Chapter 16 #2
Kaylen blinked, half crouched between us. “Are you two insane?”
“What are you laughing at?” Calla Lily hissed. Her face reddened, and her red-brown eyes blazed. “This isn’t funny!”
“It is funny!” Briar tilted her head and bared her teeth in a feral grin. “You have to spend eternity with Colm. That’s the joke, isn’t it? You think he actually cares about you, while he locks up children and lets innocents starve?”
“Politics are cruel. I don’t need to justify myself to you!” Calla Lily clenched her fists. “Arrest them now!”
A flash of red caught my eye from the corridor to the right of Calla Lily. A small glowing orb sailed through the air, arcing cleanly before it struck the stone floor just behind her with a crack. Oil splashed across the floor and then ignited.
The explosion of heat tore through the hallway. I threw my wings wide, shielding Briar as the fire erupted upward, devouring the air and casting molten gold light across the walls. The guards yelled, stumbling backward as the blaze climbed toward the ceiling.
Calla Lily shrieked, slapping at her gown as embers caught the hem. “What in the ashing void?”
A woman strode out of the smoke and flame, long black hair streaming behind her. A small crossbow gleamed in one hand, a second red orb burning faintly in the other. “Run, Briar! You can take out the main guard at the entrance before reinforcements arrive! There should only be three still there!”
Shock jolted through me. Another bridal candidate was still alive and fighting.
She swung the crossbow toward the swordsman at the far end of the corridor. “You move, and I’ll put a bolt through both your precious queen-to-be’s faces! Not that I plan to kill you yet, Calla Lily, you deserve to suffer first.”
“Siray?” Briar’s eyes widened, and she took a step forward, lowering her sword slightly. Shock rippled through our bond before dulling once more. “What are you doing here?”
Expression hardening, Siray snarled. “I’m here to save my family. Now go! I’ll cover you!”
Briar froze.
The blaze behind Calla Lily cracked and surged higher, throwing wild shadows across the corridor. One guard flailed at his smoldering coat, his hair singed and his face streaked with soot. His crossbow lay discarded on the ground beside him.
But the second one, near Calla Lily, held his ground, jaw clenched and crossbow steady, aimed at Briar’s chest. He hadn’t moved an inch. Sweat streamed down his brow, but he stood like a trained killer waiting for the right command.
Behind us, the swordsman shifted uneasily at the far end of the hall.
His blade dipped a fraction as he eyed the growing fire.
Smoke curled into the hall, and the scent of scorched silk and burning oil stung my nostrils.
He kept glancing toward Calla Lily, waiting for her order—or a reason to disobey it.
I had no doubt she was torn between instinct and reason. We need to go—
But Briar ignored me and straightened her shoulders. “Do you mean us harm, Siray? Will you betray us later, if you get the chance?”
Siray’s glare burned. “No. I was only in that fecking competition because Fate chose me and I wanted to survive it. And I wanted to see if I could best the challenges.”
This was the candidate who had separated herself from the others, but she had still cussed out the council for not letting Briar's friends reach her.
Briar glanced at me then and gave a small nod. We can trust her.
The guard in front of Calla Lily shifted his stance, his finger twitching on the trigger. I caught the subtle readjustment—was he weighing the odds, trying to decide if she was worth dying for?
Calla Lily turned toward him, her expression twisted with fury. “What are you waiting for? Kill them!”
But he didn’t fire.
The fallen guard coughed, dragging himself toward the wall, shaking uncontrollably. The fire had scorched a trail behind him, blocking off part of the corridor. The hallway was quickly becoming a furnace.
We have to move, and I need you to take the lead. Crossing the final few feet, I pressed the hidden indentation and slid the pocket door open, the mechanism grinding softly.
“Siray, this way!” Briar shouted. “We’ll help you free your family, but more alarms have gone up. You’ll never get them out now without help.”
Clanging metal and thundering footfalls echoed from the end of the hall nearest the main entrance, growing louder by the second. At least a dozen more guards were racing toward us.
"Move! Now!" I grabbed Briar's arm and pulled her toward the hidden door.
Calla Lily’s narrowed gaze snapped to the subtle motion. “You think you can just vanish?” Her voice sharpened, venom laced through every word. “Guards!”
