Chapter 57
Elariya
“On The Wings of Lies”
Fire crackled softly in the hearth, the amber light flickering across the walls of Wolfe's chambers.
As he wasn't here, I’d decided to sit by the fire and update my journal. I'd been here for a few hours now, hoping he'd return, but he hadn't.
This room had become our room, really, over the last few days, though neither of us had officially said so. I'd been sleeping here every night since we got together, and Wolfe had quietly moved in my things, even making space in his wardrobe for my clothes.
There was something about being surrounded by his things that made me feel safe, especially when he was away. I needed that comfort tonight more than any other.
I'd fallen asleep earlier, but nightmares woke me. I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind wouldn't quiet. Too much had happened. Too much was still happening.
Worry gnawed at me, and I couldn't calm my thoughts.
Somewhere out there in the dark, Wolfe was hunting this Soul Weaver, risking his life for answers we desperately needed. But I just wanted him here with me.
Please be safe, Wolfe, I thought, closing my eyes. Be safe and come home to me.
I pulled my blanket tighter around my shoulders and continued writing in my journal.
I keep thinking about what Arielle told me at the library. About Father potentially being involved in this rebellion. It makes my stomach turn, but it also makes sense in the worst possible way.
When I think of my father now, I feel like I never knew him.
The images of Marcus dissolving into that black tar, of those helpless children at the camp, won’t leave my mind. How could my father be involved in such evil?
There’s so much to think about. Including my powers. I don’t understand them. What they are. And what they’re becoming.
Then there was what happened at the library
That voice and that dark, doom-filled feeling are printed in my soul.
Soon. The voice had said.
Soon.
What did it all mean?
I paused, my quill hovering over the parchment as I stared into the hearth.
Dragging in a deep breath, I decided what to write next, but a loud crash from somewhere downstairs made me jump.
Another loud smash sounded, followed by the sound of splintering wood.
I froze, my blood turning to ice.
What in the hells was that?
That wasn't the sound of someone simply dropping something.
I bolted upright and placed my journal in the desk drawer.
Another crash echoed through the manor, followed by what sounded like shouting, and my heart slammed against my ribs. Something was definitely happening downstairs.
Thinking quickly, I grabbed one of Wolfe's daggers from the dresser and rushed toward the door. My bare feet made no sound on the stone floor as I yanked it open and stepped into the hallway.
"Elariya!" Arielle's voice cut through the darkness as she and Garrick appeared at the far end, both armed and moving fast.
"What's happening?" I whispered when they reached me.
“Rebels,” Garrick spat, panic sharpening his voice. “They broke through the wards.”
“How is that possible?” My pulse hammered. Wolfe had said no one could enter without his permission.
“We’ll have to figure that out later.” Arielle grabbed my arm. “We have to get to safety.”
“What about Wolfe and the others?” I gasped.
“Sirril and the other staff went to the village for supplies.” Arielle stared back at me with troubled eyes. “But we can’t reach Wolfe, Bastian, or Alaric through the bond.”
“Oh, gods.”
“Don’t worry about them. You two need to get out of here. And don’t portal or phase. That will give your location away.”
Another crash sounded, closer this time. It made us all flinch.
"Get to the caves," Garrick snapped. "Stay with the dragons. Pyrion and Hedion won't let anything happen to you."
“What about you?” I stuttered.
“My job is to keep you both safe. Now go,” Garrick urged. “Go.”
Arielle tugged on my arm, ushering me away. I looked back at Garrick, who gave me a firm nod before rushing back the way he’d come, his sword raised.
“Come on, Elariya, we must be quick,” Arielle said.
We quickened our pace down the hallway, heading toward the back of the manor. The reality of how vulnerable we were made me feel weak.
Whatever was downstairs, we were facing it with no backup and no Wolfe.
“This way.” Arielle pointed down the longer hallway.
Candle lights flickered low, concealing us but lighting our path so we could see. Sensing our distress, the hallway shifted and moved with us so we got to the stairs quicker.
We rushed down the stairs, our footsteps muffled by the thick runner carpet.
We were met by silence once we reached the ground floor, which somehow made everything feel worse. Like whoever had broken in was now lying in wait.
I prayed Garrick could stop them or that Wolfe could come back. I was sure these people knew he wasn’t here. That’s why they’d attacked.
"Almost there," Arielle whispered, glancing at me.
We rounded the last corner to the hallway that would lead us outside. From there we’d be able to run toward the dragon caves.
Without warning, the floor beneath us trembled. The walls of the manor groaned, and the hallway lurched, throwing us off balance.
“What’s happening?” I gasped.
“They’ve found us.”
She hardly got the words out before the hallway split in two. The drastic motion yanked us apart.
"Elariya!" Arielle reached for me, but she stumbled and fell, carried away by the moving walls. "Keep going! Get to the dragons!"
"Arielle!" I screamed, rushing to the wall, but it sealed off.
Gods, I had to get to her. But how?
And how could I keep going when she might be in danger? I looked around, and my heart hammered as I realized I was completely alone in this dimly lit hallway. Panic seized me, and I couldn’t breathe.
My chest was so tight it felt like my lungs had locked down and would never work again.
Think, Elariya. Think.
