63. Rae
RAE
“Are you sure about this?” Kyrie whispered as we flanked one of the least-used doors in the castle.
No. I was very much not sure about this in any way, shape, or form.
But based on all the reading I’d done over the past week, I knew that fated didn’t hurt each other.
At least, not physically. And even if this Feral King had a twisted mind, I had to believe that the bond would override that contortion.
Or at least give me time to run. As long as he was, in fact, one of my four fated…
“Yes.” I tried to make my voice as firm as possible. “I’m sure.”
Kyrie snorted softly. “You’re such a liar. But I’m in.”
Letting out a long breath, I crouched in front of Odin and framed his face. “You have to stay here, okay?”
He whined softly, breaking my heart.
“I’m sorry. But you know Nyx needs you. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I promised.
He licked my cheek.
“Thank you.” I gave him a smacking kiss and pushed to stand, patting my shoulder for Bandit to jump up. “Let’s do this.”
Kyrie jerked her head in a nod. “I’ve been memorizing the guards’ movements. If we go now, we’ll have our best shot. The stables aren’t usually watched, and the guards are mid-shift. They’ll be tired.”
I stared at her for a long moment. “You are some secret military mastermind, aren’t you?”
She grinned at me. “If anyone should be Queen of the Luminaries, it’s me.” Her face screwed up. “But that means marrying Calloway, and that’s a hard pass for me. Sooooo…”
I laughed softly as we darted outside and along the castle walls, using the building for cover. Kyrie truly had thought of everything, leading us down a path that avoided the guard stations and their likely patrol routes. The truth was, they were looking for people trying to break in, not out.
We waited in a copse of trees, watching a guard walk past the barn.
“As soon as he reaches the castle wall, we run,” Kyrie instructed.
I swallowed hard. This could be it. If he caught sight of us, not only would this be over but I’d be guarded twenty-four seven by many more than Odin.
Bandit looked up at me in question, and I held out one finger for her to wait.
“Now!” Kyrie hissed.
We took off across the open field, running with everything we had. Bandit was the fastest, seeming to know exactly where we were headed. When we reached the stables, my chest heaved. “I’m still out of shape.”
Kyrie shot me a grin. “Better than you were.”
“Anything is better than that.” I walked down the stone aisle, taking in all the beautiful horses but stopping in front of Shadow’s stall. “How mad do you think Kian will be about me taking you?”
Shadow butted my hand, looking for pets. Bandit scampered up my body to perch on my shoulder, taking in the massive creature. She leaned forward and sniffed at Shadow. Shadow sniffed right back.
“Okay, now that we’re all friends… Shadow, can we hitch a ride?” I unlocked the stall door and climbed onto what looked like a storage box. The horse slowed right in front of me, giving me time to get on his back. My mount was clumsy, but Bandit was graceful as she leapt onto Shadow’s back.
“Ready?” Kyrie called from her shimmery, pale-blond horse.
I nodded.
“Okay, don’t be mad at me, but we’re going to have to take out one guard before we can blow this popsicle stand.”
“Take out?” I squeezed.
“Chill, Big Sis. You don’t have to kill anyone. But you will have to incapacitate them.”
Awesome.
Kyrie’s words played on a loop in my mind. “It’s easy. I’m the distraction. While I’m all adorable and lost, you just have to sneak up behind them and use the choke hold Kian taught you.”
“Oh, yeah. Super easy,” I whispered into the night air.
I stood in a grove of trees, watching the small, heated guard house. Shadow stood behind me with Bandit still on his back as my heart hammered against my ribs.
And then I saw her. Coming from the opposite direction, Kyrie walked aimlessly in weaving, nonsensical patterns.
Like a charm, the guard stepped out of the tiny shelter.
“Oh, thank goodness!” she called. “I went for a walk because I couldn’t sleep and got all turned around. Can you show me how to get back to the castle?”
The guard looked skeptical at first but crossed to her and began pointing.
My turn.
I ran as fast and silently as possible, thankful for the snow quieting my steps. The only way I had a prayer of doing this was with surprise on my side.
When I was just feet away, I launched myself. But the guard must have seen or heard something at the last moment because he turned, his eyes going wide. Then, fury swept across his expression.
I hit his body with enough force to make him stumble, my arm latching around his throat in a vicious squeeze. He clawed at my arm, and when that didn’t get him anywhere, he hauled off and punched me in the face.
Stars danced in my vision, but I didn’t let go. I just squeezed harder.
“Witch bitch,” he snarled as he tried to throw me from his back.
But I held on. I might not have been the strongest or had the most control over my magic, but in that moment, I realized what my superpower was: If something was important to me, I never gave up.
When I hadn’t been able to get a handle on my plant evolution class, I kept at it until something shook loose.
When my course load plus campus job nearly crippled me, I didn’t stop.
When I lost my parents and my whole world crumbled, I had kept pushing on, desperate to make them proud.
And if I wanted to figure out my magic, I had to find my final fated.
The guard let out a growl, but it quickly turned to a cry when Bandit sank her teeth into his ankle. It was just enough distraction for me to squeeze harder until the man crumpled.
I bent over, wheezing as Kyrie patted my back.
“Not bad,” she praised. “Sorry about your eye. You’ll have a shiner for sure.”
“Great,” I muttered.
“Come on. We gotta move. We need to get as much distance as possible before they realize we’re gone.”
My stomach dropped at that. Three pissed-off vampire Kings hunting us down—what could go wrong?