Chapter 2
Darrow
Icouldn’t shake the feeling that time was running out.
We had to find the prince and do it quickly.
As we continued skirting the south end of the capital, we only saw a single dark elf patrol.
With the power still coursing through me, I ground their bones to dust with little more than a thought, dumping their flaccid remains behind a market stall.
Even my wounds had mended already, so nothing slowed me down.
Traveling past an orchard, I caught the slightest movement from the corner of my eye.
A fae hid behind one of the many apple trees in that section.
Since this one masked its signature, I had to assume it was a dryad.
If not for the god powers enhancing my senses, I would have missed them since they could blend easily with nature.
Needing answers from someone who’d been here during the attack, I used my powers to yank them to me.
My target let out a keening, low-pitched wail as I plopped him in front of me.
His legs resembled narrow tree trunks, and his arms like branches, with leaves covering most of his body and head, except for his dark green eyes.
Terror reflected in them, but I had no time to be gentle, nor did I have any desire to cater to timid creatures.
Either this one would talk freely, or he’d find his voice with some encouragement.
“When was the prince last seen?” I asked in a menacing tone.
The dryad trembled, hesitating to answer.
“Silence will not help you,” I said, taking hold of the twigs at the end of its left branch arm and squeezing enough to cause discomfort. “I’m sworn to protect the king’s son, and I will stop at nothing to do it.”
“J-j-just after dawn…I…I spotted him riding his horse toward the forest with his g-g-guards,” he stuttered.
“Is there any chance the dark elves took him?”
“My…my brethren…and I haven’t heard news…of his capture or death.” Leaves rustled as he shook his head vigorously. “But…I can tell you that the prince is not in the forest now.”
I’d chosen this type of fae to question because they could communicate with each other across their territory instantly, learning in seconds what would take me hours. “When did your people last see him? Check with all of them!”
He was quiet for a moment. “It’s been several hours, but he was in the hunting forest then.”
That was either very good or very bad.
I let go of him. “You may go.”
The dryad wasted no time scurrying back into the orchard, quickly disappearing.
“What do we do now?” Loden asked.
“Find out if the prince is where he’s supposed to be,” I said, taking off at a brisk pace. My two companions rushed to catch up.
The place we needed to reach was on the opposite end of Porrine from my townhouse.
When we had confronted the dark elves and my uncle, we’d only reached the halfway point.
At least the dryad had confirmed that I still had a chance of fulfilling my oath to King Worden, and we should continue to the destination I’d planned.
That sense of urgency I’d felt before had only grown worse.
Both my companions kept darting worried glances my way, but stopped meeting my eyes as the intensity of my magic grew.
In the back of my mind, I knew I should be concerned about it, but the immense feeling of invincibility made it hard to care.
Still, today was different. The god’s energy flow had never felt so strong that it left my skin tingling with static power.
I used every advantage of my heightened senses to thoroughly scan our surroundings.
We’d just skirted a large pond and crossed the Caspus River by leaping onto the large boulders that spanned the waters, acting as a natural bridge.
Up ahead, we could see Porrine’s hunting forest. It was dense, with towering trees and an array of colorful flora.
Nothing stirred that I could see as we entered.
Under its thick canopy, the light dimmed, and the air cooled.
We stepped carefully over fallen leaves of gold, red, and brown, signaling the arrival of autumn. There was only a thin blanket of them now, but in the coming weeks, it would thicken into piles native animals could use to build shelter for the winter.
I sent my senses outward, searching for signs of life. The usual woodland fae creatures hid and had dimmed their auras so much that even in my heightened state, I could hardly detect any of them. Dryads weren’t the only ones who lived here.
After a few minutes, we came across a few mangled and scorched bodies lying on the soiled earth near a trio of ingrown trees.
Fireballs had killed two, and a blade slayed the other.
With the way they lay, they’d been running when the dark elves struck them down.
We passed several more similar scenes before reaching the place I sought.
