Chapter 46
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
QUINN
A scream rings out, and then the evening stillness becomes a symphony of terror. A murderous melody composed of desperate pleas and final moments. This is the sound of war, and there’s no glory in it.
It feels wrong to run when my feet aren’t propelling me towards the bloodshed, but rather, away from it.
Abby got the wolves where they needed to be. She came up with a brilliant plan and now, because of her, hundreds—if not thousands—will be saved. I have to believe we’ll succeed and leave it at that because I can’t be there. No matter how much my feet want to carry me to her.
To Abby.
I already know she’s on her way. I feel the desperation filling her as if it were my own. She wants this to end tonight and as much as I don’t want to see her hurt—don’t want to think of her anywhere near this city tonight—I trust her. I trust her judgement, her capabilities, and more than anything, I trust her heart. I’m not going to fault her for embracing the same compassion that saved me. She’s always been the hero in my story, and tonight, she’s the saviour in theirs.
I long to reach out to her through the bond, but we both need to focus now. It’s hard enough with the loss of Caine so fresh in my mind. I felt the disappearance of his connection the moment unforgiving steel severed it. His death is another I will carry on my conscience until it’s my turn to pass through the veil and into whatever lies beyond it.
We’ve barely begun and already lost someone. I don’t want to think about who we’ll lose next.
And then I can’t stop myself.
‘Tell me you’re not on a horse.’ I knew she’d make for the city as soon as she could, but I was counting on the worst of the battle being over before she got there. Or, at least, moved.
Her answer comes immediately, and even her voice in my mind sounds winded. ‘How did you know?’
Fuck.
I want to ask where she found one, but there’s no time for that. I don’t need to look through the eyes of the wolves to know they and the dragons are all accounted for. The only explanation for her to be this close to me is if she were on horseback. ‘I can always feel you, Stabby, and I know you can’t run that fast.’
‘Are you mad?’ Is that what she’s worried about? After everything, she still thinks I expected her to sit this out entirely.
‘I will be if you fall off.’
Annoyance washes through the bond. ‘This isn’t my first time on a horse, you know.’
‘And how many years has it been?’
I take her silence as conformation that it has been many, many years. If I were to guess, I would say leisurely rides ended long before the hunt began. When Lunae’s lands first dried up and food became scarce.
I shouldn’t ask, but suddenly it becomes all I want to do. ‘When this is over, will you teach me?’
Her response is strained, as if she really is holding on for her life. ‘Not sure I’m the best instructor.’
‘You’re the only instructor I want.’
My stomach feels like it drops, but I know the sensation came from her. ‘Sure. Why not?’
I have to ignore the urge to ask if she nearly fell and focus on the task ahead. ‘Stabby, I’m about to enter the tunnel that leads below the palace, and you’re riding into a battle. We can’t be worrying about each other.’
‘I know.’ Those words are as sharp as the blade that almost pierced my heart, and I know she feels it, too. Feels the sharp sting of what could be the start of our final goodbye.
‘Same rules apply. Neither of us takes on Imelda or Void alone. If you find them—’
‘You’ll be the first to know. I love you.’
‘I loved you first.’ I leave our connection open, but let it fall silent.
The sooner I find Arabella, the sooner Abby and I can reunite. This would be over quicker if Ty shifted. If he’s alive, he will soon. He knows we’re coming, so there’s no reason for him not to be waiting for us. I can only hope that he’s staying in his human form so he doesn’t draw suspicion. Maybe he and Arabella aren’t alone. Even during this, she’ll likely be guarded.
I just have to find them.
I slip into the open door that leads to the tunnels. It’s unguarded, but the fur on my back raises all the same. Maybe it’s the fact that the last time I prowled tight halls in this form, it was to murder the people of my own kingdom when I was first cursed. When I was lost to the monster that no longer controls me. Or maybe it’s the knowledge that this dreary place was what my sister called home for almost six years. Chained and starved and lost in the same darkness that once filled my heart.
I turn a corner, meaning to take the path that should lead me to the spiral staircase I know opens to Arabella’s room, but her scent is far too strong here. I can’t be certain it’s her, but the soft scent of perfume is the same that mingled with the dust beneath her bed when I hid there with Kaylee the night we got her out. I have to trust the memory as much as I do my instinct and follow it deeper beneath the palace.
If she came here meaning to escape into the city, something drove her in the opposite direction.
Or she was dragged there.
