Chapter Seven #5
“If you don’t trust me and don’t want me around, then I don’t know what I’m doing here!
” Alistair raged. “I’ll try my hand at the Warden’s world, because we all know it’s better than yours.
You guys were my friends, and you stabbed me in the back just like everyone else has.
So you know what? If Hemlock’s death breaks you, I’m happy she’s gone—”
His voice was cut off as someone struck him across the face, and a heavy thump resounded as two bodies hit the floor. Wicked screams rang throughout the room. I realized Ava had launched herself out of her chair to tackle Alistair to the ground, punching him as hard as she could.
“Damn… you!” Ava screeched, her voice a combination of sobs and screams. “Just… die!”
Her fury made my entire form shake. If Ava had her magic still, she would’ve combusted Alistair into ash. But she couldn’t, so she was resorting to beating the shit out of him.
“Princess, please!” Eddie begged, and it sounded like he dragged her off. Just then, the sound of armed guards reached the room.
Before they could ask what was going on, Ava was already barking orders. “Arrest him! I WANT HIS HEAD!”
The guards rushed forward, but they only got a few steps before the clank of their armor halted. Instead, the guards turned on us. The guard nearest me unsheathed his sword, and I ducked out of the way as the blade sliced through the air where I’d been standing.
The sword hit the bed, and feathers went flying everywhere. Oberi gave a mad bark as he threw himself between Ava and a nearby guard. Magic exploded throughout the room as chaos erupted.
Alistair laughed madly. “You’re so scared I’ll betray you, Charlie? Too late. It’s already happened. Who knew treason could feel so good? Have fun with my puppets!”
Alistair dipped out of the room, his laughter and Pig’s meows echoing down the hall.
I ducked another incoming blow, punching a guard across the face. My hand hit a metal helmet, making my fingers throb. “Somebody stop him!”
“There’s nowhere to go!” Kallie shot back. “Do you want us to kill the guards?”
These guards were innocent, and I wasn’t going to have them pay for Alistair’s transgressions.
“Whatever. I’ll do it myself,” I grumbled.
My Air magic swept through the room, blasting the guards to either side to carve a path to the door. I raced into the hall and sprinted in the direction of Alistair’s footsteps.
I turned a corner… but found it empty. My Air magic swirled up to the ceiling and all the way to the end of the hall, but Alistair had vanished. More people came scrambling behind me.
“Where’d he go!?” I demanded. Someone must’ve seen something I couldn’t.
“He’s gone, sire,” Eddie said.
I shook my head. “No one just vanishes into thin air. You know something, don’t you, Eddie?”
“What do you expect me to know? The future?” Eddie had apparently picked up some attitude from his boyfriend, because it was the first time I’d ever heard him use sarcasm.
I marched straight up to Eddie and grabbed him by the collar.
“Lives are on the line! Hemlock is dead, and I’m not interested in waiting around for another one of us to die at Alistair’s hand.
We’ve already lost too many people. So you’re going to tell me what you know, or so help me, you’ll be next! ”
Our bond trembled, like I’d yanked back on the spiritual rope tethering us together and let it spring forward. It didn’t break, but I felt the tension nonetheless. Eddie had defied my orders before because I’d given him permission to do so, and he didn’t want to help me now.
“Eddie, please,” Ava begged, weeping freely. “We can’t let Alistair get away with this.”
Her tearful tone made him relent. “Fine. I showed Alistair where the secret passageways are within the palace. He must’ve used them to escape.”
“Then show us,” I ordered.
Eddie led us down a few winding hallways to the other side of the palace, over to a statuette on a marble pedestal. I felt around for any sort of lever, but I couldn't find one.
“Push down on the statue’s arm,” Eddie instructed sourly, like it was my fault I couldn’t see where it fucking was.
I did, and a panel in the wall slid out of place to let us through. The passageway was wide, and the ground was flat. Ava was able to navigate it easily in her chair.
I led the way, and the others followed. I listened for any signs of Alistair— the click of his cane, the pad of Pig’s feet, anything— but the passageway was silent. Marcus complained it was too dark to see anything, but I had no problem navigating the wide, straight passage ahead.
We kept on going… until we hit a dead end.
“What’s the trick here?” I asked Eddie. “How do we get out?”
Eddie gave a cold laugh. “Back the way you came. The only trick here is my own. This passageway was never finished. It leads to nowhere.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re bound to follow my orders!” I yelled.
