Chapter 7
Her body is as still as a corpse. Her eyes are sunken, dull, and lifeless. They stare straight through me. There’s no sign that this empty shell of the woman who was once my sister—once my whole world—even recognizes me.
“Arina?” I whisper, my voice cracking as I grab her other shoulder.
I make a conscious effort not to dig my fingers in too much or my nails might puncture her fragile skin.
I force a brave smile. Happy. We should be happy to see each other.
I offer the expression like a map for how to claw back some of the humanity she’s lost. “It’s… it’s me. Clara. Your sister.”
Silence is her response. Deafening, soul-crushing silence.
“Arina?” Her name is strained on my lips. “I’m going to help you.”
Not even a flicker in her eyes. Not even a twitch. Nothing.
The Queen of Cups—the one Kaelis inked—rises from my combined deck and it surges with power. The distant sound of running water fills my ears as the magic pours over her in a shimmering blue haze. Her wounds mend.
But the damage was more than one card can heal.
“May I?” Kaelis steps forward.
I nod. It’s better to conserve my magic; I’m already exhausted. He casts the same card, the Queen of Cups. More wounds mend. But it can’t fill her hollowed body or haunted eyes.
“Is that better?” I cup her face with both hands.
She still doesn’t move. The Queen of Cups can heal physical damage. But it leaves behind the memories of the pain; it cannot touch wounds of the mind.
“Clara…” Twino steps forward.
“Say something, please,” I beg.
“Clara, she’s going to need time. It…it will be all right.” Twino is comforting me. Me. When my baby sister is all skin and bones, he’s lending his strength to me as if I’m the one who needs it.
I hang my head, my arms trembling. Arina remains limp underneath my palms, barely strong enough to keep herself upright. Her spirit has left, wandered somewhere far, far away. I can recognize it because I’ve done it.
But I could always find my way back. Never was I so divorced from my body that every tether snapped, as it has with Arina.
“You’re right,” I admit. My voice has taken on a deadly calm. The sight of her so broken has ignited something absolutely feral within me. “We need to leave, quickly, before anyone finds Glavstone.”
Or before Ravin shows up. The bastard has a way with timing. Though a part of me would welcome it…I’d annihilate him if I saw him now. He might have more cards than me, he might be stronger than me in this moment…but I have fury.
Very slowly, I pry each finger away from Arina’s withered frame, making sure she’s steady enough on her own before I completely release. Gregor moves without need of instruction and collects her with ease into his large arms. Arina sags against his sturdy frame, limp.
“We have an extra boat prepared for you; we took two here.” Jura’s words are distant; it’s hard to hear them over the rush of blood in my ears.
“The five of us will have to leave together, as we arrived, to avoid suspicion. But we can distract them on the way out so you can sneak by with Arina. Once you have the boat, go to the northern edge of the city and—”
“No,” I say calmly, still staring at my sister. The world has been reduced to her, and her alone.
“No?” Jura looks among the other members of the group, confusion furrowing her brows.
“No?” Twino repeats. He’s the only one who dares to approach me. “Clara, it’s better this way. We’ll meet—”
“We’re not separating. We’re not sneaking out. I’m tearing it all down.”
The words are a vow—an oath sworn on my blood and hers. An oath like the one we swore to avenge Mother’s death.
None of them says anything, but I can feel their uncertainty.
No…more than that…I tilt my head slightly and look at them.
The mere sight of my Starcrossed family soothes my rage some, enough that they can be sure it’s not directed at them.
But I can see the hint of fear in their eyes.
“Halazar is finished. Neither I nor my sister will ever suffer this place again. But as long as it stands, we will always be at risk.”
It’s so perfectly clear. I don’t know why I never saw it before. Sneaking around, hiding in the shadows, trying not to overextend my hand, minding what I did or did not do…It was still playing within the rules of Oricalis’s game.
It’s time to start making my own rules.
“If you do this, you are going to be hunted down.” Kaelis states it as a simple fact.
“And that is different from how I’ve lived my life until now?”
“You will never find safe quarter in this world again.”
I don’t miss his choice of words: in this world. His gaze is singular and as intense as ever. I glance at the rest of the crew. “Go.” They oblige me, and I take a step closer to the prince.
He doesn’t back down. If anything, there’s a spark of amusement in the voids of his eyes; my tenacity has always delighted him.
“Kaelis, I know what you’re after and what you need to get it.
If you think you can force my sister to ink her golden Major for you, I will fucking destroy you.
