Chapter 27 #2
I extended my hand and grasped Hayden’s firm grip. Hayden didn’t flinch or show any discomfort as the bracelet flames touched the side of his body. We sprinted ahead in the hallways for who knew how long, but at one point, I had to stop since the side of my stomach hurt.
Hayden released me, and I placed my hands on my knees, breathless.
After I recovered, I straightened up. “Lucy’s informant said to follow the pattern of the paintings, whatever that means,” I said, recalling the man’s words at the board meeting in the kingdom. “But he didn’t say anything about holes and closing walls.”
Bringing my fiery bracelet closer to the paintings on the wall, I studied them, pacing back and forth. There must’ve been some kind of pattern in the drawings. The images were of objects, many from nature, like trees, birds, and rivers, and the paintings looked beautiful and random.
“Perhaps the objects represent specific things,” Hayden said.
My gaze fell on a white bird drawn against a light-blue sky. “Look at this bird. It’s soaring up,” I said and took a deep breath. “You’re right. The objects in the paintings represent something. Directions.”
It had to be. The soaring bird signified going upward, but when I gazed at the stony ceiling, there wasn’t anywhere to climb.
“It has to be going straight, then,” I muttered and stepped to the next painting.
A dark-blue river took up most of the space in the drawing.
“The winding river can be showing us to turn.”
Victoria didn’t strike me as an art lover. Dad had never told me she appreciated paintings or other types of art. The hung drawings were not out of place. They were her decoding system for getting to some space where I was sure she waited for us.
Hayden had glued himself to my side as I moved from painting to painting, interpreting the symbols. The next painting had a bright sun in the middle of the canvas. Sunlight filtered through the trees to the right of the yellow circle, but to the left, the sunrays cast shadows.
I scanned the empty hallway in front of us. It forked, and this painting revealed our clue to our direction. The light shone to the right, and shadows danced to the left.
“I can’t be sure if we’ll take the right direction,” I said, and Hayden looked at me. “Right is following the light, and left is filled with shadows.”
I would choose the light, obviously.
Hayden grinned mischievously. “To the left, sweetheart.”
We stood before the split in the hallway.
“But how can you be sure?”
“Only another person tainted by the darkness of the shadows can recognize another person’s darkness.”
What was that supposed to mean? I didn’t have time to dwell on his words.
I followed Hayden into the left wing of the hallway, our steps fast but cautious. I could still detect the swooshing of the water underneath the ground as the stones fell.
Hayden’s words kept swirling in my mind, not leaving it.
“Do you really believe you have darkness in you, Hayden?” I asked, hoping he would share more with me.
He only gave me a glance and returned his gaze to the emptiness ahead of us.
“You always see the best in people. Or at least you want to believe in the light,” he said. “I like that about you, but remember that sometimes people are too far gone, and you can’t save them.”
I blinked. What kind of answer was that? It sounded more like a warning. Was he talking about himself, Victoria, or Torin? Did he believe one of them wasn’t redeemable?
I halted when colossal double doors appeared at the end of the corridor.
“This is it,” I said. “Let’s go in.”
“No, wait,” he said. “If the vampire Queen is inside, she’s waiting for us and not alone. I’m sure whatever room these doors open to, the space will be full of vampires.”
Hayden sighed, running his hands over his face.
“I really don’t want to leave you alone again, sweetheart,” he said. “But I’ll need to return and bring the rest of our people. It’s foolish for the two of us to go in there alone. I won’t be able to protect you.”
“I get it, Hayden.”
He didn’t want me to follow him out of the castle, jumping over the holes in the ground. It’d be easier for a supernatural to leap over them than a human. And if I fell, I’d freeze in the moat’s water.
“Even if the vampires open these doors and see me,” I said, “I’d be able to fight them off for a little while before you return with reinforcements.”
Hayden nodded. Our allies couldn’t follow us here without Hayden returning to them to lead them. He stepped closer, kissed the top of my head, turned, and ran so fast that he disappeared before I blinked.
I stared at the doors of whatever chamber stood before me and readied myself to fend off the vampires alone. My muscles tensed as I held my breath to listen for any footsteps.
But only silence stretched uncomfortably in the hallway. Even the sounds of dropping stones had stopped.
After a moment, footsteps echoed in the hallway where Hayden had disappeared. He, Adrian, Lucy, and several vampires came into view. More people jogged our way, trickling in.
“Damn holes,” Lucy said when she got to me. “I almost fell in one, but Adrian pulled me out.”
