Chapter Fifty
Saphyra
T he tower echoed with the clatter of metal tools over the sound of the storm. Lex and Shadow rushed, tossing spare equipment that had been used to repair the electrical panel into bags, while Grey disinfected my hand and wrapped it in gauze. Ghost’s fingers flew across the keypad on the black box, copying the code off the duke’s note.
“Got it,” Ghost said, and we all paused.
A crisp robotic voice came through the comms device. “Invalid entry. Enter pass key now.”
“Or maybe not.” Ghost’s fingers tapped out a pattern on the keypad. “Got it?” He sounded less sure.
“Pass key accepted. Please wait for connection,” the robotic voice replied.
“Go for the duke.” It wasn’t the robotic voice this time, but a man’s voice. It didn’t sound like Yannix, though.
Ghost was suddenly grinning. “Maddox, is that you? You’re not the duke. Well, not yet, anyway.”
“Axion, this is a secure line. It’s not for social calls. What do you want?” Maddox sounded annoyed, but if I wasn’t mistaken, there might have been a smile behind his words, too.
“Right, well. You may or may not have noticed, but the shield kicked on for a second. Not sure if it’s still on, but there’s that. Oh, and no one that we left in charge at the capital is responding on comms. So, you’re the last resort.”
A laugh that was poorly concealed by a cough came through the speaker. “The duke says the shield is definitely working. You won’t be able to see it unless something hits it. Usually solar radiation sets it off, but anything it deems a threat would do. As for why no one is responding to comms, they’re in the brig.”
I sucked in a gasp. “What? In the brig? Why?” The volume of my outburst startled me. It was loud enough that it carried to the microphone over the wind.
Hearing my question, Maddox replied. “Hello, Your Majesty. We were wondering if you were there. Yes, in the brig for insubordination. The regent made some staffing changes while you were away. Some of your allies took exception to it.”
There was a shuffling sound before the duke’s voice carried through the speaker. “Where are you?”
I looked to my mates, unsure if we should outright tell him. Everyone gave a silent nod of approval, and so I replied. “We’re at the old capital. Why?”
More shuffling, and Maddox was back. “If you leave now, you might live to see tomorrow. A pair of Imperatrix starfighters are headed that way. They’re an hour away, coming from the south.”
It took longer than that to get to the abandoned village and the cover of the trees. We’d never make it. My heart leapt to my throat, and panic screamed in my veins.
Shadow’s smokey voice broke through my scattered thoughts. “You didn’t send them, did you, Maddox?” His tone was so full of menace, my instincts urged me to run for cover.
Maddox sounded like he might have had that same inclination because even through the comms, I heard him choke on his words. “Of course not. We only have Verden’s best interests at heart. Better hurry, though. Not even we can save you from what’s coming now.”
It was time to go.
Ghost turned the transmitter off and shoved it in his bag. Then we were all running through the door.
Our steps were like death knells racing through the cold stone hallway as we rushed upward toward the exit. When we cleared the front entrance, our eyes were drawn to the sky. Dark clouds roiled, rushing closer on a frigid wind.
The horses were restless in the makeshift stalls, but they settled as we made short work of tacking up and securing our gear.
Lex held out a hand, giving me a leg up. “No matter what happens, you have to survive.” He put my toe in the stirrup iron, but he was gone before I could reply.
Ghost led the way out of the bailey, letting his horse find a path through the rubble. As soon as we were clear of the debris, he picked up the pace. Our horses’ hooves flew across the open farmland, but the storm was faster. Fat drops of rain pelted us. Lightning flashed in the distance, and the horse’s ears swiveled in agitation.
There was a noise on the wind, unnatural and terrifying. The sound was the unmistakable ring of a low-flying starfighter. I couldn’t see it through the rain, but I heard it scream past overhead.
I leaned low over my horse’s neck, praying to the Stars that our heat signatures would go unnoticed. At the front of the pack, Ghost glanced over his shoulder. I could barely make him out through the downpour. Everything must have been as he expected, because he faced forward and urged his horse to greater speed.
Grey was only a stride ahead, occasionally flopping one way or the other but getting the hang of it through sheer force of will and white knuckled determination.
Another craft shot past, heading in the direction we’d just come, but neither stopped nor even slowed. The rain and wind would obscure our tracks, if they even thought to look. There was nothing left to find at the ruins of the old capital. The shield was initiated and would stay that way as long as the queen lived.
I had to live.
They were too late to find us there.
The shadows of the forest’s edge loomed in the distance. Burned husks of farmhouses looked like black corpses between the sheets of rain passing in a blur as we galloped past.
Before I knew it, we were back under the cover of trees. Fat splatters of rain found their way through the thick canopy, scattering to the ground in noisy torrents. Ghost slowed to a walk and the rest of us followed. We were all breathing too heavily to talk. The horses’ sides heaved and their heads hung low, looking as pitiful as the rest of us, completely drenched and exhausted.
We dismounted and walked on shaking legs, leading the horses up the steep slope back toward the hot spring. The rain slowed and finally stopped, but a thick fog rose in its place, shrouding us and muffling the sound of our passage. Night was falling fast in the shadow of the mountain, but we were almost back to camp.