Siray hurled the second red orb at a spot next to Calla Lilly, and a loud crack exploded.
The orb smashed against the opposite wall, sending up a blinding burst of smoke and fire.
The flames whooshed outward, forcing Calla Lily and the guards with her to recoil, their shouts drowned beneath the roaring blaze.
Siray darted in front of Calla Lily with her crossbow raised. Her dark eyes glinted with fury. “Try to follow,” she dared. “Let’s see how well your fancy shoes hold up against burning oil and broken bones.”
Calla Lily cursed and stumbled back, heat shriveling the hem of her gown again. The guard on the ground swatted at her dress, trying to extinguish the sparks while coughing on the thick smoke.
That was our window.
I gestured to the pocket door. Go, lead them. Down the passage, then left at the first split.
Briar met my gaze, jaw locked with fierce resolve, and gave a clipped nod. She would hate not being at my side as much as I would hate not being at hers. She grabbed Kaylen’s wrist and plunged into the narrow tunnel without hesitation, the darkness swallowing them both.
“It’s too dark and tight!” Kaylen’s voice echoed from inside.
“Then get through it faster,” Briar snapped. “And if you block the path, I swear—”
“Siray!” I barked. “Now!”
Keeping the hand crossbow leveled at Calla Lily, Siray tossed a third orb at her. “Have fun, Your Majesty.” Then she pivoted sharply, snatched one of the oil lamps from the wall, and dove into the passage, brushing past me with the scent of ash clinging to her clothes.
Calla Lily lunged, but the wall of heat forced her back. She shrieked in frustration, slamming her hand against the stone as flames licked higher along the walls.
I ducked in last and hauled the stone door shut behind us. The lock clicked into place just as something slammed against it from the other side, followed by screams and pounding.
“Can you block it?” Siray’s voice was so high it hurt my ears. “If they break through—”
“Just keep moving,” I said gruffly. “We’ll lose them in the tunnels.”
The air was cold and carried the smell of earth and old stone. Unlike the main palace’s defensible escape passages and others with additional security measures, this was a rough-cut tunnel with only one way forward.
Are you all right, Briar? I turned sideways as the passage narrowed. From this angle, I could make out the back of her head as she led our strange group deeper into the mountain surrounding the palace.
I'm fine, she replied, but it seemed to come from far away. Just... focusing on keeping us moving.
The bond flickered again, the thread between us stretching thin. My chest tightened. We needed to talk, but not with Kaylen and Siray between us.
Kaylen whimpered. “It’s so tight… I hate this!”
“Silence. Whining helps no one.” I shook my head.
Siray moved ahead of me with one hand steady on the wall and the other holding the oil lamp high. Her steps were quiet but sure. “They’ll regroup. Colm won’t let us get far.”
“We’re not giving him a choice.” Briar huffed. “We just have to keep moving.”
The pounding on the door behind us dulled with distance, replaced by our own breathing and footfalls. We pressed onward into the dark.
As soon as we reached the branching path, I cut in front of Kaylen and Siray to reach Briar. Her small smile gave me some comfort, but the strain in her features and the faint, flickering bond between us chilled me far worse than the damp air.
“Stay close,” I said, more to the others than her. “The shadow beasts have gone feral.”
“I know.” Kaylen stomped. “They attacked some of the guards when they brought me to the cell. Everything’s going wrong.”
“If you know, then shut up and keep your voice down,” Siray snapped. She adjusted her grip on the oil lamp, the crossbow slung low but ready in the other. The glow painted her sharp cheekbones in harsh orange light, igniting the fire in her glare. “Otherwise, someone might take off your head.”
I was certain she didn’t mean the shadow beasts.
“Eyes up. Listen for shifts in the stone or a scent like singed metal,” I added. “Portals have a lightning smell when they open.”
“What were you doing in the prison, Siray?” Briar glanced over her shoulder as we kept moving. Her voice was even, but I could feel her trying to focus through exhaustion and something heavier she wasn’t ready to voice.
“My family was here for the wedding. My aunt and uncle are the queen and king of Ignis. They brought everyone with them.” Siray’s jaw worked. “My cousin Liya is their middle daughter. She’s young and had no obligations at the wedding. We snuck off to see the unicorn foal from the third trial.”
