Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Something heavy pressed into Thalia’s chest—a weight that nearly crushed her rib cage.
Her breath stuttered as something pricked her collarbone like sharp needles. Thalia’s lids peeled open.
A headless creature hovered above her, tendons and muscles twisting to replace the face that’d been cut off.
Thalia screamed, trying to escape the creature, which was very much alive.
The creature raised its stubby neck, the muscles coiling like snakes to reform its head—
Cassius slammed a dagger into the creature’s side. It fell backward off the bed, writhing on the ground. Cassius grabbed another dagger from his nightstand, moving faster than she could blink, and shoved it into its side.
The creature’s body convulsed, twitching, as he pulled out his blades. He whirled to her, eyes bright. “Are you hurt?”
Thalia shook her head, too stunned to speak. Small pinpricks of blood patterned her chest, soaking into the red of her gown.
A flicker of light caught the corner of her eye the same moment it caught Cassius’s. He jerked to the window, his jaw tightening as he looked out the paned glass.
Lights were moving through the trees of the forest surrounding the castle. Not just any lights—torches speared their flames into the night sky, illuminating the gathering crowd in the castle’s inner courtyard.
“Fuck,” Cassius said.
Thalia scrambled to his side, getting a better view. The entire courtyard was filled with Vampyrs, each holding a light as though they’d burn the place to the ground.
“That’s Julian,” Thalia gasped, catching sight of the dark-haired Vampyr with green eyes. He led the pack, his gaze rising to their window. “And Lord Adrian.” Apparently, Julian’s father had found his banished son. As soon as Lord Adrian spotted them in the window, he pointed.
Cassius grabbed Thalia’s arm, yanking her out of the way just as an arrow pierced the glass, shattering it.
“Fuck,” Cassius growled again, shoving Thalia away from the window.
“What is he doing?” She whirled as shouts drifted through the broken window.
“Making a point.” Cassius grabbed his clothes, shoving himself into his boots before strapping on his sword, which he’d propped against the fireplace. “We need to get out of here. Now.”
Thalia didn’t have to be told twice. She found her own clothes, shoving on whatever she could find before she and Cassius crept to the door. He eased it open, peeking his head out into the quiet hall.
Nothing.
But deep within the castle, pounding echoed, wood groaning as if the mob of Vampyrs was trying to break down the doors.
Cassius’s hand slipped into hers as they left their room and quietly ran through the castle. They turned the corner and stumbled into a group of five Vampyrs, their weapons drawn.
“Go!” Cassius roared, pushing her behind him.
Thalia stumbled, turning just as he plunged his sword into the belly of one of the Vampyrs. His other hand plunged into the spine of another, and Thalia only caught a glimpse of severed vertebrae before she bolted.
Thalia’s heart pounded as she skidded around the castle halls. She had no idea where to go. Which way would lead out—
She slammed into the hard panes of someone’s chest.
Immediately she reared back, drawing her dagger.
“Hey! It’s me!” Keegan held up his hands, eyes wide.
She clutched his arms, pointing a shaking finger behind him. “Cass—”
Keegan’s eyes went past her, to the shouting echoing down the hall. “Get to the stables. Keep following this hall and go through the kitchens and out the back. There are horses waiting. If we aren’t there in five minutes, you leave.”
“But Cass—”
“Would want you to get the fuck out of here,” Keegan finished. He drew his own sword, heading for the hall Thalia had just fled. His footsteps echoed as loud as the shouting.
Thalia stared at his disappearing form, then made it all of two steps before she gasped—the teeth.
She didn’t want to think about what would happen if Lord Adrian or Julian discovered the poisoned barbs in the chamber or how they might use them to whatever advantage they hoped to obtain.
Thalia’s eyes snagged on a brick with a three-eyed raven carved into it.
Making a split-second decision, she ran toward it, shoving open a secret passageway.
She didn’t want to think about what Cassius and Keegan were facing in the halls.
Gods, there must be at least thirty Vampyrs that Lord Adrian and Julian had gathered.