This tunnel is long and narrow, and although others snake off from it, the scent beckons me forward. A door stands out to me in the darkness, and I have to work to slow my breathing and steady my heart as the thoughts of what might be waiting on the other side torment my mind.
A series of possibilities, each worse than the last.
Imelda could be waiting.
Void could be waiting.
Arabella could be dead.
I let those fears fuel me and pick up the pace. I leap in the air after the final bound and slam into the door with my shoulder. It’s strong, but not strong enough to keep me out.
Few doors are.
Hinges strain and wood cracks, and when I launch for the door again, it erupts into an explosion of splinters. I crash through and land hard atop a man clad in silver. He screams, but it’s cut short as my teeth sink deep into the small space of exposed throat peeking out beneath his helmet.
Wolfish senses tell me there are more, and before my eyes can even settle on my next target, I’m moving. A flash of light on steel has me stepping back as a sword swings in my direction. I dodge it easily, slipping under the Guardian’s arm before snapping my teeth around his wrist and crunching through bone. I feel it crack in two places before the sword clatters to the stone floor at my side. There’s no time to finish him off as two others charge for me, weapons poised. The fear in their eyes does nothing to slow their attacks because they’re under orders they can’t refuse.
I see it now.
They knew I was coming.
I jump back, skirting around the edge of the room to take in as many details as I can. If this was a trap, I need to make sure I’m not up against the person who set it.
I spot Arabella first, gagged and hands tied behind her back, strapped to a chair at the back of the room. A man stands behind her and I recognize him instantly.
Ty.
His eyes meet mine for only a heartbeat before he’s drawing his sword and rushing forward.
Another Guardian swings for my left, so I take him down first. My claws sink deep into his chest and, judging by the blood now seeping around my paw, it was deep enough to tear open his heart.
Ty and the last remaining Guardian are both moving at me from different directions. If I move for one, the other will surely strike. I step back, counting on my speed to send me around the room to get behind them before either can strike, but as I do, Ty thrusts his blade forward.
It pierces into the back of the other Guardian and straight through the other side. Blood sprays as he kicks the man forward, dislodging his weapon. “What took you so long?”
Relief washes over me. Not even because Ty didn’t betray us, but rather because now I don’t have to kill him. He doesn’t move for Arabella and when I gaze towards her, I see that she’s already shrugging out of her bindings.
So she was in on this, too. If I didn’t arrive in time, she and Ty would have had to make it out of this on their own. If Arabella is anything like Kaylee, she’s not a fighter. Ty is good, but I’m not convinced he’s four-against-one good.
Speaking of which, there’s still one left alive, though without his right hand, he isn’t much of a threat. Even if he could get to his sword, only a fool would try. I show him my teeth for good measure, and the sight of them covered in both his and his friends’ blood is enough to have him scooting backwards across the floor.
I slow my breathing enough to shift and brace myself for the snapping and reforging of bone.
There are no wraiths in the palace, and even if there were, I should be safe here. Or, at least, safe from them. Either way, it’s worth the risk for gaining some answers.
“Are either of you hurt?” I ask over my shoulder as I stand shakily on two legs, still facing the cowering Guardian. There’s conflict in his features. He knows he can’t win, and yet a part of him wants to reach for that sword. Which makes me think Imelda ordered him to kill me.
Ty is the first to answer. “No, but we have to leave. Kill him and let’s go.”
I can smell fear in the air, but it’s not just this Guardian’s. Ty and Arabella are frightened, too.
As much as I’d like to question him, a memory of Abby resurfaces in my mind. She’s said more than once that she knows better than to question a seer, and if Ty says we have to go, then maybe Arabella’s told him something. I bend, taking the hilt of the sword in my hand.
“No!” the Guardian sputters seconds before I drive his own blade into his gut and twist. His death is quick and probably more merciful than he deserves.
“Arabella,” I say as I hastily undress one of the less bloody Guardians. Until she’s out, I need to be able to talk to her, so I’m going to be human for a while. It will draw less attention to myself if I look like a Guardian than I would if I run around naked. “Tell me you’ve seen the end of this war. Tell me we win.”
When she doesn’t answer, I chance a glance at her over my shoulder as I shrug on a Guardian’s shirt. It’s torn open at the front and bloody from my claws, but it’ll have to do. She’s looking down at the scene before her, distracted by the bodies of the five men who thought they were protecting her—even if she was restrained. Her eyes are glazed over, but not with tears or even horror. It’s as if she’s not seeing this at all.
“Arabella?” I say her name again and this time she looks at me.
“We’re on the wrong path.”