Kaylen snorted. “You gave up a front-row view of a royal coronation to play with a stable beast?”
Siray’s glare could’ve frozen lava. “Had I behaved like you, I’d be rotting in a cell.”
Flinching, Kaylen fell into sullen silence.
With a deep breath, Siray continued. “We only got away because we weren’t where we were supposed to be.
But Colm’s men spotted us. Liya and I escaped for a while, but they locked down the grounds.
We found out our family had been captured.
We were going to break them out.” Her voice cracked, the mask slipping.
“I didn’t know Calla Lily was the traitor.
That she was working with him all along. ”
“She could’ve done so much better than an upstart torturer,” Kaylen muttered.
“Yes, clearly, that’s the biggest problem,” Briar spat as her annoyance flared down our bond and made me bite back a smile.
The tunnel curved left, then twisted hard right, opening into a low chamber where four paths branched outward like points of a compass. The ceiling dripped with damp, and the air here was colder and closer to the deep heart of the mountain.
I stepped forward, smelling the air for any trace of the beasts or guards. I didn’t detect anything concerning. I gestured toward the passage on the right. “There.”
“Was your cousin captured, Siray?” Briar's voice was firm but quiet.
“No. They murdered her. The rest of my family is imprisoned.” Siray’s voice tightened. She drew in a sharp breath. “I won’t stop until they are safe.”
“We’ll get them out,” Briar said. “We’re going to turn the tables on Colm. They’re with the other prisoners deeper in the dungeon, right? None are set to be executed.”
“No.” Siray’s voice sounded flat. “And I won’t stop until they’re free.”
Suddenly, there was a faint crack. A subtle echo of stone under pressure, magnified in the silence. Then the unmistakable sound of metal scraping stone…boots.
My ears twitched toward the tunnel behind us. I lifted my hand. "Quiet."
Briar’s spine straightened. She turned toward the sound with the same grim realization that seized my chest. The others stilled instinctively, even Kaylen going rigid.
Siray dimmed the lamp to a faint blue, plunging us into dark shadows.
The footsteps grew louder, more distinct. There were at least three guards, probably more, and getting close fast.
I gestured toward the tunnel branching to the left, the layout of the old paths unfurling in my mind after decades of studying them.
We turned fast and slipped deeper into the mountain.
Briar kept pace at my side, her hand on her sword, her steps sure but…
off. The bond between us flickered like a flame exposed to wind—lit one moment, snuffed the next.
She glanced at me, her eyes searching for something.
I linked to her. I’m here. We’re going to figure this out.
I…I know. Her throat bobbed, but she squared her shoulders and pressed on.
Our steps echoed through the narrow space like ghosted heartbeats. The farther we went, the heavier the air became, thick with wet stone, old minerals, and ancient secrets. Shadows clung to the walls, wrapping us in jagged teeth.
Behind us, Kaylen muttered, “I think I just broke my damn toe.”
“Be silent,” I hissed. “Unless you want the guards to finish the job.”
Mercifully, she grumbled under her breath then fell quiet.
We rounded a sharp bend, and I ran my hand across some etched grooves in the stone. Old markers carved for escape routes. We were close now. Two more turns, and we’d reach the vesting chamber.
Briar’s breath quickened. She didn’t speak, but I could guess what she’d say if pressed. I’m fine.
The sounds of pursuit faded, but I didn’t trust that. Not with the way Fate liked to twist its claws into us. The slope of the path angled down, the rough stone biting into our boots. Siray adjusted the lamp, the flicker catching the sheen of sweat at her temple.
“Almost there,” I murmured, more for Briar than anyone.
The tunnel widened into a small antechamber with a ritual-smoothed floor. Silver inlays shimmered faintly in the flickering light on the floor and walls, old sigils predating Colm and even my father. This was the last threshold before the vesting chamber.
I slowed automatically, the weight of history and tension falling on me.
Kaylen stumbled with a thud, catching herself against a wall. “Ow! Why do we have to move so fast? I can’t even hear anyone behind us! Can’t we slow down?”
“By Fate, be silent!” I turned on her, my temper snapping.
Then Silus exploded around the corner, his face twisted with fury, his teeth bared, his sword already mid-swing.