She has been abused by one prince. I will not stand for her to ever be under the command of another. ”
He leans back slightly, insulted. “What makes you think I would?” I open and shut my mouth, looking away. Kaelis catches my chin with his knuckles, gently guiding my face back to his so he can look into my eyes. “I will protect you, and her. I swear it on my life.”
Not his name or his titles, because we both know he doesn’t really care about those…but his life. One thing I know Kaelis values.
I dip my chin.
“I know you’re hurt, Clara, so I don’t blame your anger. But I am not your enemy,” he says, gentle but firm.
“I know,” I whisper, glancing in the direction of my crew.
“Good. We shouldn’t waste any more time.” He releases me.
I catch up to the rest of them quickly; Jura has taken the lead with the lantern. Kaelis isn’t far behind me. As I fall into step with them, I give Gregor a pointed look. “Guard her with your life.”
He scoffs, mildly offended. “You think I wouldn’t?”
No. And that’s the only reason why I’m allowing him to touch her.
I toss the key ring to Ren. “Unlock the doors—it’s the large iron one.
I assume they’re all keyed the same down here.
” There aren’t enough keys on the key ring for every cell in Halazar to have a unique lock.
Based on what’s there, I’m assuming it’s one for the dungeons, and then one key for each floor above.
“We’ll start with the dungeons, then move up to the others. ”
“Is that wise?” The moment Jura asks, I arch my brow. “Aren’t they dangerous criminals?”
“ ‘Dangerous criminals’ like me?” I ask. “Like Arina?”
“I…You…” She swallows and looks away, clearly uncomfortable in her guilt at the suggestion. “You both were different.”
“Yes. And no.” I look to my sister. Ren continues to hover uncertainly, keys in his hand. “There are dangerous criminals here. But not all of them are. Tell me, Jura, how many more would you condemn to Arina’s fate? What is worse: freeing a hundred criminals or imprisoning one innocent man?”
Her lips part, but there’s no sound. Her gaze drifts to Arina.
Every scar etched across my sister’s body reads as a narrative of Oricalis’s unyielding cruelty.
Jura’s gaze softens some, then hardens with her resolve.
I know her as well as I know my sister, and I’m certain she’ll make the right choice.
“Besides,” I continue, “I’m destroying this place one way or another.
But my fight is with Oricalis and all who uphold the throne, not with those who are also crushed underneath their heel.
Good or evil, I’m not their judge, nor will I be their executioner.
I’ll give them a chance to survive. The rest is on them. ”
Jura says nothing more.
I scan the rest of them. “Any other objections?” No one speaks, not even Kaelis. “Good.” I nod to Ren and then begin the march out of Halazar, once and for all.
Ren does as instructed and unlocks cell doors along the way. Three of the remaining four cells on the third level are empty. One bars in a corpse that sends a shiver down my spine. It could’ve been Arina.
On the second level of the dungeons, we find our first living prisoner.
“Go,” I command, my voice echoing off the barren walls loud enough for any others on the floor to hear. “Halazar ends today. Your life is yours again.”
He doesn’t waste precious time questioning or second-guessing. Instead, with a strength his withered frame shouldn’t have, he scrambles up and pushes past us.
We carry on like this, Ren dashing ahead and unlocking doors, the rest of us—save for Kaelis and Gregor—throwing open the doors and telling people to go.
We emerge into Glavstone’s office to a cacophony of alarm bells reverberating through the halls and passages of Halazar. Their desperate clanging carries across the Farlum River like the frantic cries of dying beasts. But any help will come far too late.
“So much for being subtle,” Ren murmurs.
“We lost that advantage when we let the prisoners run ahead of us.” Jura sets her gaze with determination.
“Are you all ready?” I ask.
Distant shouts echo through the open door to Glavstone’s office. The prisoners are already creating the chaos I expected them to.
“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Twino is removing his plate armor. The rest quickly follow suit. No need for deception now, and they’ll be faster without it.
“Good, then—” I’m interrupted.
“In here!” A guard skids to a stop in the passage outside Glavstone’s office. I recognize him instantly, Sevan. One of Glavstone’s favorites. “They’re coming from in here!”
Sevan’s eyes widen as he beholds what must look like a group of freed prisoners, a pile of Stellis plate, and the second prince of Oricalis all standing together. Confusion gives way to fear. He knows what’s about to happen on some subconscious level.
Kaelis lets out a dramatic sigh. And then, almost casually, he says, “Now that you’ve seen us, you’ll have to die.”