Chapter 101
CHAPTER 101
Rosalina
D ayton’s hand grips mine tightly, pulling me along as we navigate the labyrinthine corridors of the apartments attached to the colosseum. My heart pounds in my chest as the ground trembles beneath us. Dust and debris fill the air, choking my lungs as we push forward.
“Those fucking shadows are going to bring this whole place to the ground,” Dayton snarls. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Screams of terror puncture the air. I chance a look out the window to see pillars falling into the arena. Gladiators we fought and lived among scatter across the sands. Skeletons cloaked in green flame attack from all sides, swarming the fighting ring and the stands. “We can’t leave them.”
“I won’t risk you.”
I touch his arm. “We’re gladiators, Day. There’s a fight on your sacred sands. We can’t lose.”
Dayton looks at me, his face etched with determination. Despite the chaos, there’s a sense of calm in his eyes, a quiet strength that gives me hope despite everything else. He nods.
I don’t wait another moment. With a cry, I reach down through the ancient stone. The cracks in the foundation made by the shadows help my briars find purchase. They shoot up, wrapping around me and Dayton, then propel us to the sands.
We move as one; Dayton swings his trident and I bring forth a torrent of dagger-sharp thorns. The maple leaf token glimmers on his neck. Within a minute of landing in the arena, we’ve brought down ten of the flaming skeletons.
But like the Green Flame goblins, these ones keep standing up.
“Nice of you to join the party,” Tilla grunts, fighting over to us.
“We can’t kill these things,” Dayton says, blocking a skeleton’s strike with his trident. “We’ve got to get the rebels out of here.”
“How?” Tilla cries. “Even if we get past these skellies, those shadow freaks are blocking all the exits.”
Breath comes ragged from my throat as I raise up a cluster of thorns to block the assault of three skeletons. I could use my briars to transport a few people out, but not everyone. At least, not quickly enough.
A death cry rings out as another gladiator falls, his body shriveling amid the flames. We have to do something fast .
My thoughts are cut off by the crackling scream of a giant skeleton as it lunges toward Dayton, jagged sword drawn over its head. Thorns coil around my arms like serpents ready to strike. With a roar of defiance, I launch myself into the giant skeleton’s path, my briars lashing out with deadly precision.
My thorns instantly shrivel up as the skeleton’s body flares with green flame. It turns its attention to me, and with a bone-rattling roar, strikes.
I’m yanked backward, just out of the blade’s reach. Looking down, I see dark purple vines wrapped around my waist.
My breath catches in my throat as I look behind me.
Standing there, arms outstretched, a tumble of briars before him, is Caspian.
He gulps in air, eyes wild and dark. He looks … unsettled.
“Cas,” I breathe. It’s as if my limbs are not my own. I stumble toward him, the rest of the arena fading away.
“Can’t keep yourself out of trouble, can you, Princess?” He smirks, a little of the normal Caspian coming back to him.
“You’re one to talk.” A fire radiates in my chest as someone steps out from behind Cas.
Tears spring to my eyes. “Farron!”
I rush to him, forgetting about the skeletons, the shadows, all of it. I throw my arms around his neck.
“Rosalina,” he breathes, pulling me close. “You’re all right.”
“Not really,” Caspian snarls, throwing up a huge wall of briars to block a surge of skeletons. “We’re all kind of fucked right now.”
I pull away from Farron to look up at him. Strands of messy auburn hair cast his eyes in dark shadows. “Are you okay?” I whisper. “What happened down there?”
Farron smiles at me, a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve never been better, Rosie.”
“Fare.” Dayton’s voice carries over the screams, clash of metal, and rattle of bones.
He walks with frenzied purpose, gaze unblinking, his trident blocking and slicing skeletons without him even having to look at them.
Dayton’s trident disappears into his necklace. He snatches Farron in his arms and kisses him. Kisses him like a man possessed. My own bond leaps in my heart, and I join my briars with Caspian’s to form a shield between us and the rest of the world, just to give them this moment together.
“Mmm.” Caspian wiggles his shoulders and points to our briars interlaced together. “That tingles.”
Dayton’s hands tangle in Farron’s hair, and Farron grips the side of Dayton’s face, kissing him with equal passion.
“For stars’ sake,” Caspian snarls, erupting another huge wall of briars around us. “Are we fighting or kissing? You know I love the latter, but really, choose your moments, people!”
Finally, Farron pulls back and strokes the hair away from Dayton’s eyes. “It’s true. I thought I felt it, but it’s really true.” He looks at me. “You two are mates.”
“Yes, I’m sure it’s a whole glorious tale you can beguile us with later, but for now, can we get out of here?” Caspian taps his foot. “These briars aren’t going to hold forever.”
I ignore him and hold Farron’s gaze. “It is true. We all belong together, just as you always believed.”
Farron’s mouth sets in a determined line. “I’ll keep it that way. Forever.”
