56. Kiera
FIFTY-SIX
KIERA
“ T hey are catching up to us.” Drystan looked over his shoulder every other step.
“Keep going. We’ll be fine. We just have to stay ahead of them,” Jaxus hissed between breaths.
I felt pulled between them. Losing my footing on the loose rocks, I fell to one knee, trying not to make a sound as pain echoed through my joint. “Keep going,” I said when Jaxus stopped to turn back and help me.
Drys forced me to my feet as he came up behind.
“Thank you,” I muttered, lifting my hand in front of my face to not hit it on the rocks. “It’s too dark. I can barely see.”
“Try to use my eyes.” Jaxus forced an image into my mind and I tried to use it, but it only make me more unstable to have his vision plastered over my sight .
“They are gaining on us.” Drystan slowed, tilting his head to listen.
I forced myself over the loose rocks, bracing one hand on the side of the tunnel, lungs burning.
“How close?” Faolan’s low tone came from the front.
“I’m trying to listen, but there are too many rocks moving in this Goddess-forsaken tunnel.” Drystan’s tone came angry, something I’d never heard from him before.
“Want me to carry the Vessel?” I asked between gulps for oxygen. No matter how many inhales I took of the stale air, it never felt like I caught my breath. Like I was slowly drowning on dry land. Panic prickled at the edges of my mind, but I pushed them away. The tunnel wasn’t that long. Faolan told us it would be hard. We had to keep pushing.
“No, I’m fine.” Drystan snapped.
“How close are they?” Faolan asked again.
“I don’t know. It’s too confusing to locate them in here.” Drystan didn’t move, falling further behind.
“Should he have the Vessel?” I felt bad questioning him, but I’d never forgive myself if we lost it when we were this close to our escape.
Jaxus glanced back, meeting my eyes, then searching beyond me. “I trust my brother.”
I nodded, trying to catch up with Jaxus. Every minute longer we were in this tunnel, we risked passing out. Then they would drag us back to Kerani, and all would be lost.
Shouting echoed off the walls. “THEY ARE UP HERE.”
I ducked my head, ignoring it. Nothing would help me if I didn’t put every ounce of energy into the climb.
“We aren’t going to make it. They are gaining on us too fast.” Drystan’s wound gushed, flooding dark red fluid down his chest.
“Let me have the vessel.” I turned, reaching for it, before seeing a light flickering in the dark not too far behind him. “They are gaining. ”
“Just keep going,” Jaxus called. “We are nearly there.”
“We won’t make it, brother,” Drystan’s voice turned strained.
“Help me,” Drystan pleaded, grabbing hold of my robes.
“I can’t.” I met his eyes.
His golden gaze begged in silent pain.
“I can’t carry us both. Give me the vessel.” I was too drained after giving most of my reserves to Jaxus.
“It’s heavy. You won’t be able to lift it.”
“One of us has to, and if you’re struggling—” I reached for it.
But he pulled it out of my grasp. “Brother. Don’t leave me behind.” The pain in his voice struck my chest, and instead of grabbing the vessel from his hands, I grabbed his arm to try and drag him up the last few meters.
A massive arm reached past me. “Let me.”
“What about the vessel?” I asked, knowing Faolan would need help.
“Go help him,” Jaxus said through his teeth.
I could barely move past Jaxus in the cramped space, running the last few meters with energy I summoned from only the Goddess knows where. I burst out into a chamber with Faolan and Emrys, who had their shoulders pressed to a massive stone with their legs braced against the floor, heaving.
“I can’t do it,” Faolan said.
“Yes, we will. We have no other choice.”
My heart hammered in my chest, but I focused on the last few meters of the tunnel.
“Where do you want me?” I quickly surveyed the spot and found a space between the wall and the edge of the stone. I dropped my pack and ducked under Faolan’s arm to wedge myself in.
He nodded as he figured out my plan. “Great. On three.”
I put my feet on the wall, knees bent, waiting for his count.
“One. ”
“Two.”
“Three.”
I heaved with all my might, but my body was too fatigued from the lack of sleep and strenuous climb. The stone didn’t budge.
