Chapter 52
Aurora
Soren squeezes my hand as my best friend falls unconscious. Her body drops to the floor beside Caelum. His eyes go wide as he stares at her motionless on the floor. I know he’s screaming because his body is jerking wildly, but his lips remain tightly shut.
A sharp intake of air fills my lungs as I remind myself to stick to the plan. Stick to the plan, Camryn. If only I could speak into her mind.
I need to get to her. For this to work, I have to be by her side before the king makes his move.
I tug on Soren’s hand, getting his attention.
My inability to speak makes this more difficult, but I will my eyes to send a message.
You have to trust me. I need you to let me go and trust me.
The one time I wish we could share thoughts through the bond, like Camryn and Caelum.
His amber eyes search mine for several moments, his irises bouncing left and right as he tries to read my expression.
My face softens, and I reach out to caress his cheek. His shoulders slacken for a moment, and then I pull away, tearing my hand from his grip. His jaw clenches as he understands my intention. He reaches for me, trying to pull me back. But I shake my head and gesture toward Camryn.
The king is staring at her, unsure of what is happening. The clock is ticking.
I look back at Soren before my power flares to life. The shock of heat makes Soren jolt back. But as I stare into his eyes, I see understanding. And though his expression is laced with worry, he doesn’t stop me when I move toward Camryn.
I’m not known for my swiftness, but my friend’s life spurs my urgency. I reach Camryn within a few breaths. My knees hit the floor and I wrap my hand around Camryn’s wrist before I feel the king’s eyes bore into me. In my next breath, my eyes close and I’m transported into darkness.
I blink into my inky surroundings before my palm sparks an orb of light. I’m in a cave. The cave.
Based on the height of the ceiling, I’m guessing I’m about halfway through the passageway. Shit. I gotta move. I race through the dim cavern, the corridor narrowing quickly as I speed across the cool stone.
When I can no longer stay hunched over on my feet, I drop to my hands and knees and crawl. The rugged stone bites through my leather pants, but I can’t slow down.
I drop to my stomach, panting as I pull myself through the narrow opening.
Ahead, I see a faint glow, and I pull myself toward it, my muscles burning.
As I get closer, the dancing reflection of silver on the ceiling above makes me blow out a breath.
And there, opposite of where I’m crawling, stands Camryn.
She’s facing me, standing on the narrow ledge overlooking the pool of magic.
She huffs. “It’s about damn time, Rory!”
I drop into the cavern, huffing. “Sorry. It sucked me in farther away than I expected.” I work my jaw, happy the king’s magic didn’t follow my descent into Camryn’s dream.
“How much time do you think we have?” Camryn wrings her hands as she watches me get to my feet.
“Not long. Are you ready?”
She scoffs. “I guess we’ll fucking see.”
As she stares at the liquid silver rippling softly below us, the air shifts and we lock eyes. Rustling echoes through the tunnel, and I slide along the wall toward Camryn. My eyes widen as I see Caelum emerge into the cavern. This, we were not expecting.
His eyes flash to me before landing on Camryn. He gets to his feet, sliding along the wall away from me.
A rough voice burst into the space. “Clever girl.”
I’m going to be honest, watching the king slide through the narrow opening on his belly like the snake that he is makes me bite back a laugh. But it’s short-lived as I look at the twisted expression on his face.
“You’re more confident in your power than I anticipated, Dreamer. To slip so easily into the dream world to evade me and make your move. I’m impressed.” The king stands, smoothing his silver hair away from his sharp face.
I look at Caelum, whose lips remain shut and his hands once again are clasped behind his back. His eyes focus on me and I swallow.
“And how heartwarming that your friend came to your aid!” The king gestures to me, making my heart knock in my chest. “I look forward to seeing what you can do.” He winks at me, and bile rises in my throat. He turns his focus to Camryn, who stands across the pool from him.
“What are you planning to do here, Dreamer? You get a nugget of information, and you rush off to make a rash decision? Let’s take a moment and talk through this.”
Camryn scowls at the king. “I don’t owe you shit.” She glares into his icy eyes that are more silver now with the reflection of the raw magic below. She nods to Caelum, who watches her intently, his chest heaving with worry. “What is he doing here?”
