Chapter 56 #2
"No time to explain." Laurince snatched her hand and dragged her behind a pew, the broken chains trailing behind her and scraping against the floorboards.
He forced her down behind the seats and grabbed her shoulders, his grip almost bruising as he stared at her, his eyes bouncing across her face. "We’re getting out of here."
"But—" Myra looked around them.
Havoc reigned in the throne room. The screams hadn’t stopped and had only become more violent, more strained as the drakonises attacked.
"Stay down, got it?" Laurince pulled away, but Myra panicked. She grabbed his wrists, halting him.
"Where are you going?"
"I’m getting Rian. Then we’re getting out of here."
Before she could respond, Laurince stood, the long chain in hand. "Keep your head down, Haze," he directed before he took off.
Despite his instructions, she peeked her head over the top of the bench and found him running toward the dais. Blood stained his back, dripping from the protruding bones. Myra had no idea how he was even moving.
A shadow fell overhead, and her hair was swept across her face as a snarling drakonis swooped in.
The beast screeched, its teeth dripping with saliva as it rushed toward Laurince.
The captain slid beneath the animal’s head as it snapped its jaws, narrowly missing him.
And though Laurince moved with speed, his movements were jerky, the pain of the serum still affecting him.
Yet he pushed through it, his determination and adrenaline overcoming it.
How long could he last before he inevitably crashed? Before the adrenaline wore off?
Rolling over, Laurince grappled for something silver on the floor near a body. He stood and spun, facing the beast. He shifted into a fighting position, a small throwing knife in one hand and the broken chain in the other.
Myra’s stomach lurched. Even she, barely trained, knew that a small blade would be akin to a needle prick to a creature that was as large as four men.
Myra felt a sudden weight release from her hands, and she turned to see the manacle clattering to the floor.
"Phaia?" Myra croaked, blinking at the woman, who now crouched beside her. Myra hadn’t seen the Frenzian handmaiden in the crowd, but she must have been there.
"Hi," Phaia said, holding up a hand, where a set of iron keys dangled. Blood stained her blouse. Briefly, Myra wondered what Phaia had done to gain those keys, but now was not the time to ask.
"Can I unlock those?" Phaia gestured to the shackles around Myra’s ankles. "Unless you prefer to wear them out of here."
A flash of hesitation and suspicion rose, but Myra quickly batted it away. She didn’t have time to hesitate. Not as screams, grunts, and screeches continued to flood the room.
"Why are you helping me?" Myra asked carefully as Phaia unlocked the metal cuffs.
Phaia peeked up at Myra through her pin-straight black hair. "Because some of us would rather die than believe a single word Sebastian says."
The last cuff fell to the ground with a thunk.
A drakonis flew over them. Gasping, Phaia quickly pulled Myra beneath the bench with her.
"Thank you," Myra mumbled.
"Don’t thank me yet," she said, looking over her shoulder. "We still need to get out of here."
"Laurince is getting the king now," Myra said.
Phaia moved from beneath the bench and peeked over it. "Shit," she hissed, falling back down and shoving her hair out of her face.
"What is it?" But Myra didn’t wait for a response. She looked over the bench and swallowed her scream.
Laurince struggled against the drakonis, his forehead pinched in concentration and agony.
He jumped onto the animal’s back and threw the chain around its neck, catching it with his other hand.
Choking the drakonis with the chain, Laurince held on tight, pressing his chest against the back of the beast’s neck.
With a deafening roar, the beast jerked, trying to throw Laurince off.
But the captain pressed his thighs harder against it and tightened his grip on the ends of the chain.
The drakonis let out a guttural cry. It shook its head from side to side, its body twisting. Laurince miraculously held on. He couldn’t hold on forever, though.
"We need to help him," Myra said. "We need to find His Majesty." The faster she found Rian, the faster she could help Laurince.
Frantically, her gaze bounced across the sea of chaos.
In the fray, she struggled to spot Rian.
Women and men ran around the room, trying to find an exit that wasn’t blocked by a drakonis.
Guards and those with weapons fought the beasts off as best as they could, but the drakonises were quickly overpowering them.
Death spread across the floor as its victims clung to the last threads of their lives.
A flash of auburn hair popped up in the crowd further ahead. Had Sebastian actually stayed to fight?
Then, further away, between the rows of benches, there was a flicker of movement.
"Come on." Myra pulled Phaia with her, hoping she wasn’t misplacing her trust once again. Together, they ran toward Rian, jumping over the bodies that littered the throne room
Rian popped his head out, and his green eyes grew wide when he spotted them. Myra picked up her pace and crashed beside him.
Rian mumbled something, but the gag was still in place.
Myra pulled the gag out as Phaia said, out of breath, "You’re smart to hide."
"I’m not hiding," Rian spat once he was free to speak.
Myra’s brows bunched together. "Then what are you doing over here?"