“I did exactly as you asked,” Eddie stated evenly. “I showed you the secret passageways.”
“There are others,” I accused. “You knew Alistair wouldn’t have taken this one, yet you led us here anyway. I thought you two broke up. Why are you still defending him?”
“Because I still love him enough to want him to live,” Eddie stated defiantly. “Good luck finding him.”
“You let a murderer escape!”
“Alistair didn’t do this. He’s too moral.”
“Alistair’s a lot of things, but moral isn’t one of them.” Eddie had been so blinded by his love he couldn’t see the truth staring him in the face.
“Eddie, how could you?” All the fire had gone out of Ava, and she’d crumbled completely into pieces. I wanted to reach out to my pidge and hold her, tell her it would be okay even if it felt like things would never right themselves again.
But I couldn’t. So I was forced to listen to the sound of her tears without being able to do a godsdamn thing about it.
“I am sorry, princess. But I have to believe in my love, even when he does awful things,” Eddie replied softly. “As we all do.”
Was that a comment directed toward us? Sure sounded like it.
Ava didn’t respond. Only continued to cry softly.
“Is there any chance Alistair’s telling the truth and he’s not the spy?” Kallie wondered.
“No,” Danny said coldly. “Magic or not, it’s the only thing that makes sense.
We were all together when she was murdered except for Ava, so we know it wasn’t one of us.
No one else here has anything to gain by working with the Warden except for him.
Alistair killed Hemlock, and he’s not one to give up the game if it ends in his execution.
He knows he can’t talk his way out of this. ”
“If there’s one thing we can say about Alistair, it’s that he’s consistent,” I said. “He’s always going to play whatever role he has to in order to save his own neck. As far as I’m concerned, Alistair isn’t our friend and never was. I don’t care what happens to him. But you…”
I turned on Eddie. “I need to speak with you in private.”
“Charlie…” Ava started, like she was scared of what I might do.
I bristled. “Eddie and I need to talk alone. This has been a long time coming.”
Kallie scoffed. “You really think we’re going to take orders from you?”
Eddie drew himself up. “It’s okay. I’m sure I can handle whatever Charlie has to say to me. The rest of you can go.”
Kallie got up close to me, then hissed in my ear, “Eddie better walk out of here alive.”
Then she spun on her heel and left. Marcus and Danny followed, along with Oberi and Rishi. The resounding silence throughout the passageway was a clear indicator they were all pissed with me. That was nothing new.
Ava was the only one who remained. I couldn’t tell her to go. I didn’t have the heart to do anything except try to make her feel better, and I doubted she would let me, so I just stood there, wondering how I could ask her to leave when all I wanted her to do was stay here with me.
But I didn’t have to. Ava spun around, snarling viciously, “I’m done with this. I’m overturning this palace for Alistair, because he’s here somewhere. I don’t give a shit what the rest of you do.”
She left the passageway. I waited for her to be gone, because she didn’t need to hear any of this. Once she was, I faced Eddie, seething. “You’re supposed to be my guard. Magical bond or not, it’s your job to protect me and those I care about. You just let a traitor go free!”
Eddie kept his tone even. “Are you going to execute me?”
I thought about it for a second, but I knew that wasn’t the right choice.
“No. I’ll let you live with this decision, and you can spend the rest of your days agonizing over whether or not it was the right one. My father sentenced me to your service alone, but you know what, Eddie? I don’t want it anymore.”
“So you will abandon me, like you’ve abandoned so many others?” Eddie accused. “And you’ll do so for simply disagreeing with you. That is what cruel leaders do, Charlie.”
“I’m not a leader anymore. I’m just a guy trying to keep his friends alive, and I’m failing spectacularly at it! The least I can do is let you go before you’re slaughtered, too. I always hated our bond anyway, Eddie. It’s not right to bind you to this life-long service you had no choice in.”
“It was an honor I was grateful to have— until you became a raging madman!” Eddie shouted.
“If that’s what you think I am, then you’ll have no problem being set free. I don’t want to owe you anything, Eddie. It’s time you find a purpose without me.”
“Don’t you dare make this out to be a gift, as if you’re doing this for me and not some pathetic attempt to ensure you die alone!” Eddie yelled. “You push everyone away, Charlie! Your friends, your family, especially the people you love the most!”