57. FIFTY-SEVEN
FIFTY-SEVEN
Darius
Icover my mouth with my sleeve, careful not to breathe in any lingering smoke as we search the beach for survivors. The moonlight aids in our rescue attempts now that the last of Mina’s storm clouds have dissipated.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around her full power when one of the soldiers waves his torch back and forth. He found another survivor.
The medical tents are near capacity already, but Staefan and Tayla are trying to move the more severe injuries to the local hospital. I should be the one coordinating relief efforts, but I needed to be out here searching.
I won’t rest easy until I figure out what happened.
The soldier sticks his torch in the sand and starts digging through burnt planks, tossing them to the side with increasing speed. Every piece he moves reveals a patch of blood-soaked sand. If someone is alive under there, they won’t be for long.
I wave down the closest stretcher and jog over to help. I flip a cracked board out of the way. A sickening combination of sweet roses and singed flesh burns my nose. The bloody sand isn’t sand at all, but what remains of a red dress.
“—didn’t know,” Lady Elena wheezes.
The flesh around her mouth is cracked, peeling back with the other burned parts of her face like pieces of an incomplete puzzle. I move the last plank covering her arm but find the limb is gone, her shoulder cauterized by the explosion that took it.
These aren’t wounds she can come back from.
Lady Elena’s wide eyes bore into me, lost and desperate at the same time. I try to summon a grain of sympathy, but the idea that this could have been Mina makes it impossible. Rage pulses through me in time with the waves.
“Did someone tell you to invite Mina on stage?” I ask.
“I—idn’t know—plan,” she croaks, barely managing a nod. “He—”
The soldier moves to pick her up, but I grab his forearm and shake my head. He assesses her wounds, coming to the same conclusion I did. We won’t be needing the stretcher. He nods and moves on down the beach to continue the search.
I focus back on Lady Elena. “Who told you to invite Mina on stage?”
“—is—n.” Her mouth barely moves. The blue in her eyes is starting to dull in a way that says we don’t have much time left. Frustration burns through my chest.
“Who?” I shout. “Dammit, Elena, give me his name.”
A familiar throaty gurgle escapes her throat, her wounds granting more mercy than I ever could.
Fuck. FUCK.
Cold, undiluted fear slices through my chest with each breath. I don’t know who tried to kill Mina, but they might use the chaos to try again. I need to re-secure her somewhere more defensible. No one knows where she’s hidden, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking.
Before heading to the mansion, I grab a soldier and send word for Staefan to pull five of our best from the search. Mina can rest in our room until I round up everyone involved in planning the party. Someone knows what happened, and I will make them talk.
I sprint down the length of the hallway and rip open the door, only to find the closet empty.
No Alexi. No Mina. But no signs of a struggle.
I told her to stay here and rest, but knowing the two of them, she’s off helping somewhere. Clearly, I was right to come back and check on her. I scour the grounds, searching for any sign of my troublesome bride. The longer I go without finding her, the tighter my stomach knots.
Something is wrong. Not even Jaime has seen her.
I pull Mina’s unit to start searching every room, every outcrop of beach, until she’s found. Some were injured in the explosion, but there are still over fifty women up to the task.
We’ll find her.
Maybe Mina found her way back to our room to rest. I take the stairs three at a time, ears buzzing as panic threatens to drown me. My heart lodges in my throat. I throw open the door, revealing an empty room. I check the washroom and balcony, but no one’s been here since we left.
Dammit, Mina. Where are you?
I stomp back into the hallway just as Urselya runs around the corner, her grimace a knife to my chest. Breathing seems impossible as I follow her to a small office on the first floor.
Weisman is tied to a chair with the drapes, unconscious. Alexi is leaning against the wall with an arrow in his leg. Hamlin works to tie the wound, but Alexi isn’t making it easy. He’s yelling at Hamlin to let go but calms down when he sees me walk in.
The desperation in his twisted frown makes me want to vomit.
“Where is she?”
Tears break through his usual carefree demeanor. “They took her.”
He rushes through the story of how Weisman led them here. How the shadows traded his life for Mina’s compliance. Each word lands like a blow to the stomach. I found the traitor, but I’m too late.
Mina’s gone.
How much time has passed? Where would they take her? A million questions and worries flood my thoughts until my ears ring. My heart throws itself against my ribs, threatening to shatter without Mina.
I squeeze my eyes shut and force deep breaths through my nose, trying to regain my composure.
Alexi offers a string of apologies. It’s not his fault, but I don’t have time to reassure him. Not when I’m barely holding myself together. I’m just glad he’s alive, and I need him to stay that way. I order Hamlin to keep Alexi here and make sure a doctor tends to his wounds.
“It was a clean shot. I’ll be fine.” Alexi struggles to sit up, clawing at Hamlin to try to stand. “Where are you going? I can help.”
I shake my head, pushing him back down. “Rest. I can’t lose you too.”
I put our foreheads together in silent promise, a mirror of our vows long ago. He stops struggling and nods against me. He knows he’ll only slow me down.
“Take care of him,” I command.
Hamlin salutes as I rush back toward the door.
Each footfall summons a wave of fear and a stronger wave of fury. What’s the fucking point of being emperor if I can’t keep Mina safe? Zala’s mocking message was spot on. I failed to protect her.
But I won’t fail to save her. I grab on to the necklace Mina gave me, tucking it safely in my shirt. I won’t lose it. I won’t lose her.
Zala wants Mina alive, so she’s safe for now. They’ll need to get out of Coryntha before sunrise, but the docks are on high alert to make sure no embers spread to the boats. The beaches are packed with relief efforts.
The strange watercraft Mina came to Veloria in would need to be farther out, away from prying eyes. Mina’s exhausted and on foot; she’ll slow them down…
I need a comprehensive map of Coryntha. I spin toward Matteo’s office, nearly running into Urselya. She’s been hot on my heels.
“Find Staefan. Tell him what happened and to put every perimeter guard on high alert. No one leaves Coryntha until I say so. Send every spy we have to find clues.”
Staefan can handle the official search party without me. I can’t waste any more time.
“What will you do?” Her voice trembles with anger and fear. Her loyalty to Mina is on full display.
Something on my face makes her take a step back and nod.
“I’m going to find my wife.”