“Again,” Faolan called.
“Emrys, come over here,” I said when the second attempt didn’t budge the boulder.
“Will I fit?” he asked, already ducking under Faolan.
I shimmied higher, giving him enough space under me.
“You’re going to fall when it moves,” Faolan said.
“I’m not worried. You’ll break my fall.” I barely managed. “Count.”
Faolan laughed. “Three.”
We shoved, and the boulder moved only a centimeter at first but then more and more. Little by little it went, which gave us more motivation.
Screams broke out in the passage, but Jaxus’ voice broke through it all.
“Give me the vessel.”
We all fell silent, listening.
“Never,” Drystan growled. “They are on us. Give up now and beg the elders’ mercy, brother.”
“Are you fucking kidding?” Hurt sounded in Jaxus’ tone.
“I can’t let you do this to our parents,” Drystan growled, turning cold.
“What are you talking about?” Jaxus snapped.
“They have us. You are surrounded. You’ll never escape. They’ve pushed you into a trap.”
“You lie.” Jaxus’ voice came tense.
“They clearly knew this whole time.” Mirth licked in his words.
Had this entire endeavor been a setup? No, we’d bonded. Drys loved Jaxus. He wouldn’t. My mind wouldn’t accept it .
“You let me go this far to stop me?” Confusion filtered into Jaxus’ tone. The hurt there broke me in two.
“I had to show everyone who you really were.” Everything Drys was morphed. “Tell them it was all her. Tell them she brainwashed you.” He dropped his voice, but it echoed into our chamber. “You were thinking with your dick. You can be saved. They will forgive you if you say the right thing.”
Jaxus snarled. “I would never. I’d kill my own blood first.”
“You’d betray our parents and family name?” Drystan pleaded. “You can stop this.”
“Why would you come this far?”
“Because the elders needed to see her for who she is. They’ve suspected Faolan and Emrys for a long time, and now I’ve handed them the proof they need.” Drystan’s voice dripped with triumph.
“The Goddess damn you.” Faolan spat. “Leave him.” He looked at me and Emrys. “We have to get this the rest of the way open.”
We heaved, moving the stone enough to let us help.
I dropped down, standing in the mouth of the new opening.
“Go,” Faolan screamed.
“But the vessel,” I cried staring back down the tunnel, willing Jaxus to appear with the vessel.
“They will catch us all. We have to go.” Faolan pushed my shoulder.
“Run, Kiera,” Jaxus cut through all the other noise. Right to my mind. “ You must help Nyx if I don’t get out.”
“I can’t leave without you.” I’d nearly lost him once. I couldn’t get this close and allow it.
“Please just go. The fate of the kingdoms is in your hands.”
Faolan grabbed my arm, pulling me through the opening.
I struggled for a moment but let him take me. We ran until we came out under a treacherous sky. The weather groaned, angry and ready to snap .
We kept running until we hit a cliff face. I stepped to the edge. “What do we do?!”
Faolan took my hand. “Trust me?”
I nodded, and he backed up a few paces. I knew what he planned before he ran headlong for the edge. I went with him before I could let fear catch up. We went over the edge, and he didn’t shift. A scream filled my throat, but it was lost on the wind that whipped up around us, cushioning our descent.
Faolan squeezed my hand, his grin stretching ear to ear as our feet lightly landed on the black sand. “Not every dragon needs his wings.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you want a cookie?”
He put his hand out. “I’d love one.”
I lifted my face to the sky, waiting for Jaxus to come over the edge. Minutes dragged, and he didn’t come.
“Goddess, please.”
Finally, his massive gold wings stretched out, but there were other dragons at his tail.
“Shit.” I turned towards the water and ran.
Jaxus swooped down, landing next to me and shifting back to his fae form while the other dragons struggled to stay in the air, the wind whipping up around us. It had to be Faolan manipulating it. I tucked my chin, fighting the gusts with every footfall.
“Should we go back for Drys? Try and convince him?”
“I barely got out of the tunnel. They ambushed us. There are half a dozen of them.”