King Caledor grins. “Ah. A bargaining chip.” He shuffles slowly to Caelum, placing a firm grip on the winged warrior’s massive shoulder. “Because it seems you may need some incentive.” With a snap of his fingers, Caelum’s knees slam to the stone ledge. Muffled groans of pain echo in the chamber.
Camryn gasps and shifts on her feet, desperate to reach her mate.
The king pushes Caelum forward, dangling him above the pool.
“I’m going to make this very easy for you, Dreamer.
You’re going to stop whatever plan you had in mind.
We will return to our consciousness in the great hall, united.
And when you have committed yourself to me, I will free your mate and Arc from his bonds.
I will call off the army ripping Silverveil to shreds right now.
Just like that, I will end it. Or you can deny me, and I will throw your traitorous mate into the pool, where he will be lost for eternity.
And you will spend the rest of your extended days serving me while living in agony of not knowing where he is or if he’s even alive. ”
Chills run down my spine at the bitter sharpness of the king’s words. I steal a glance at Camryn to see tears stream down her face. Her furious gaze falls from the king to Caelum, hovering above the pool, silver reflecting in his gold-flecked eyes.
She chokes back a sob and my heart breaks for her. For the pressure she is under. For the choice she is forced to make.
“Caelum…” Her voice is barely above a whisper.
Caelum goes utterly still, his eyes wide as he stares at her.
“I love you. I am so filled with love for you. You gave me so much hope and helped me become who I am here. And I know you understand the urge to protect the one you love, so I want to ask for your forgiveness for what I’m going to do.
But I can’t live in a world where you aren’t free. ” Tears splatter at her feet.
Caelum shakes his head back and forth, tears staining his cheeks. Although his mouth can’t open, I hear the unmistakable fluctuation of “no” reverberate in his chest.
Camryn turns her attention to me. “Rory, I love you, and I know you are going to do great things in this world. I just hope you can forgive me for dragging you on that fucking camping trip.”
Laughter shatters the sobs that escape me.
She smiles. “If only we knew where it would lead.”
I shake my head slowly.
Teary-eyed, Camryn returns her gaze to King Caledor. His fist tightens around the collar of Caelum’s tunic. A smug smile crosses the bastard’s face. “So what will it be, Dreamer?”
She raises her chin, the muscles in her jaw flexing as the corners of her lips twitch.
Her brown eyes harden and the tenacity in her voice gives me chills.
“You know, for being a king and supposedly dark and powerful, you really suck at seeing what’s right in front of you.
I mean, you suck in general, but you’re also kind of an idiot.
” The king stiffens, his face scrunching in anger.
Camryn continues her rant. “Maybe you’re losing your edge in your ancient age.
But, luckily for us, I know someone with edges sharp enough to make you bleed out every last drop of your miserable excuse of a life.
So while your brain struggles to process my words fast enough, by the time it registers what is happening, you’ll already be dead. ”
Camryn’s eyes flick down to Caelum, held in the king’s tight grip. Only, instead of the winged warrior’s red and orange streaked obsidian hair, a cascade of black waves and violet irises are in their place. No invisible shackles bind her hands or keep her lips sealed.
And when the king follows Camryn’s gaze down to the person in his grasp, he inhales sharply as Isolde smiles back at him.
“The girl is right, Cal. You really are an idiot. Too drunk on your own lust for power to see just how manipulated you were. And I want you to know how much I am going to enjoy this.”
She lifts her arm, at the end of which is a long sharpened blade of ice where her hand should be. It drips with magic and malice. And before the king can exhale another breath, Isolde plunges her ice blade through the center of his throat.
The slice of flesh and gurgle of blood that pours from his wound makes me gag, but I keep my focus on the king as Isolde slices her blade quickly from side to side. The sound of tearing ligaments snaps, and then there is a sickening thud as King Caledor’s head drops to the rocky floor.
The violence of the cut sends it rolling, threatening to plunge into the pool of magic as if to flee. I move quickly, using my boot to stop his decapitated head before it dives into the abyss.
The king’s body slumps backward against the wall, and Isolde stands, blood splattered across her face and the front of her dress.
My chest heaves as I give Camryn a disturbed glance. Her eyes scan Isolde, who smooths her gown and wipes away the streaks of blood from her face, her ice blade replaced by perfectly unmarred fingers.
She glares at us in silence before raising her eyebrows. “Well? I did my part. Now get to work.”
Camryn and I snap out of our trance, remembering it isn’t over yet.