horse stomped and huffed but allowed Draevyn to rest his hand on his snout.
Grabbing a worn saddle from the wall, he flung it onto the stallion’s back and cinched it tight, his fingers fumbling in a rush. His pulse quickened as the sound of distant bells continued to ring faintly beyond the walls.
Draevyn heaved himself into the saddle, and the horse reared, his mane swooshing wildly before he surged forward.
They burst from the stables, the hooves pounding across the castle grounds, echoing into the dark.
Wind tore at his cloak, snapping his hair back from his face as he squinted against the chilly air.
Torches flickered as he burst through the castle grounds, riding into the lower city. The narrow cobbled streets filled with startled cries and the blur of people darting out of his way.
“Everybody, move!” he boomed.
The prison rose in the distance, the bells still tolling overhead. As he charged closer, guards were shouting and scattering, forming chaotic lines.
Draevyn yanked the reins, turning sharp into the side street that led to the rear—where he told Sam and Tommy to bring them. When he finally made it around the last bend, the horse skidded to a stop, mimicking his heart as it halted in his chest.
The prison yard’s rear gate was wide open. Smoke-like shadows curled in the air, the metallic tang of blood thick, stinging his nose.
Draevyn’s stomach dropped as he took in the sight. “Holy Irah,” he whispered.
Bodies. So many bodies were scattered across the yard—the other half of Esmyra’s crew. Their limbs were twisted as their blood soaked into the dirt.
No.
They were dead. All of them. Every mortal of The Night Wraith’s crew met their fate at the edge of a blade, or a—
“What a godsdamn disappointment.” Atlas’s voice sounded, and Draevyn’s attention whirled in his direction.
Across the yard, still alive but forced to their knees, were Sam and Tommy. They were bruised and beaten bloody, their weapons scattered in the soil in front of them. Their heads were bowed as they knelt before Atlas.
Draevyn clenched the reins so hard his knuckles went pale. What the fuck am I going to do?
“I don’t know what’s been going through my brother’s head lately, but I expected better from you, Samwell.
” Atlas turned slowly, eyes sweeping the scattered bodies of the prisoners.
“Let this be a lesson to those who betray their new king—to those who aid monsters and dare to choose treason over loyalty.”
“Atlas, stop!” Draevyn bellowed, and all eyes in the yard turned to him as he leapt down from his horse.
He barely registered the guards as they took a step toward him, blades unsheathed.
Atlas’s gaze darkened in the moonlight. “This doesn’t concern you, Draevyn.”
“Doesn’t concern me? These are my men!” Draevyn’s chest heaved as he came to a halt a few feet before him. “And you slaughtered hers.”
“They were traitors,” Atlas snapped. “Pirates who were prisoners of the crown. A crown they defied.”
He waved his arm behind him, and when Draevyn’s stare followed, he noticed it was Varis wiping blood from his blade.
“At least Varis understood that when he got here before I did,” Atlas boomed. “He may be a sneaky prick, but at least he’s loyal to Lephyrin!”
Fucking Varis.
Varis’s eyes widened, irritation creeping across his face. “Your Majesty?”
Atlas waved him off, ignoring him.
Embers burned at the edges of Draevyn’s fingers. “You didn’t have to kill them.”
“Oh, but we did, Brother,” Atlas said, stepping forward. “You made this worse. Your crew aided them. And now, they’ve earned the same fate. They will face the noose by sunrise tomorrow.”
The guards raised their weapons.
Fucking hells. Flames licked up Draevyn’s arms as he stepped in front of Sam and Tommy, who remained kneeling on the ground.
“Touch them,” he growled, “and I swear I’ll turn this entire yard to ash. Your men with it.”
Hurt flashed across his brother’s face, but then shadows swarmed in his dark eyes. “Then you’re truly lost,” Atlas hissed as he took a step toward him.
“They were people!” Draevyn bellowed, barely recognizing the man staring back at him. “You didn’t even give them a trial. How are you any better than our father after doing this? You’re becoming him faster than he even fell into the role himself, Atlas!”
His brother sneered, taking a step into him. “They’re bloody fucking pirates, Draevyn! And the worst of them. Let’s not forget what put us in this little predicament in the first place. They kidnapped you.”
The guards surrounding the scene watched, shifting on their feet as the silence stretched.
And then a high-pitched screech split the night air. Every head snapped up as an owl, ghost-white and wide-winged, cut across the midnight sky. The wind picked up, whistling through the trees and rattling the leaves above.
Draevyn’s lip twitched upward then.
Jak.
Atlas’s shadows exuded from him as all their necks remained craned, watching. “What in the name of Irah…”
The owl shrieked once more before it dove, talons outstretched. It slammed into Atlas's chest with a violent flap of wings, claws raking down his front. He stumbled back, shadows exploding in all directions. But the owl held fast, snapping at his face, beating its wings furiously.
“What the fuck!” Atlas screamed as it bit into his shoulder, blood blooming through his fine tunic.
A single golden eye met Draevyn’s in the chaos, and it was then he realized Jak was trying to cause a distraction.
The guards charged, swords raised, but their run came to a halt at the sight of Lephyrin’s Phoenix.
Draevyn’s palms sizzled as fire danced across his skin, heat shimmering in the air around him.
With a single, furious sweep of his arms, their blades succumbed to the unnatural heat, and the tips’ edges curled like parchment in flame.
Draevyn’s chest heaved as his power surged hot enough to melt the weapons from the men’s hands. They gasped as the blades dripped molten rivulets that hissed as they hit the ground.
Well, that was different, but a handy trick, nonetheless.
There was a heartbeat of stunned silence before he met the terror-filled eyes of the guards.
He glanced at Atlas, pulling out Jak’s feathers with grunts as he tried to free himself of the owl’s claws.
Varis tried to aid him, holding his blade in the air ready to swing, but Atlas was moving too frantically to swipe.
One of the soldiers took a step toward Draevyn as he was distracted.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” he warned.
But the guard only raised his fists as he looked Draevyn up and down. Then he attacked.
“Fucking Irah,” Draevyn huffed, right before his fist cracked into the man’s jaw, sending him sprawling.
Another guard came at him as he swung a shield, but Draevyn ducked and drove his elbow into the soldier’s gut. A third caught him with a punch to the ribs. He grunted before grabbing the man by the collar and slamming him face first into the wall of the prison.
As the guards tried to push themselves to their feet, he ran to his men, who were still bound and bloody. “Hold still,” he growled, trying to catch his breath. A pulse of heat melted the chain linking the iron shackles like wax, freeing their hands from the bindings.
Grabbing both Sam and Tommy by their arms, he heaved them to their feet. “Get up. Move!” He couldn’t help his tone. If they were caught again, they were fucked.
Draevyn turned toward the soldiers pursuing them once more, and with only a look, each of them went up in flames, turning to ash that instantly glided away on the wind. They were there one moment and gone the next.
“Holy fucking hells, Drae,” Sam breathed, his jaw falling open.
“This way!” Draevyn barked, shoving his two men toward the horses.
Behind them, Atlas wrestled the owl off, his shadows lashing at the bird like whips.
“Jak, go! Now!” Draevyn bellowed.
Jak launched himself back into the air before he could be caught, flapping away into the darkness.