“We have to fight them.” I risked a glance at him. “You can’t just leave him.”
“If we try, we won’t escape. We have to get back to Nyx.” Jaxus grabbed me around the middle, scooping me off my feet sadness consuming us both.
For our losses here and the ones I knew would come.
I reached for my last hopes of curing Nyx, realizing I’d lose him just like Kol, and it broke me .
Before this war was over, would I have to watch every person I loved destroyed by it?
Jaxus leapt aboard the ship while Faolan shoved off the shore and jumped aboard. The wind howled around us, threatening a storm. The air crackled, and the hair on my arms stood on end. The power in it filled my chest with dread.
“Will we even make it to shore?”
“We don’t have a choice.” Faolan held the ship’s wheel with one hand while lifting the other to the sky to bend the air to his will.
We tied ourselves in while Faolan sailed us to the open sea.
“Shouldn’t we fly?” I asked, watching the waves grow.
“We wouldn’t make it,” Faolan yelled.
The ship rocked violently, the mast tipping until I thought it would snap when we collided with the next wave. We righted in time to drive into the wave, bow angling towards the sky, and then we were falling down the side of the wall of water only to crash into another.
“Will we make it through this?”
“Trust me.” Faolan met my gaze, remaining steady.
I nodded as my stomach turned, and I clung to my tether. My eyes fought to close, but I couldn’t sleep now. Not until we were safely ashore.
I wept.
For Nyx.
For Kol.
For Jaxus and Drystan.
For the home he could never return to.
I hadn’t realized I’d drifted, waking to Jaxus’ lips on my temple.
“Where are we?” I asked, blinking painful eyes .
“Nearly to the shore.” Jaxus took a seat next to where I’d have collapsed next to my tether. “You were sleeping with your eyes open.”
“They hurt enough to make me believe it.” I rubbed them. “What are we going to do?”
“Return to the First Kingdom.”
“Empty handed? And tell them what? Where have we been for months?”
Emrys and Jaxus exchanged a glance.
“What?” I demanded, voice still unsteady.
“We aren’t empty handed,” Jaxus said sheepishly.
“Explain yourself,” I demanded, anger bubbling in my veins.
“We gave my brother a decoy. Emrys has the real one.” Jaxus admitted.
“Did you suspect he would turn on you?!” I stared at him. “Your own brother?”
“He was in on it.”
I looked between them. “You joke.”
Emrys pulled out the vessel from the folds of his robes. “We suspected there could be trouble and had a decoy ready so if only a few of us could get away, then we’d have better odds.”
My mouth fell agape. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We needed it as believable as possible.” Jaxus apologized silently. “Not even Faolan knew. Drystan told me last night that if they got close, he would take the fall.”
“And you let him?” I didn’t know which was worse, the betrayal or letting him take the fall for the rest of us.
“It will be better for our parents not to lose us both. He knew that. And this way, he looks like the hero.”
“Surely they will know his vessel is fake.” I put a hand to my heart, knowing I’d never be able to thank him.
“Maybe, but Drystan will play the fool.” Jaxus put his hand over mine.
“He’s good at that,” Faolan muttered .
“Watch yourself. Had he not caused a scene and returned to them with the vessel, we might have been pursued harder.” A growl rumbling through Jaxus chest.
“We will never know,” Faolan said, and it was the most he’d admit to, but there was more he wasn’t saying.
We sailed the rest of the way in silence. No one met us when we came aground. The black sand of the volcanic shore was too dangerous to inhabit even for the bravest fae of the kingdom.
“Will we fly?” I asked, shouldering my pack.
“If everyone is up for it? Maybe we should rest.” Jaxus looked at Faolan.
He shook his head. “Not with her smoking like that. We need to get away.”
“Where then? An outpost?” I asked knowing I wouldn’t make the flight all the way to the First Kingdom.”
“What do you think?” Jaxus asked Faolan.
“Oh, I’m not coming with you. I’m not getting my first taste of freedom only to bend a knee to a King I owe no allegiance.” Faolan grinned. “This is where we say goodbye.”