Chapter 12 #2
Slowly, I followed him to the palace entrance and the gleaming black walkway beyond. No demons tried to stop us as we approached the exit, and when I reached the narrow obsidian bridge, I saw why.
Adriel let out a colorful string of swear words, but Kaden merely stiffened. “It looks as if my father’s army has flown in to greet us.”
Almost immediately, the air filled with the screech of demons, and I looked up to see the black outline of dozens of wings superimposed against the ash-choked sky.
My mouth went dry as I palmed my dagger, and the royal guard gripped my arm. “Kaden can’t fly,” he growled, his tone low and urgent. “Not with his wings like that.”
“Any suggestions?” I asked, eyeing the horde of Semphrys’s soldiers circling overhead. None of them had fallen into a dive. They were waiting for us to try to escape.
Adriel gritted his teeth and turned to the princess. “You fly Lyra. I’ll fly him.”
Sorsha’s eyes widened in panic, as if the royal guard had just asked her to take on the army of demons single-handedly. “You know I can’t,” she choked.
My chest squeezed with sympathy, even as fear clawed its way up my throat.
“You have to,” Adriel gritted out. “It’s the only way.”
Sorsha started to shake her head, tears filling her eyes.
“Can’t you take us through the earth?” I demanded, rounding on him.
Sorsha hadn’t summoned her wings in years. He couldn’t possibly expect her to do it now when we had a small army bearing down on us.
“No,” he snarled, a muscle working in his jaw. “Taking you that far last time was a stretch. Three —” He shook his head. “If I tried and failed, all of us could end up buried alive.”
I shuddered, and the royal guard turned his fiery gaze on Sorsha. “You have to do this.”
“But —”
“Summon your wings, princess, or we are all royally fucked.”
Sorsha’s face had gone deathly pale, her brilliant teal eyes shining with panic. But she swallowed and gave a stiff nod, edging away to stand a few paces out on the obsidian walkway.
Adriel didn’t wait to see if she succeeded. He just summoned a pair of magnificent black wings, each tipped with a lethally sharp talon.
But when he reached for Kaden, the prince jerked away, leveling his best friend with a glare. “I can fly,” he hissed.
“Don’t be an idiot.”
I couldn’t see Adriel’s expression, but whatever his face was doing seemed to persuade Kaden. A second later, he relented, and the royal guard gripped him under the arms before shooting into the sky.
I didn’t dare watch the demons take chase. Instead, I kept my gaze on Sorsha’s back, listening to the uneven sound of her breathing.
The princess’s head was bent, her shoulders tense with concentration as she flexed her fingers at her sides.
“You can do this,” I said, thinking it wouldn’t be helpful to mention that we’d be demon bait if she couldn’t.
The horrible screeches from above grew louder, but I didn’t dare lift my gaze to see if Kaden and Adriel were under attack. There was nothing I could do for them now.
Come on, come on, I pleaded silently, willing Sorsha’s magic to flicker to life.
Blood pulsed in my temples, and an odd clicking sound behind me raised the hairs along the back of my neck.
A low hiss made me turn, my palms slick with sweat.
A creature I didn’t even have a name for was meandering toward me on five legs, each tarsus tipped with a serrated claw — the source of that horrible clicking noise. Its head tilted at an unnatural angle as six beetle-black eyes roved over me.
“Pity,” crooned a voice from the shadows — one that was smooth as silk and horribly familiar. “It seems your prince has abandoned you, though I can’t say I’m surprised.”
My stomach bottomed out as the wisps of shadows cleared and Fleshtalker came into view.
I stared. His perfect features were intact once again, the wet sheen along the front of his robes the only sign of the injuries Kaden had inflicted.
The rowan-wood stake through the heart hadn’t been fatal. I should have stabbed him with my witchwood blade when I’d had the chance.
“You and the sister.” His eyes flashed with delight. “Oh, what fun we’ll have.”
As the shadows dissipated, more demons emerged from the antechamber, their writhing black eyes fixed on me and Sorsha.
Sucking in a breath, I tightened my grip on my dagger and settled into a fighting stance. I didn’t care that we were outnumbered. I didn’t care if I died fighting. I was not going to be this demon’s prisoner.
Fleshtalker took another step forward, and I glanced at the many-legged demon beside him, readying for attack.
But then I heard a soft whoosh from behind me, and a slow grin spread across my face.
I turned to see Sorsha perched along the obsidian walkway, wings outstretched.
They weren’t the iridescent black of a Drathen fae or the membranous wings of a demon, but a deep greenish-blue that reminded me of the sea.
Most of her long golden waves had tumbled free from her braid, framing her bloodied but triumphant face.
I whipped back around to stare at Fleshtalker, torn between taking my revenge for Kaden and escaping with my life. My hunter instincts sang for his blood, chanting that now was the time — that it might be my only chance to end the bastard for good. But then more demons emerged from the shadows.
There were too many. Even if I managed to dispatch Fleshtalker, the others would quickly overwhelm us.
Stomach clenching, I retreated one step, then another.
Sorsha reached for me, and I let her take me — scooping me into her arms with effortless strength. I cast one last look at Fleshtalker and made a rude gesture as the princess took flight.