Chapter 48
Forty-Eight
Sorin
After using the amulet to avoid the guards, Sera guides me through the castle. A part of me wonders just how long she was a prisoner here as she weaves in and out of various halls and passageways with ease.
“It’s this way,” she calls over her shoulder.
As we move through the winding hallways, the sounds from outside draw my attention. Chanting rises from the crowd as I peer out a window. It’s only with the noise from outside that I realize how quiet the castle itself is.
“Sera, wait.”
She stops several feet ahead of me, tilting her head.
“Where are all of Roman’s guards?”
Her face twists, and she glances down the hall behind her, then back to me. More shouting comes from outside.
“Down with the king!”
My stomach sours as I glance out the window.
The guards meet the gate where the crowd is rushing through. I spot Sam in the distance, her arrows flying with precision, hitting target after target. Frantic, my heart races as I look for Elora. The wolves flank her and Jarek’s sides, their teeth bared but there are so many people. So many guards that my eyes can’t work fast enough.
Sera joins me near the window. “There are two men in the room just around the corner.”
“We need to get back out there,” I say. “If they plan to take down an army, I can be of assistance.” I reach for my bow, but Sera stops me, her nails digging slightly into my forearm.
“You must find Roman.” Her blue eyes pulse in the gray light, flicking between me and the window. Her hand is trembling, eyes darting around me. “Put an end to this, Your Majesty.” She slips her hand from my wrist and my knees threaten to give way. “Second door on the left, just around the hall. That’s where you’ll find them. I’ll go find the council, they’ve got to be hiding around here.”
“You have no weapons.” I pull a dagger from my boot, but when I offer it to her, she brushes me aside.
“I don’t need weapons, I can be very persuasive.” Her smile lights up her otherwise cold face, and before I can say anything else, she takes off in a sprint back the way we came.
Peeling myself away from the window, away from the sounds of Elora and Sam and Jarek in battle, I take each step with a leaded foot toward the room Sera told me.
Second door on the left.
I nock an arrow, and as I do, the amulet around my neck burns. As if it’s reminding me there are far greater weapons at my disposal than my bow. My fingers draw toward it, a moth to a flickering flame, the desire to test each and every magick stored inside becoming distracting.
But it’s a magick that isn’t mine.
That was never meant for anyone but them.
The Enchantresses.
Mother Gaia.
Pausing, I rip the chain from my neck and drop the amulet into my pants pocket, nulling the desire to use it. With another steadying breath, I approach the door.
It’s already open, just a sliver, giving me a glimpse inside. Sera said there were two men inside, but the room is unnaturally still. I push on the door, testing for any creaks, but when it slides open with ease, I nudge into the room, arrow first. The only sounds that fill the space are from outside, screaming and clanging. My heart lurches.
I should be down there.
There’s another window just across from me, and that’s where I find him.
Roman.
“You,” he says without turning from the window. “So you’re alive after all?”
With shaking fingers, I aim my arrow straight at his back.
He turns, his face is pale, his eyes red. “If you’ve come to kill me, just do it.” There’s no emotion in his voice, but when his eyes dart to the bed, his face crumples.
I follow his line of sight and struggle not to fall to my knees.
Galen’s body is on the bed, not an ounce of life left in his face. My chest tightens, and when my grip on my bow loosens, I don’t scramble to grab it.
“I’ve done many unthinkable things,” Roman whispers. His boots are heavy as he passes by me to sit on the end of the bed. “But this may be the worst yet.”
My throat burns, and when I look at Roman again, he is sitting with one hand on Galen’s chest.
I can’t breathe.
The voices outside grow louder, their shouts incoherent. The amulet pulses in my pocket, begging to be used, but I drop my bow and draw my hand to the blade tucked into my boot. My fingers tremble as they wrap around the hilt. This is my last chance to make him see. My last chance to let him make one right choice.
I spring to my feet, the dagger poised between my fingers. It takes me two steps to reach him and a half a breath before the dagger is tucked under his chin. His eyes meet mine but he doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t fight back as I dig the blade a little deeper.
“Make his death mean something, Roman.”
He closes his eyes, his face aged since I saw him only a few days ago.
“Make it count. Call off your guards.”
He leans into my blade, letting it dig further into his flesh as he laughs. “If you think they’ll listen to me, you haven’t been paying attention,” he says. “They will follow Galen’s allegiance, even in his death.”
He grabs my hand and pulls the dagger toward him, aiming right for his heart. “If you’re not going to do it, I will.”
He pushes the blade deeper but I rip my hand away and shove him backward. The blade falls to the floor and I scramble to reach it, but Roman is quicker.
He knocks me out of the way, fisting the blade. He stands before I can and turns, pressing his boot to my chest. He opens his mouth, perhaps some final words lingering on his lips. The blade is pressed tightly to his throat, his boot pressed tightly to my chest, and I’m paralyzed by it all.
Elora.
Galen and Loxley and the Wicked Wood.
The Fates and my life before this one.
And Elora.
Because it always starts and ends with her.
She is the moon in my sky and I will not leave here without a kingdom to present at her feet.
My head is swimming, my heart pounding, and just when Roman moves, I charge him, tackling him to the floor. I sigh in relief as the metal clink of a blade hits the floor just out of reach.