Chapter 32 #2
She pulled at handfuls of her hair and babbled, “It’s worse. So, so much worse. I see them. Even when I close my eyes. Why do I see them?” She spewed the words at everyone and no one.
The sight of her gutted me. “Take her to Kansas, to Daniel, and stay with her,” I beseeched Elowen. “If you return, you’ll die. I can do this without you.” I faced her straight-on. “Trust me to do this. You trained me. I’ve learned from my mistakes.”
The same words Jasher had offered to me, and I’d denied him. No guilt. Not now.
Elowen narrowed her eyes.
“Please,” I added. “I’m ready.”
Her mouth opened and closed, fear sparking in her eyes, stripping away her royal veneer. “I cannot leave you to face the big bad alone.”
“You must. If I spend my time worrying about you, how will I end Ian?”
Mom’s upset intensified, until she punched at the walls. “Let me out! Let me out!”
“Very well,” Elowen croaked.
“Swear it,” I demanded of my sister. Let us be clear. No water maiden loopholes left untied. “Swear you won’t come back to save me.”
A single tear dripped from her chin, and I caught it with my fingertip mid-air. Without thought, I pressed the moisture over my heart, a seal and a promise, and breathed out, “I will kill Ian, no matter what. This I swear to you.”
“And I swear I won’t return to save you,” she spit out. “Now let’s get Mother to the catacombs. Ian cut off every water source he could to the palace. That one, he cannot control.”
“He’ll be guarding it.” I tightened my hold on my blood-wet daggers. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll deal. Let’s go.”
Elowen took the lead, with our mother in the middle. We pinned her in, ensuring she remained in motion.
Her eyes remained closed, and she continued to pull her hair, mumbling under her breath now. “Dead, dead, they’re all dead.”
Though I ached for her, I couldn’t stop to offer comfort. We moved quickly through smoke and screams. Down twisting halls, through splintered doors. Killing any monstra we neared.
The catacombs were eerily empty. A trap, no doubt about it. That didn’t stop us.
In the chamber where I’d stayed, I sensed monstra, but I didn’t see them. They lurked nearby, perhaps even watching us.
Gripping my weapon tighter, I scanned the room, ready.
“I sense them, too,” Elowen muttered, sweeping a hand over the pool. Water spiraled to life, glowing crimson to welcome her with open arms. “He’s behind a secret passage, intending to reveal himself when I’m gone.”
“He can hear you,” Ian called, almost laughing.
Fury burned through me, but it was ice cold.
Elowen gathered mother close and walked her forward. “This can’t be good for you, sister.”
He wanted a private conversation? Excellent. I shared the desire. “Trust me,” I repeated, squaring my shoulders. Frost hardened my veins. “I will defeat him.”
She cast me one of those sad smiles over her shoulder. “I know you will.” Then my beloved family…sank away.
“I love you both,” I cried as they vanished.
A sharp click sounded, a hidden door opening in the stone wall, where Jasher had once been bound. I spun on my heel, facing Ian, daggers aimed. But the blades weren’t the real weapon. I let power collect in my chest, a churning tide.
Out stepped Ian, smiling as he flipped Jasher’s coin. “I didn’t think they would ever leave.”
Betrayal lanced a jagged line straight through my middle. Of course Jasher left the passage rigged for him.
Ten soldiers marched out behind him, forming a menacing backdrop.
“Forget about your mother for now. Sin wants her gone from this world for now,” he said, smug. “We have a better death planned for Queen Elowen upon her return. And she will return. She always does. Yes, I’ve begun to remember too.”
No, Elowen wouldn’t come back. She’d given me her word. And I didn’t care what else Ian wished to say.
As sweltering, icy heat unfurled, I arrowed at him. To drown him, I needed to be near him.
His soldiers surged, shielding him. I fought them. I fought them hard. Hot blood splattered me. I wasn’t even winded, strength pulsing from the heat. One by one, they fell, until only Ian himself remained.
Then I pivoted to face him—and dropped the blades. Clang.
His smile slipped. He backed away from me, holding out his hands. “Don’t you dare—”
“Goodbye, Jasher,” I muttered as I slipped into Ian’s body. Flooding him.
Water, so much water. I filled his lungs, his veins, his heart. Every organ and every cell. Water poured from every orifice. Choking, he collapsed in a twitching heap. I glided out and re-formed, watching in satisfaction as he went still.
That…
…was too easy.
The catacombs were quiet. From beyond them, I could hear the faint echo of screams. The battle still waged.
I swooped down and checked for the emerald tattoo. His own face decorated his chest, laughing up at me.
My eyes slitted. This wasn’t the real Ian, but a decoy.
He’d kept me distracted, burning through the Ember. Away from the heart of the battle.
One way out.
Water. Portal. I reached through it—and transported from the chamber into a bedroom, high in a tower. I frowned. Why come here?
Noises spilled through the open balcony doors. I glided over to peer out. The palace courtyard. Fights, fights and more fights. Death, death and more death. Blood, so much blood.
Find Ian.
Kill Ian.
I cast my gaze beyond the battlefield, my eyes seeing through different bits of moisture. Ian would be in the shadows, watching his beloved children destroy Ahav’s kingdom. Laughing. Enjoying life.
My breath caught. The king. He rode a pegacorn, slicing through the sky and evading monstra, a gleaming titan in gold, coming in hot—but not alone.
Beside him flew Jasher, still only half shifted, with his axes in hand.
The collar he’d acquired in the Ring of Truth was gone, as if the verdict could not follow him out.
He cut down his precious brethren to protect the king, who appeared equally determined as they angled down, clearly intending to land. But then, he’d cut them down before. The elders. He would change his tune the second I turned my attention to the younger monstra.
Mind off Jasher and on the battle. The king.
I am the one who must die. Ahav’s words.
Did Jasher now escort him to Ian? I’d bet Ian wished to steal from Ahav whatever my tears had done to him.
“No,” I snarled. Except, the two headed for the battle. More monstra followed, wings slicing smoke and raining fire.
I would open a waterway to the battlefield after Ahav landed. So much blood, so many entrances. I would protect my father and find Ian.
Plan set. I fixed my gaze, watching as my father arrived on the scene, swooping into the chaos. He leaped from his mount and joined the battle on the ground.
I searched the surrounding bodies. There. The perfect spot.
Footsteps thundered behind me. I turned—gasped. A clone raced from the shadows. No time to brace. He shoved me, driving me over the balcony.
The world tilted, wind screaming in my ears. And I fell.