“Do you feel anything… for me?”
She paused, staring at me for a moment. “Define feel.”
Shit. How could I pretend that my heart wasn’t breaking? That it wasn’t crashing into my stomach? Did I do this to her, or did I save her? Was this to be my hell? To have my love right in front of me and never have her?
I pressed my hand to my chest. “The connection. The sizzle. The fire. Do you feel any of it?” The thing that I have always felt since the first day I saw you. The thing that you give me. My sunflower in the darkness. I wanted her to feel it, to feel me. To be the only one to know me. She sat up straight in the chair and squared her shoulders. “I want to be near you.”
“Good.”
“You have all the food.”
“Oh.” My breath left me in a rush, and I struggled to regain it, struggled to find my footing. I’d saved her. I’d kept her alive. Me! I could do this—figure out a way to bring back the girl I knew. Because if I didn’t, I might as well have died on that table beside her.
Chapter 25
Astrid
“No, but really, though. You want to break this dude out? Like, I know he’s your brother and everything, but… let’s just think about this for a second.” I stood staring at those crystal eyes, wondering if we were making a mistake setting him free. We needed to get to Logan, but would this guy really take us there?
“There is no one else,” Ashryn said, so sure of herself. “He is the only one in the world.” She reached to the side of the cell and pressed her hand to it. I wasn’t sure what happened, but a glowing green light surrounded her fingers and the cell door popped open. Ashryn stepped into the dark corner and dropped to her knees in front of him. “Are you going to help us?”
“Get me out of these chains and we’ll see.”
We’ll see? “Free with no guarantees.”
Beckett chuckled beside me and whispered, “You don’t like him?”
“All I feel is power and danger. Like has nothing to do with it.”
Ashryn jammed something into the manacles, and a second later they fell from his wrist and clanged against the walls. He rubbed his hand around his wrists and rose to his feet. Huge, he was huge and towering over Ashryn’s willowy frame. Strands of his inky hair fell over his face, yet it did nothing to hide his sharp, angular jawline or chiseled face. He glanced toward us.
“Queens and warlocks in Windelos? What are you up to, sister?”
Just as Ashryn opened her mouth to answer, a low, long horn blew deep and alarming. The sound of footsteps rushing toward us matched the frantic beating of my heart. Ashryn rolled her eyes. “Mother is awake.”
“Then it’s time to go.” He marched out of the cell right past me. He moved with a grace I couldn’t understand. He turned to the wall right next to his cell and reached into the greenery. I didn’t know what he was doing or how flower picking was going to help us, but he hurled his body up off the ground with a single hold. He landed on the walkway over our heads like a feline hunting. He crouched down, looking at us. “You coming?”
“Seriously?” How the hell did someone just throw themselves ten feet into the air with no problems?
“Come on then, little warlock.” He winked and started down the walkway away from us.
I glanced over to Beckett. “Little warlock?”
Blue smoke erupted from his hands and fired beneath my feet. Oh hell, yes. I rocketed off the ground with Nova by my side. Ashryn, too, grabbed a piece of the wall and flipped her body up next to ours. Before Beckett could shoot himself up, I fired my power at him, and he shot off the ground like he’d hit a springboard. He landed beside me and I chuckled. With a single glance, we both took off running after Ashryn’s brother. He was faster but we had more power. Within seconds, I caught up to him.
The pathway dead-ended against a straight, flat wall. He came to a screeching halt. His chest heaved with breath as he pointed toward a window twenty feet above us. “We’ve got to go out and up.”
“Up?”
“Ground will be covered. Now all we have to do is—”
I let my power flow from my body. I envisioned what I wanted and let my golden smoke filter over all our feet. I threw out my other hand and an opening appeared in the wall. It was just smaller than a doorway. Cool night air rushed in, blowing my hair back from my face. I took a step toward the hole in the wall.
“Keep up, little elf.”
I stepped out onto the side of the castle. It was like walking on the ground. I’d made sure my boots would stick to the wall the way a spider’s would. Beckett clapped him on the shoulder as he passed and joined me on the side of the castle. This felt like an afront to gravity, yet I didn’t care. “He said up.”