It appeared as a large, thick bush with dark-red leaves, standing ten feet high and a dozen feet wide.
Using my powers, I pushed the center open like a door.
As the one who’d spelled this plant with my blood, it yielded easily.
I gestured at the other two men to follow me as I stepped inside and stopped at the center, where a camouflaged metal cover lay.
I grasped each end and slid it to the side, revealing a dark tunnel below. No one spoke as we climbed down, and I sent a pulse of magic to close the bush and entrance behind us. Loden produced a ball of light with his powers, only making it bright enough to guide us.
The air was thick and musky as we moved in the only direction we could go from this point, walking single file since it was just a few feet wide.
I led the way, casting my senses far and straining my ears for any sound.
No signs of life came to me. At the very least, sentries should have stood guard a short distance ahead.
The prince should have also made it this far by now if he were alive, but I couldn’t give up yet.
I had to see this through until I confirmed what had become of him.
More than ten minutes passed before I finally began to sense other beings.
Soon after that, I caught faint sounds in the distance, echoing off the packed dirt walls.
I picked up the pace when I heard the clang of swords.
The tunnel was spelled so that no offensive magic would work, preventing inadvertent collapses, but if there was fighting, perhaps Armin had made it down here. I ran faster.
Aggravatingly, it took longer than expected to reach the battle due to the winding nature of the passage.
Dirt transitioned to stone as further improvements were made in this section.
I estimated we were about a half-mile from the palace by the time we stepped into a large cavern with multiple tunnels feeding into it.
I took in the scene before me in seconds.
Prince Armin and two of his guards—covered in gore and wounds—stood with their backs to a rock wall while fending off half a dozen dark elves. Bodies from both sides lay scattered everywhere. How long had they been fighting?
I had no outlet for my magic down here, only enhanced strength, but that would be enough.
I gestured at Jax and Loden to take the dark elves to the right while I handled the rest. Leaping over fallen bodies, I grabbed the two in front of the prince and smashed their heads into each other with enough force that the remains flowed between my fingers.
The next one turned, raising his sword in my direction. I knocked his blade away and grabbed him by the throat. His scream died as I crushed his neck and tossed him across the room. I swung around, looking for any remaining dark elves to kill, eager for more battle.
By the time I vanquished the fourth dark elf with a fist through his rib cage, my friends had finished their opponents.
The prince slumped against the wall. I quickly surveyed his injuries, noting a deep slice on his left side oozing blood.
He also had a shoulder burn and a two-inch gash in his thigh.
His battle had not begun here, but it would end in this place. I would do whatever was necessary to make sure he stayed safe from this point forward. My blood oath to the king bound me to that, particularly upon his death.
After wiping my hands clean on one of the dead soldiers’ tunics, I reached for the prince. “Come. There’s no time to wait.”
His guards pointed their swords at me, determined to protect him despite their injuries. They didn’t know about my obligation to the prince, as it was a matter between me, the royals, and a select few other individuals involved in the plan.
“You’re a dark elf,” one of them said, glaring. The guard’s sword shook as he tried to hold it up despite his numerous injuries and fear of me. “Get back!”
I considered killing him since he was in the way and not very useful in his current state.
Armin used the stone wall as a brace so that he could rise to his feet on his own. “Darrow is only half, and he’s on our side—sworn to protect me in the event of my father’s demise. Stand down.”
The weary guard hesitated for a moment but did as ordered, moving aside.
“We must go,” I said, putting an arm around the prince. More enemies could arrive at any moment, and I’d already left Aella and Rynn alone for longer than I liked. If anyone harmed them, I’d lose my mind, which wouldn’t be helpful under the circumstances.
Loden led the way with his light, while Jax assisted the guard with the worst injuries.
“They came through the main portal,” Armin said in a pained voice, as I urged him inside the tunnel where we’d entered. Unfortunately, there weren’t any on the east end of the city near my townhouse. We’d have to go back the same way we came.
I frowned at him. “They penetrated the wards on the ring?”