Chapter 20 #2
But he was right. When the guards got here and the door opened, we’d be cut off from retreat, and Colm wouldn’t hesitate to kill Briar. I had to protect her. I’d failed to protect my mother, and I’d failed to protect Briar several times already. “And what is this choice exactly, Colm?”
Briar shook her head, staring up at me with wide, pleading eyes. “Whatever you’re thinking. Don’t. We’re going to get out of here together.”
Colm paused a breath longer. Something light and sharp scraped the door again as if tracing a pattern.
“You surrender willingly and allow yourself to be bound, and I will open the second door and let your beloved and your friends run free.
Or we will break the door down and capture you, or fill the room with poison, killing you all.
I'm not sure which I prefer. I swear to you that, if we do break down the door, I will cut Briar to pieces in front of you. I will skin her alive and take her apart, muscle by muscle.”
I curled my hand, the claws biting into my flesh. “Do you swear that, if you let Briar go, you won’t harm her?” He would lie. Of course he would, but I had to ask.
“Nothing’s working.” Veralt panted while Thalen lunged at the door with his shoulder.
“Of course I swear it. I already vowed it.” That low, cold laugh sliced through me. We both knew that no magic held him to that vow. “And because I’m feeling generous, I’ll give you thirty seconds to decide."
“No, it’s a trap,” Briar hissed. She tugged on my arm. “Don’t give up, Vad. Don’t listen to him. This isn’t your fault. We will figure something else out!”
Her desperation cut me, but I hugged her close.
Our bond was so weak; I couldn’t even feel her anymore.
Even if part of her wolf magic still worked, we all smelled of that vinegar scent.
She couldn’t tell if I was lying, but I chose my words with care as I whispered in her ear.
“Get ready to run. I’m going to play him.
But I need you by the other door so I can get through as fast as I can. ”
She trembled in my arms but nodded. Her arms clutched me tightly, and I breathed her in, closing my eyes and savoring this moment… the last time I would ever hold her. I didn’t dare kiss her, or she might guess what I was going to do.
Veralt and Thalen had stopped beating on the door.
Veralt stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Thalen still held the lamp in one hand, his bandaged wings drooping.
As soon as I pressed Briar forward and she started running down the tunnel, I looked at Thalen.
His amber eyes dimmed, but he squared his shoulders.
I mouthed at him Take care of her as she ran past him to the stone door. She was between him and Veralt now as she spun back to face me.
I placed my hand once more on the key still in the lock. “I’ll surrender on three. You open the second door, and I’ll open this one.”
“You’re so like your mother,” Colm said, scorn dripping from his voice. “Very well. One…. Two…. Three.”
The stone door ground up as the mechanism sprang to life, and I unlocked the door, pulled out the keys, tossed them to Thalen, and then pushed the door open.
The door slid open, revealing Colm standing with Calla Lily at his side. Guards flanked them, swords and crossbows at the ready. Behind me, Briar screamed, and I stepped across the threshold.
Briar
The scream burst from me like a storm, so sharp and ragged it tore at the back of my throat. My body jolted forward, instincts shredding logic to pieces.
“Vad!”
I had to get to him. I had to stop him! He’d lied to me!
He stepped over the threshold and into the light as gloved hands seized him roughly.
I launched myself forward with a desperate snarl. “Vad, no! We do this together!”
Thalen’s arms closed around my waist as my body hit his like a battering ram, but he held tight. “No, Chaos. Come on! We’ve got to go.”
I bucked, kicked, screamed. My vision blurred with rage and terror, the hallway tilting as I slid sideways. I clawed at Thalen, not caring that he was my friend. I’d rip the world apart to reach Vad.
“Let me go!” I demanded.
“Briar, stop!” Thalen’s voice was ragged, strained with effort and something close to grief. He dragged me back with both arms banded around me. Guards appeared in the doorway, swords raised, ready for a fight. They started down the narrow staircase into the corridor.
“Come on, Trouble.” Veralt swept me into his arms as Thalen released me and snatched up the lamp. My feet left the ground as I kicked and struggled.
I screamed again, rage blooming so violently in my chest it nearly choked me. I struck Veralt with my elbow, knees, and fists. I lashed out, bit, and clawed with everything I had. I’d rip those guards’ throats out! But we were already racing through the passage.
I twisted in Veralt’s arms, kicking hard enough that my shins screamed in protest. My nails scraped the stone wall, but it was no use. Veralt only grunted when I bit him.
Another howl of rage and grief rose in my throat, wild and wounded and primal. My body arched, spine bowing. I had to get to Vad.
I had to get to my mate.
The walls and ceiling could fall around me, and I’d still fight.
“Put me down!” I thrashed in Veralt’s hold, spitting and clawing.
“I’ll kill you if you don’t put me down!
” I tugged at the link, but Vad felt so far away; it was as if he barely existed.
We were hardly connected. A yawning hollowness expanded in my chest.
Thalen ran in front of us, holding the lamp and then gesturing toward a branching path on the right. He glanced over his shoulder, his mouth pinching. “Chaos, we’ve got to lose them, or else they’re gonna track us all the way back.”
“I’ll fight them. I’ll fight them all!” I twisted again, finally breaking an arm free. I slammed my fist into Veralt’s chest, once, twice, the heel of my palm bruising. I didn’t stop until his grip shifted, and he crushed me tight, still running.
“Stop.” He growled. “We can’t help him if we’re dead.”
“I don’t care,” I spat, voice shaking. “Let me go. I’ll tear them apart myself—I’ll—”
Veralt growled as he adjusted his grip on me. “We’ve got to keep her quiet, or she’s gonna draw the guards right to us.”
Thalen pointed to a passage on our left. The ground angled upward now. “Briar, we’ll rescue him, I swear. But I promised him I was going to get you out of here. Remember what you said to the girls before? We don’t have to just survive. We have to win.”
A horrible, searing pain cut into me. I went rigid, suddenly unable to breathe.
What was that?
Vad.
Our bond had snapped.
My words dissolved as I stared at Thalen, my vision blurring. Ice spread through my body. I couldn’t feel him. He was gone. Just…gone.
“You’re gonna be all right.” Thalen squeezed my shoulder, his voice tense. “I promise, Chaos. We’re going to figure this out together.” Grief twisted his expression as well.
Everything in me went numb, my body trembling. My wolf was gone, and my keen sight had vanished. Despair and terror swallowed me.
My pack links were gone, just like the night my entire pack had been slaughtered. The hollowness consumed everything.
“She’s not looking so good,” Veralt said, his voice sounding far away.
“What?” Alarm spiked in Thalen’s voice. “Is she hurt?
The lamp’s golden glow swung over my face, but it was dull now. “We don’t have much time,” Veralt said, his voice heavy.
A droning sound filled my ears. My head lolled against Veralt’s arm.
“Briar?” Thalen leaned over me, his hand against my cheek and feeling for my pulse. “Briar, you have to…”
Sounds of metal hit me just as everything went dark.