She smiled and nodded toward the hunter leader. Adrian had smeared blood on his face. He nodded in return.
Hayden immediately stood at my side. “Everyone is coming in. The vampires must have also sensed that the fight was moving in here because they retreated into the nooks and cracks of the castle. But we’re sure they’re following us.”
“Then let’s get in,” I said, my hand over my bracelet.
“Stay close to me, sweetheart. I’m just worried.”
Lucy let out an exaggerated cough. “Yeah, okay. We don’t have time for that,” she said. “We can’t wait to meet our tyrant.”
I smiled at Lucy as I ensured the crystal safely hung on my waist.
I kicked the ancient wooden doors open with a thunderous bang and stepped inside the hall. A red carpet stretched from the doors straight to a throne that sat on a platform.
Hunters, werewolves, and ally vampires swarmed around me as our enemy seeped through, as if they had hidden themselves in the shadows.
A chaotic clash in a frenzied battle began, and I couldn’t tell who had more power or men and who would win.
The room came alive with the crash of weapons, echoes of grunts, and cries of exertion.
I sucked in a deep breath as I marched into the middle of the battle. Hayden, Lucy, and Adrian flanked my sides, joining me at the heart of the chaos. I could only hope I and my allies would tip the balance of this fight in our favor with the special powers of the crystal.
Tall Gothic pillars rose from the marble floor, their carvings depicting scenes of vampires feeding on naked humans. The walls, adorned with crimson velvet drapes, seemed to whisper secrets. Flickering torches lit the room, although lamp fixtures hung from the ceiling.
The hall was a mixture of ancient and modern styles, and they looked at odds, as if the vampire Queen was still stuck in the past, liking old traditions, while she wanted the conveniences of modern life.
At the center of the chamber, atop a raised dais, stood a throne made of metal and wood adorned with obsidian crystals. Patterns of thorns and twisted vines gave it a dark allure. The high back of the throne curved like the talons of vampires, its edges sharp and pointed.
Crossing the distance to the throne, I jerked as the vampire Queen stepped onto the platform before her seat of authority. My crown sat on her head, and an evil smile tugged on her red lips. Her sheathed sword hung on her waist.
Victoria’s face shone with confidence and strength, but she didn’t know I carried a special powerful artifact that would help me win this war.
I avoided touching the leather sachet around my waist to avoid drawing her attention to it.
The vampires must have already reported to her their inability to compel us.
As warriors dodging sharp talons and daggers moved out of my view, they revealed a kneeling Torin next to the vampire Queen. Blood soaked his white cotton shirt, and the fabric had ripped at the chest. Dirt and blood stains covered his jeans.
I ordered my heartbeats to slow down. I needed a clear head to deal with this crazy woman, but watching Torin with his slouched shoulders and bowed head hurt so much I thought I might stop breathing.
Victoria’s smile widened, and a bad feeling formed in my stomach. As she unsheathed her sword, I knew what she would do.
Taunt me by hurting Torin.
Her slim, silver sword shimmered in the moonlight as she swung and cut Torin’s shoulder, adding to his scars.
I inhaled sharply, cold air burning my lungs. I wanted to yell and lash my whip at her, but I reined in my temper.
Torin didn’t make a sound as he took the torture. Only his arm moved, rattling the silver chains around his wrists.
I swallowed my anger and apprehension, reminding myself it wouldn’t be easy to beat Victoria. I needed my mind clear and focused.
But I couldn’t stop the wild grin spreading across my face and an arrogant feeling, bordering on insanity, simmering in my chest.
“You have something that belongs to me,” I said, stepping forward.
The vampire Queen tossed her long crimson hair with her free hand while holding her sword in the other.
“What?” She rolled her eyes. “This rusty thing?”
She pointed to my crown on her head.
I scoffed. “No, not that.”
Torin’s head lifted, and our eyes locked. His eyes changed immediately to red, his vampire surfacing at the sight of his fated mate. But I wasn’t his mate anymore.
I would think Torin had to be in pain, chained and injured, but as he stared at me with an intensity I hadn’t seen before, something sparked behind his crimson eyes. The half smile that lifted the corners of his bloody lips made my next breath catch in my throat.
Victoria’s laughter suddenly drew my attention, her voice as irritating as the woman herself.
“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” she said.
I pounced toward her, only to halt after three steps when the vampire General sprang before me. I groaned.
“Not you again,” I said, looking for some assistance with the intruder.
I could fight the vampire Queen if Adrian, Lucy, or Hayden took on the General.
But none of my allies stood at my sides.