Chapter 62
August went slack in Felix’s arms, and for a terrifying moment, Felix thought he’d stopped breathing. All the light had drained from him, his face a horrifying landscape of blackened veins, thin and twisting.
His initial instinct was to call for Marlow, but he already knew there was nothing a healer could do for this. So he lay August flat, and after checking for a pulse—which he thankfully found—he took in the room’s carnage.
Two of Gideon’s were dead, lying in puddles of dark blood. Felix counted the creatures. Eleven total. Plus the two he’d seen August pull through the veil.
In Haverglen, they killed elixir users. He assumed the same rules applied here, so how did so many get to this point? How long had they been hiding out in here?
Marlow sagged against the wall, and Gideon dropped to his knees beside one of his wielders. Lark and Niall looked rattled, but they were unharmed.
Felix turned his attention back to August and shifted closer, lying down beside him, their foreheads nearly touching.
They were alright.
He let his eyelids drift closed—just for a moment.
He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but when he opened them again, the first traces of grey daylight pressed through the dirty windows. He sat up, frantically scanning his surroundings.
August was still beside him, and a quick pulse check assured Felix he was still alive. Marlow was sitting against the wall, but her head was tipped back, and her eyes were closed. Lark and Niall were asleep on the floor.
Gideon sat on a barrel near the door. He met Felix’s gaze, his expression unreadable.
“Mornin’ sunshine.”
Felix mumbled an incoherent response as he sat up. He’d fallen asleep with the prosthetic still attached, and now his leg ached something fierce. He winced at the pain as he unstrapped it.
They were supposed to make it to the tear last night. This was all supposed to be over by now. Instead, they were hiding away while the ministry swarmed the city, searching for them.
He cast August an irritated glare. It was his fault the aesran knew they were here.
“That’s a bad idea, lad.”
Felix looked up with a frown. He didn’t understand what Gideon meant until the man’s eyes flicked pointedly to August. Choosing to ignore the implication, he looked back at his leg, eyeing the blisters from where the padding had worn thin.
He dreaded having to latch that damned thing back into place.
“How’d you get out?” Felix asked. They’d left the group trapped in a cellar with the ministry at the door. It felt impossible that they were still alive.
“You know me well enough to know I’d never hole up somewhere without a way out. Place has been around since the war, had a tunnel ran right outside Haverglen. That’s why I went for it.”
Felix spared him a quick glance. “Wish I could tell you I knew you’d be alright, and that’s why I left you there.
But I didn’t.” What was he supposed to say?
That he was sorry? That he wished he would’ve stayed?
That would’ve been a lie. They did what they needed to.
And he didn’t regret it. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. ”
That, at least, was the truth. He never should have stopped in Haverglen.
“You were only doing what I told you to. I don’t hold that against you.” Gideon gave a small smile, though it didn’t stick. “You and Mar, you’re family. Whatever you land yourselves in, I’m there. Sorry it took me a bit to remember that.”
“She’s angry with me. Blames me for leaving you to die.”
“Lucky I’m not dead then,” Gideon replied. “And lucky Marlow knows how to make a ruckus. Clever girl, that one. I wasn’t sure how I’d track you down, but I heard the gunshot and the Watch and figured chances were it was you. Lark clocked where the shot came from and followed her from there.”
“How’d you get into the city?”
“Told you this is the centre of the resistance. Or it was once. I know all Fallowmoor’s secrets.”
Felix looked at Niall and Lark, then at the dusty tarps covering the corpses of the other two wielders. “This everyone left?”
“No, the rest headed north. These were the only ones crazy enough to come with me. Bound to be resistance members left here in the city, though.”
Minutes fell away in silence before Gideon spoke again.
“What happens now?”
Felix worked his jaw, hating that he wasn’t sure how to answer. This was supposed to be the simple part. Get the aesling to the tear, force him to close it. But the ministry had halted their plans at every turn.
They were so close. This was almost finished. Once the veil was gone, he could worry about the aesran.
And August.
He frowned at the thought. The plan had been clearly laid out in his head. He knew the steps after closing the tear would be challenging, that he would be up against the crown and the ministry. But it was at least straight-forward.
Close the tear. Kill the aesling. Capture and execute every noble. Seize control of the Watch. Execute the aesran. Take the crown. Once he was in charge, he’d tear down the ministry, starting with Ashcroft.
If anyone stood in his way, he’d kill them.
Simple and clear.
So why was he dreading what came after closing the tear? He’d waited so long for this. And nothing had changed.
Nothing had changed.
His eyes drifted involuntarily back to August.
“We need to figure out how to get to the tear,” Felix answered. “The ministry and the City Watch are everywhere. The aesran knows her heir’s in the city, so every one of them will be looking for him.”
“We’ve got that figured out,” Gideon said. “You worry about your part.”
Felix scowled. “Figured out?”
“We’ll cause a stir across the city, make sure they stay away while you and the aesling get to the tear.”
“I take it this was Marlow’s idea,” Felix muttered. It was the same reckless stunt she’d pulled yesterday. “What happens when they catch up with you? You can’t fight them.”
“We’ll be long gone by the time they get there.” When he didn’t respond, Gideon added, “You have my word. I won’t let anything happen.”
It was so close to the promise Felix had made to Lottie. Right before he shot August in the chest.
But he didn’t need Gideon’s assurance. Felix knew better than anyone that Marlow could handle herself. She’d saved him more often than the reverse. He knew she’d be alright. She always was.
Even if he wanted to argue, they were running out of options. And time. August wouldn’t make it much longer.
So Felix agreed.
“And after he closes the tear?” Gideon pushed. “What then?”
Felix knew what he was really asking. Can you do it? Will you kill him?
“One problem at a time, old man.”
Gideon’s tone hardened. “If the aesran or the ministry get their hands on a weapon like that, we don’t stand a chance.”
It wasn’t the first time Gideon had called August a weapon.
“They won’t,” Felix answered.
“There’s only one way to be sure of that.”
Heat rose in Felix’s chest. “I said they won’t. The aesling is my problem to worry about. Not yours.”
Gideon pressed his mouth into a line, but he dropped the argument and set to rousing the others.
It took a few attempts before Felix got August to respond.
For a moment, he stared up at Felix, his grey eyes still hazy with the softness of sleep, a gentle smile playing on his lips. Then they sharpened with recollection, and he sat up straight, surveying the room.
“You’re still alive,” Felix stated casually, “so you’re not off the hook just yet. Get up. We’re finishing this.”