41 LONNIE
UNDERNEATH
“We need to get the fuck out of here,”
Scion yelled.
I felt a surge of energy pulsating in the air, followed by a deafening roar. The ground beneath us began to shake violently as cracks formed in the walls and ceiling. Bael’s immense powers were ripping through the dungeon and castle, leaving behind nothing but destruction.
But I couldn’t see any of that.
All I could see was my mother, bleeding and unconscious on the floor, dust and debris from the crumbling ceiling falling on top of her. If she was not already dead, she would be in a matter of seconds.
I needed to get to her.
“Let me go,”
I demanded of Scion once more.
This time, he dropped me, seeming to think I was aiming to escape the crumbling building. Instead, I dashed out of the now-open cell, and fell to the ground beside my mother.
Nothing made sense.
How was she here? What had happened? And, most importantly of all, why would she want to kill me?
I would never get the answers if we let her die here.
“Help me!”
I demanded, whipping my head around.
Bael did not seem to understand the words I was saying, and Scion didn’t so much as look at my mother as he reached for me, picking me up and dragging me toward the door.
“Let’s fucking go.”
“We need to save her!”
I screamed with frustration, as Scion threw me over his shoulder, holding my legs against his chest. “Not if the castle is about to fall on top of us, I don’t give a fuck about anyone but you.”
“I’ll hate you for this!”
I yelled, and for once as I spoke there was no pain in my throat.
“Fine, hate me,”
he growled. “I love you enough for both of us.”
Tears streamed down my face, and I watched in desperation as the dungeon moved further and further away. Bael ran behind Scion, his eyes on me, and I pleaded silently with him to understand what I was saying. To care. To save my mother.
But, he didn’t. Even if he’d been himself at the moment, I knew deep down that he would have agreed with Scion. Neither one of them would risk my life to save the woman who’d just tried to kill me.
Even if she was the one who’d given me life to begin with.
Despair nearly drowned me, but then, my eyes caught a glimpse of the man with striking violet eyes. I lifted my head up, my heart beating faster once more.
Bael’s dark magic had torn through his cell, setting him free, after all. His grin was one of victory as he chased after us, with a strength I would not have thought possible after so many years underground.
“Wait!”
I yelled out to him, panic rising in my voice. I frantically gestured toward my mother’s lifeless form behind Scion’s back. “Please, save her!”
My voice cracked. “You owe me.”
In truth, it was Bael who he owed his freedom to, but without me, Bael would never have been freed in the first place. The man faltered, and looked directly at me for a long second. He bent and scooped my mother into his arms.
A wave of relief washed over me. She may die anyway, but at least now there was a chance.
We sprinted out of the dungeon and fled from the collapsing castle. Scion, in the lead with me over his shoulder, Bael the lion loping behind us, and the violet eyed stranger carrying my mother taking up the rear.
This time, we quickly located the stairs that would take us to the upper levels. I wondered vaguely if it was because of Bael, or perhaps the magic of the castle was collapsing along with the walls. Still, in no time at all we burst through the heavy wooden doors and into the blinding sunlight outside the ancient palace.
“We need to get back to the ship,”
I insisted.
Scion dropped me back to my feet so I could meet his scowling gaze. “The ship? No. The bridge is right fucking there, rebel.”
He pointed wildly at one of the several long rickety bridges that crossed the chasm.
“No, but?—”
I broke off. In the confusion, I’d forgotten to consider that Scion hated his brother. Both Bael and Scion viewed Ambrose as nothing more than a villain, and they wouldn’t be likely to trust him.
In that same moment, I realized that I did trust him.
Ambrose had promised that he would meet me at the ship, and that was where we needed to go. We couldn’t leave him behind, any more than I could’ve left my traitorous mother.
I set my jaw, and glared determinedly up at Scion’s silver eyes. I pointed toward the city lights shimmering in the distance. “I’m going this way. You can come with me, or part ways right here.”
As I’d known would happen, Scion’s conviction crumbled. We’d already nearly died countless times to find each other, the means of our escape would not be the thing that divided us.
We sprinted down the rocky path of the mountain, our feet pounding against the dry, rocky ground as we sprinted through the unforgiving desert landscape. My lungs burned with each breath and my muscles ached from the steep incline, then finally, we burst onto the busy streets of Underneath.
As I rounded the bend of the narrow cobblestone street, the salty scent of the ocean hit my nose, and I could see the vibrant blood-red waters of the harbor in the distance. My heart filled with joy as I quickened my pace toward the docks.
Except, just as joy flooded me, the ground behind us began to shake. People screamed, and the wind whipped faster as if a sudden storm had fallen upon us.
I looked over my shoulder and my blood ran cold.
In the distance, I could hear the thunderous gallop of hooves and the growls and roars of wild animals. My heart pounded as I saw the king’s hunting party charging toward us.
Leading the pack, Gancanagh was immediately visible. His massive lion form towered over every other creature, radiating a fierce power that sent shivers down my spine. Even from here, the sharp gleam of his teeth and his piercing yellow eyes gutted me.
With one mighty roar, he commanded all attention to him. It was like a hunting horn, telling his army to charge.
I glanced at Bael, and all I could think was how he’d warned me time and time again never to run from monsters.
Except, when the monsters were hunting us, what other choice was there?