Apparently, the lord’s hatred for the prince and his council—and his sway with the other Vampyrs—had won over the other Houses over in the end.
Her mind formed a map of the passageway, and she was silently grateful she’d taken the time to actually study the drawing before Camilla found her in the library. She flew over old stone, choking on the dust motes in the air.
She followed the twist and turns, praying she was right, until she came to the end of the passageway.
Thalia shoved against the stone, and the wall gave way. She burst into the torture chamber, the wall closing behind her.
The teeth were still on the table, glowing a faint greenish color.
She carefully wrapped each jar in a different part of her cloak before she shoved them into a satchel she’d taken from her room before fleeing.
She heard a scraping sound and whirled, faltering.
Julian stood in the doorway, his green eyes blazing as he took her in.
“You don’t have to do this,” Thalia got out, raising her dagger. The blade looked like a pitiful needle compared to the double-headed axe the Vampyr wielded.
“The prince has been ignoring our blight for too long,” Julian snarled, stepping further into the room. “Banishing us for trying to save those we love.”
“And what? You think burning down his home will get him to listen to you?”
Already she could smell the smoke in the air; the Vampyrs hadn’t wasted any time putting their torches to use. They’d burn them alive if they didn’t make it out. Her insides trembled.
“No, but killing you might,” Julian got out.
Thalia let out a laugh, trying to figure out how she might pass him. He blocked the only exit. “The prince hasn’t even met me. The only thing I am is part of a treaty. One that, if you ruin, will affect my mother far more than the prince.”
“You’re right,” Julian said, his axe lowering a fraction of an inch. Thalia almost breathed a sigh of relief. “The prince won’t care about some human’s death, but his hand will.”
Thalia jerked, blade posed. “I mean nothing to Cassius.”
“Lies. I’d like to see his face when he realizes he couldn’t save the one he loved. When he has to watch his lover die!”
Thalia paled as Julian raised his axe. But it wasn’t because of the imminent death looming before her—it was the death hovering behind the Vampyr.
Julian tensed, slowly turning over his shoulder, and let out a scream.
The headless creature launched itself at the Vampyr, taking him out in a tangle of limbs and steel. Thalia didn’t stop to see how much of its head had reformed, but its claws still worked. She bolted up the stairs, heart in her throat, as Julian’s screams followed her.
Her arms pumped as she flew down the halls; the smoke had spread. Her eyes burned from the hot air, her lungs near to the point of breaking as she half fell down the stairs into the kitchens. Cassius caught her before she could land face-first on the stone floors.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Cassius snarled.
The edge of his sleeve was torn, an angry line bleeding under it. His face was splattered with blood that didn’t appear to be his.
“Julian,” Thalia gasped, trying to get clean air into her lungs. But the fire had spread; they needed to get out. Now. Cassius’s face darkened into the edge of a blade. He made to move past her, but Thalia clutched him harder. “Creature.”
It took a split second for Cassius to register her words between her pants. Then he grabbed her hand, pulling her out the back door. Thalia sucked in a sharp breath of clean air.
Two Vampyrs found them in the inner courtyard, but they didn’t stand a chance as Cassius swung his sword, lopping off the head of one as his free hand plunged into the chest of the other. Keegan appeared on a horse, Feryena prancing at his side.
“Cassius!” Keegan yelled.
Cassius nodded to Thalia. “Go!”
Thalia ran, scrambling onto her horse just as Cassius pulled the heart out of the second Vampyr. He let it fall to the ground in a splatter.
“Cassius!” A voice bellowed behind them, and the three turned to find Lord Adrian, his face set in a snarl.
Cassius ignored him, running up to Feryena. He swung himself up behind Thalia, and Keegan spurred his beast towards the castle gates.
“You can run and hide,” Lord Adrian shouted, the castle crackling and burning behind him. “But your prince won’t save you. Not this time.”
They didn’t wait to hear the rest of the words as they broke into the forest, the castle of House Lorenzia crumbling in their wake.