He held up a short sword. "I was grabbing this."
"Where did you find—" Myra shook her head, cutting herself off, realizing she didn’t want the answer based on the blood on the hilt and blade. Myra ushered Phaia forward. "Give her your hands."
"Where’s Laurince?" Rian asked, his breath haggard.
"Fighting," she answered, as Phaia made quick work of unlocking the chains around Rian’s wrists. Once done, she instantly moved to the ones on his ankles. "Weaponless, mind you."
"He’s not weaponless," Rian said, a darkness swirling in his gaze. "He has become a weapon."
"Laurince isn’t like the others," Myra snapped.
"Not yet. The transition is still happening. Who’s to say—"
"Stop!" Myra pressed her palms against her head. She couldn’t hear him say what she feared most.
"Now is not the time," Phaia said gently.
"Fine," Rian gritted out. He looked at Myra, his expression solemn. "But you are only delaying the inevitable."
"Maybe we should focus on getting out of here alive first, yeah?" Phaia suggested, dropping the last manacle.
Rian rubbed his wrists and thanked the handmaiden. Then all three of them peered over the bench. Quickly finding Laurince as if drawn to him, Myra watched in horror as the drakonis fell on top of Laurince.
Myra didn’t hesitate. She didn’t think. She didn’t look at Rian for permission or guidance. She ran.
Feet pounded behind her, but she barely registered them. Myra didn’t check to see if it was another drakonis or Rian and Phaia. She couldn’t afford to waste any time. She stamped down her panic and sprinted harder.
Only seconds had passed, but Laurince had yet to emerge from beneath the beast’s body. Was he hurt? Was he dead? She shoved the thoughts away.
In her peripheral vision, she saw Rian catching up, his arms and legs pumping faster than hers and quickly passing her.
He skidded to a stop beside the fallen creature.
His fingers dug into his dyed hair as he searched for Laurince.
Then he sprang into action. He sprinted around the body and dropped to the ground, shoving at the beast’s deadweight.
Myra hurried over and jerked back in fright. The creature had fallen on Laurince’s lower half. The captain wasn’t moving.
"No, no, no—"
"Help me!" Rian yelled, putting his hands on the beast’s side and lifting.
Quickly, Myra slipped her hands beneath Laurince’s shoulders and pulled.
And pulled.
And pulled.
"I can’t," she wept, sweat dripping from her forehead. "He’s stuck."
Phaia reached and quickly put her hands under the drakonis' belly. She nodded at Rian. "Come on."
Rian didn’t hesitate. Together, they lifted the drakonis a couple of inches. Frantically, Myra tugged, finally freeing Laurince from the beast’s weight. Rian and Phaia immediately dropped the drakonis’ body once the captain’s feet were free.
"Laurince?" Myra called out, brushing his hair back.
There was no answer.
Tears streamed down her face and splashed onto his cheeks.
"Is he all right?" Phaia asked.
Rian pressed his ear against Laurince’s chest.
Myra’s tears were an endless river as she waited with bated breath. She peppered Laurince’s forehead with soft kisses, begging the gods to show him mercy.
"He’s alive," Rian called out just as another voice spoke.
"You truly do have a death wish, don’t you?"
At Laurince’s voice, Myra nearly collapsed on top of him. Instead, she forced herself up and peered down at him.
Rian moved, and Myra quickly took his place at Laurince’s side. "Are you…are you all right?"
"Are you?" he asked, swiping away her tears with a shaking hand.
"I’m not the one who got crushed by a drakonis," Myra argued.
Laurince shrugged. "Maybe not, but you kind of look like you did."
She scoffed, aghast.
"Care to let me up?" he asked, raising a brow.
Myra looked down. Her palms were pressed against his chest and stomach. She removed her hands instantly, cheeks flaming.
"Sorry," she mumbled, standing and holding out a hand. He grabbed it. His hand was large in hers, and she could feel the calluses covering his palm from years of wielding a sword.
Once on his feet, Laurince stared at her, his gaze dipping down to her lips. He caressed her cheek.
He was alive.
He was alive.
Myra didn’t know who leaned in first, but before their lips met, a trickle of pain wrapped around her. Myra leaned away. Pain pinched his brow, and sweat dripped down the sides of his face.
"Laur—"
The captain keeled over, his back contorting.
"By the gods," Rian hissed, his gaze falling on Laurince’s back.
Then, Myra finally saw it. The burn had spread down Laurince’s flesh, and his tormented skin was smeared red.
"The tunnels," Laurince croaked, pointing to a wall.
Rian slipped one of Laurince’s arms over his shoulder, and Myra immediately did the same.
As she held onto him, she sought the source of the pain and sedated it as much as she could, as much as her draining power would let her.
Phaia hurried after them as they bee-lined it to the hidden tunnel within the wall.
Behind them, the drakonises continued to wreak havoc, their hunger insatiable and unrelenting.