Dayton calls the trident from his necklace in a shimmer of light. “We’re not going anywhere, Caspian. I won’t leave these people to be slaughtered.”
Caspian’s nose wrinkles. “Well, I really can’t hang around. So, you’re all going to have to—” He looks up, a laugh breaking free. “Never mind. Looks like you’re sorted. Best of luck, then.” He turns to Dayton. “I’ll do what I can to aid you, but I’ve got to attract a little less attention. Only the gods know what trouble I’ve got myself into so far.”
“Thank you, Caspian,” Dayton says. “I mean it.”
Caspian nods, then turns to Farron. In a quick motion, he snatches Farron’s jaw and gives him a scathing look. “Watch yourself, Princeling. I know I will.”
Farron shoves him away. “Yeah, nice traveling with you too, Cas.”
Finally, Caspian turns to me. He bumps my shoulder and drops his lips to my ear. “Be careful, Princess.” His eyes flick back toward Farron.
“What happened down there?” I whisper.
His mouth becomes a hard line. “Remember, even a warm hearth can leave you scorched.”
I grab his wrist. “Are you really going to abandon us here?”
“Don’t worry. You have friends in high places. Besides, I’ll see you soon. I always do,” he says with a smirk, as a thatch of briars erupts around him and sinks him down into the earth.
“Great! Of course, the traitor leaves right when we could use another blade,” Dayton says, though his tone is only half-serious. “Think this will help, Fare?”
Dayton rips something off his neck and tosses it to Farron. The token of Autumn.
“Thanks, Day.” Farron grins, throwing it over his head. In a flash of light, the Lance of Valor appears in his palm. Farron lunges forward, swinging the lance. A trail of orange flames and leaves sweeps behind it, taking out a whole row of skeletons. A moment later, the bones rattle as the skeletons rise again.
Farron furrows his brow. “It’s not enough. Every time we kill one of these skeletons, they just get up and keep coming. We need to get all of the rebels out of here—”
Friends in high places. I look up. A shadow sprawls over me, but I am not afraid. A smile breaks across my face. “They found them. They found them!”
A legion of winged horses emerges across the horizon, their majestic forms silhouetted against the blazing sun. Each horse is adorned with shimmering armor, their powerful wings beating rhythmically.
Dayton’s mouth falls open, then he laughs and hoots. He raises his trident in the air. “Summer called! The Huntresses answered!”
The horses dive, their armored riders reaching out with outstretched arms. One by one, they snatch the gladiators up from the grips of the skeletons, pulling them onto the backs of their horses.
A brilliant white horse sails toward us. The rider offers a gleaming smile, one I know so well because I admire it daily on the face of my mate. Delphia wears a brilliant golden helm adorned with wings. She clutches the reins with confidence, as if she were born to fly.
“Looks like you could use a ride, big brother!” she cries as her Pegasus flaps down toward us.
“Delphie, you brilliant little brat!” Dayton cries, practically jumping up and down. He runs over to her and nearly strangles her in a hug.
“Hurry, get on before one of these creepy things reaches us,” she snaps.
“How do I land this thing?” another voice cries from above. A gray Pegasus flaps its massive wings, nearly knocking Farron and me over. Nori yanks on the reins with far less elegance than Delphie, eliciting an annoyed snort from her steed. When she’s low enough to the ground, she levels us with a glare. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”
Farron and I exchange a surprised look, then with a rush of excitement, I leap up behind his little sister. Farron jumps on behind me, the large creature just big enough for the three of us.
Our horses take flight into the sky, joining the rest of the legion in the air. Gladiators hold tight to stern-faced women, riding their steeds with effortless grace.
A golden eagle screeches as it flies in front of Delphia’s horse. “Thanks for helping me find my brother, Justus,” I hear her call over the wind.
I look down as the arena gets smaller beneath us. The green flames still flicker, each one a warning. Tomorrow, it won’t just be the arena overrun. It will be all of Hadria.
“Amazing rescue,” Dayton yells to his sister. “But what’s the plan now?”
“The Huntresses weren’t the only thing we found in the desert,” she says back.
I follow her gaze ahead of the legion.
Drifting out of the clouds is a dark and terrible structure: the black sails of one of Kairyn’s airships. Four others follow in its wake.
“Stop, Nori!” Farron cries. “That thing will blast us out of the sky!”
But something thrums to life in my chest, an urgent pull that sends shivers of electricity through my body. “No, Fare. That’s exactly where we need to go.”
More winged horses shoot out of the clouds, escorting the ships. As we get closer to the first one, I make out the figure at the helm.
His smile, such a rare sight, strikes me like an arrow to the heart. Ezryn waves us forward, pointing at where our horses can land on the deck.
I look backward, toward the outskirts of the city where Sira’s army lies in wait. A question tugs on my mind: is Wrenley down there? Did she run back to Sira’s clutches? Or is she somewhere in the ruined colosseum?
I take a shaky breath. There are too many unknowns. But my princes are with me.
We may have a hope yet.