Chapter 43 #2
Esmyra stood just beyond the shattered throne room doors, fighting her way out of the castle.
She was free of chains, her hair wild, her clothes torn and bloodied, yet her stance was unyielding. A sword flashed in her hand, ruthlessly cutting down any man who came too close, before she ripped a pistol from her belt. Firing it, the shot split the air, dropping another soldier where he stood.
Esmyra was fierce and untamed as every strike of her blade and every squeeze of the trigger became a declaration that she was nobody to fuck with. Even without using her magic, she was dangerous.
Absolutely fucking lethal. And gods, did he love her for it.
The sight of her ignited something in his chest, and with a battle cry of his own, he lunged forward, his sword tearing through soldiers as he carved a path toward her. Every swing was fueled by the need to fight alongside his Wildfire.
His brother’s shadows lashed out at their enemies nearby, and Draevyn was barely able to realize that Atlas was helping them escape.
He finally broke through the wall of soldiers, and Esmyra turned at the last second, meeting his gaze. Sweat streaked her brow and blood splattered across her cheek as she grinned up at him.
“You took your time I see,” she shouted over the madness, driving her blade through a guard’s chest.
Draevyn then realized everyone in the entire godsdamn castle was after her right now, and even he was no exception to that.
I have to get her out of here.
He smirked, cutting down another as they all crept closer to the main doors of the palace. “Someone had to clean up the mess you made, Wildfire.”
She ducked under a swing and fired her pistol into the attacker’s face. “Mess? You call this art a mess?” A wicked cackle slipped from her, and it was the most glorious sound he’d ever heard.
They moved like they’d never been apart. Esmyra’s strikes balanced his relentless flames. Where he struck, she followed, finishing any kills he left in his wake. Where she faltered, he was there, fire roaring to push enemies back.
“I know you two are having a moment, but we need to get the fuck out of here!” Jak shouted.
Esmyra glanced toward the opening, but instead of bolting, she threw her head back and laughed.
The sound was wild and breathless, her glacial eyes gleaming.
“Run? You’ve lost your damn mind? I’m not done yet!
” She spun and cut down another soldier with a vicious swipe of her blade.
“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had this much fun? ”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Draevyn and Jak’s stares locked, and in that single exchange, he made his choice. Esmyra watched them through narrowed eyes as she continued to fight alongside them.
“I’m not sure what’s happening between the two of you,” she yelled between blows, “but what I am sure of is that I don’t like it. Not one bit.”
A break in the attacks came, and Draevyn scanned his surroundings, spotting Sam and Tommy several feet away in their own fights. He let out a sharp whistle, warning them it was time to leave.
“Forgive me, love,” he said.
Esmyra’s eyes flared as she took a step back. “Draevyn, don’t you fucking dare!”
Before she could react, he charged at her, closing the short distance between them as he bent down, hooked an arm around her waist, and swung her up over his shoulder in one powerful motion.
She shouted and twisted, pounding her fists against his back as she kicked her legs. “Put me down, you bastard!”
“You’ll thank me later!” he boomed as he bolted for the opening.
Jak appeared at his side, picked up a musket of one of Lephyrin’s fallen soldiers, and began shooting down the guards who tried to block their path. “Get her back to the ship!”
“No shit,” Draevyn answered as he ran. “Your job is to get everyone else there!”
“Aye,” Jak agreed, and then took off in a run.
Esmyra kept cursing Draevyn, clawing at his back, but he only tightened his hold. They tore through the castle doors and into the night, the air outside cool and sharp against the heat of his flames.
Bodies were piled everywhere, nearly everyone outside of the castle walls already dead or well on their way there.
Draevyn rushed toward the forest the crew had hid in.
The woods swallowed them the instant they burst through the tree line, branches clawing at his arms as he tore through the undergrowth in a dead sprint.
“Draevyn, put me down or you’ll end up with a spine full of venom!”
I love when she threatens me. He didn’t even try to hide his laugh.
“Not happening,” he yelled back. “You take care of anyone behind us; I’ll handle the front.”
She went still for half a heartbeat, and then he felt her shift her weight, twisting just enough to look back over his shoulder. “Ugh. Fine.”
Someone lunged from the trees then—a stray elven soldier with his blade raised. Draevyn didn’t even break stride as he lifted his hand in the male’s direction, his body instantly igniting in flames. The male turned to ash as he hit the ground, sending embers drifting in the air.
“Holy hells,” Esmyra screeched. “It’s about time the Phoenix showed up.”
“Well, it turns out, the little push I needed to be that monster was for you to be put in danger,” he admitted.
Behind them, another guard burst from the shadows, sprinting silently toward them.
Esmyra didn’t hesitate. “Oh, finally. My turn.”
Her hand snapped back and she ripped a dagger from her hip. Draevyn peered over his shoulder as the blade flashed in the moonlight, sailing through the trees before striking the soldier clean in the throat.
“Nice throw,” he shouted.
“Well, I had a decent teacher I suppose,” she admitted, yanking another dagger from her belt and gripping it tight.
“Decent?!” he gasped with a half laugh, and he didn’t miss the subtle one that left her too.
They pressed on, his boots pounding against the forest floor as her daggers whistled death to anyone foolish enough to give chase.
Eventually, the members of their crew caught up, all of them bolting through the trees as fast as their feet would carry them.
The chaos of the castle was far behind them now, but the tension stayed sharp, every shadow a potential threat.
The trees suddenly thinned, moonlight spilling across the jagged edge of the world.
Draevyn skidded to a stop so fast the ground tore beneath his boots, nearly pitching both of them over the cliff that appeared out of nowhere.
Esmyra let out a screech at the sudden halt, as gravel and dirt cascaded down into the abyss below.
And then the crew followed suit, everyone abruptly stopping at the cliff’s edge.
For a breathless moment, all he heard was the roar of waves smashing against the rocks far below. His chest heaved, and he slowly lifted his gaze to find his ship, Valor, sitting within the mist. Its sails were dark against the starlit sky, rocking gently in the open sea.
“We’re surrounded,” Sam warned, eyes darting to the line of Maerinysean soldiers advancing with spears raised.
“Just hand over our goddess, and we’ll be on our way,” one of them shouted with a sly grin. “Queen Syrena is very worried about her.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Esmyra snapped at them, lip curling back.
Draevyn stepped up to the edge, staring at the impossible drop, and then at the ship waiting beyond. Hope flared within his chest. They had her now, and they were so close to freedom he could practically taste it.
Esmyra twisted over his shoulder, eyes going wide. “Are you insane?!”
He glanced from their wary crew to the tree line as soldiers poured from the shadows. There were too many of them.
Draevyn set her on her feet, and the two of them backed up to the very edge, weapons raised.
“I am,” he admitted, interlocking his fingers with hers. “It’s the only way.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more. Them or himself.
The cliff crumbled beneath their heels as the soldiers charged.
Esmyra’s lips parted, the wind whipping her hair across her face, and he caught a glimpse of that beautiful, reckless fire in her eyes.
“Together,” she breathed.
“Together,” he echoed.
Draevyn tore his gaze from her as his voice rang out above the chaos. “On my mark!”
The crew drew close, all standing now shoulder to shoulder at the edge of life and death.
Draevyn tightened his hold on her and gave a stiff nod. “Now!” As the word left him, he sent a torrent of fire at their attackers.
In that same breath, the entire crew leapt as one, bellowing their battle cries into the air as they plummeted toward the roaring sea below.