If I got to the dragons, I could get them to help. They’d listen to me. And I could fly Hedion.
Whatever I did, I couldn’t give up. Wolfe wouldn’t want me to. And I wasn’t the kind of person who did. I was a fighter. I might be out of my element here, but I always tried.
A tremendous crash shattered the silence, and the candles flickered ominously, making every shadow look threatening. I gripped Wolfe's dagger tighter, trying to get my bearings.
The shifting hallway had deposited me in the middle of the manor, somewhere near the kitchens. If I could make it through there, I'd have a clear path outside to safety.
I moved quickly but carefully, my footsteps silent on the stone floor. My heart hammered with every step, expecting something to leap out of the darkness at any moment.
I reached the doorway, pushed through, and nearly collided with Zyrra.
"Elariya!" Zyrra steadied me, her hands gripping my shoulders. "Thank the Gods you're safe. I've been looking everywhere for you." Her face was etched with worry. "I was visiting my mother's garden when I heard the commotion."
Relief flooded through me. Finally, someone who could help. "Arielle and I got separated. She's still trapped somewhere in the house. I have to go back for her."
"No!" Zyrra's grip tightened. "The rebels broke through that way. It's too dangerous. The caves are your best chance. I can get you there safely, then circle back to help Arielle."
"Thanks so much. I think she might be hurt.”
"Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to her.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. “Come, let’s go."
Zyrra pulled me through the corridors at a frantic pace. She kept glancing back over her shoulder, checking we weren’t being followed.
"We can cut through here," she whispered urgently, guiding me through a doorway I didn't recognize. The house must have created it during the hallway shift.
We burst into the dining room, and I expected her to keep running toward the back exit, but instead, Zyrra suddenly stopped.
She dropped my hand and stared at me.
And then she started laughing.
A hearty stream of laughter flowed from her. Not the warm, infectious laugh that had cheered me up at the library.
This was something cold and sharp, like glass breaking in the dark.
Ice raced down my spine as I stared at her in confusion.
"Zyrra?" My voice came out small and uncertain. "We need to keep moving. Why are you laughing?"
There was nothing funny about the situation. But she just kept laughing, the sound now making my skin crawl. In the moonlight, something about her face looked different.
Wrong. And not like her.
She sighed and shook her head at me. “You know, I almost, almost feel bad.”
Every nerve in my body tightened. “What are you talking about?”
“So na?ve, gentle, sweet.” She reached out and touched my cheek. “And very foolish.”
A lump grew in my throat, so huge I couldn’t catch my breath. “What is going on?”
“Have you ever seen me in the house?”
“I’ve seen you on the beach and the… garden.”
“But that’s not in the house, is it, my dear?” Her voice sounded wispy, like it had been caught on the edge of the wind.
“No, it’s not in the house.” I trembled, my body realizing before my mind that she was about to tell me something very wrong.
She shook her head. “I’m not allowed in the house, Elariya.”
And there it was. The something wrong I was waiting for.
“Why? Why wouldn’t Wolfe allow you in the house? You’re his sister.” Unless she wasn’t and she was something like the Ruskiel.
“I’m not a Ruskiel.” Gods, she read my mind. “The situation isn’t complicated in that way, but it’s still quite complex.”
That comment opened the door for a bag of questions, but I was more concerned with the pressing matter of the hidden truth she was spoon-feeding me. “How did you get in the house if Wolfe didn’t invite you?”
“You invited me.” With the wave of her hand, she conjured the muffin I gave her yesterday, her smile widening. “Giving me something from inside the house was enough to get me through the door.”
My stomach dropped. “But this isn’t my house.”
She chuckled. “Wolfe made you his lady. Did he not?”
“How did you know? You weren’t there.”
“I told you. The grapevine whispered it to me.” Her voice took on the sing-song tone of a psychopath.
“You’re in the magical realm, my dear. When you hear something like that, pay attention and take it at face value.
” She nodded as if she were giving me some great wisdom.
Just looking at her made me sick, the truth of her lie unfurling inside me like a flesh-eating disease.
“When my brother made you his lady, it meant everything he owned became yours, too, including the house.” Her smile sharpened as the air split open around us.
Several roguish-looking Fae males poured through, scarred and armed, their eyes gleaming with hunger. They looked like they’d crawled out of a nightmare. Like the pirates people feared back home. These were the rebels.
Cold dread spread through my body like frost on glass.
“And when you invited me to dinner,” Zyrra purred, “that was an all-access pass. For me. And for them.”
The sting of betrayal sliced into me deeper than a blade.
She’d used me. Played me for the fool she thought me to be. And I fell for it.
“It was you.” I glared at Zyrra. “You brought the rebels here.”
“Yes, it was me. Think of them as dinner guests.”
“Why would you do this? Wolfe is your brother.”
She threw me a menacing grin. “You’re the path to the ring. And I want it. The rest is as I said—complicated.”
She moved closer, and I stepped back. Behind me, a swirling portal appeared, the force lifting my hair and clothes. I glanced at it over my shoulder, watching the space widen like an abyss.
Terror gripped me. I snapped my gaze back to Zyrra.
That was all I got to do before she pushed me inside the portal with a bright smile on her cruel face.