Beckett waved me forward. “After you.”
I chuckled and took off running up toward the top of the castle. Cool air brushed against my cheeks and my hair streamed out behind me. The muscles in my arms and legs burned from running, yet I felt energy pulsing through my body. As if I were running toward the moon and stars, power coursed through my veins and I sucked in crisp, sharp breaths. The others flanked my sides, and we ran over the flowing silvery outside of the castle, leaping over windows, ducking around wild plants and the occasional animal.
When we reached the top at the highest position in the kingdom, I stopped, standing next to the needle-like point. I could see for miles in all directions. The city looked so small from here. The walls around it even smaller. It looked like all of Windelos sat in a giant ball with waterfalls flowing all around and through it. In the distance, a large pool formed, and a light mist hovered just over the surface of the water.
“Kylian. What are you thinking?” Ashryn came to stop just next to me. “We’re trapped up here.”
Kylian, the dude’s name is Kylian. Literally has the word KILL in it. Great… just great.
His lips parted in a smile that did nothing to warm me toward him. He was dangerous and I felt it. He chuckled and looked out over the valley. “Remember when we were kids?”
Ashryn’s eyes widened. “That’s your plan?”
He reached for the tip of the castle and wrapped his hand around it. Copper-colored light glowed bright and hot under his touch. A large chunk of the silvery metal broke off from the castle. It melted and twisted in his hands, extending to a long, thin arrow that shone in the moonlight. A thick cord extended from the tail of the arrow. He waved it back and forth, assuring it was attached. Then he tossed it to Ashryn.
“The further, the better. You know it’ll be hard to outrun them.”
I glanced down at the bottom of the castle and a group of elves were jumping and leaping their way up toward us. Ashryn lifted the bow from around her shoulders and drew the arrow across it. She looked up at Kylian and smiled.
“Not if I can help it.”
She let the arrow go, and it cut through the night like a shooting star. The cord continued to flow as the arrow flew so far into the distance that I could no longer see it. The cord stopped pulling, and Kylian grabbed the end of it. That copper light glowed in his palm once more, and he yanked the cord tight. He bent down and held the end of it to the castle. The light of his hand grew brighter and when he dropped his grip, the cord was tight to the side of the castle. He plucked it with her finger, ensuring it was taut.
“Hey, Red, you think you could give us some kind of rig to slide down this thing?”
Red? It was what the kids at school used to call me. That felt like a lifetime ago—I was a different person, different girl, different warlock. I held out my hand and let my magic flow over each of us. Harnesses wrapped around our bodies as best as I could envision. “Feel free to be the first to try.”
“You don’t like me much, do you?” He narrowed his eyes at me.
“We have something important to do. I need to be able to trust you. Can I trust you, Kylian?”
“Guess you’ll have to find out.” Those crystal eyes blazed in the night, and I felt Beckett move to m
y side.
Ashryn stepped up to the cord. “We don’t have time for this.”
She hooked on her harness and leapt off the side of the castle. The distinct whizzing sound filled my ears as the metal clip slid down the cord. She spun around to face us and waved for the next one to go. Nova didn’t hesitate. She hooked on and jumped off the side like a swan. The zipline bounced with her movements, but it held. Kylian hooded himself onto the line.
“See you on the other side.” He just stepped off the side, all casual-like. He was a thousand feet in the air with nothing below him. His inky hair whipped around his face and just below his chin. He silently disappeared into the night and not even the cable or harness dare make a noise around him.
I glanced over the side of the castle, watching the elves coming closer. I turned to Beckett. “I don’t trust him.”
“I know, love.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “But we don’t have a choice. He’s the only one who’s been where we’re going.”
“Yeaaaah. Hopefully, we make it back.”
He hooked my harness to the line and gave me a little shove.
I dropped into the open air, free-falling, and then the cord tightened and caught my weight. This had to be what flying felt like. I leaned back, let my hands fall over my head and felt the cool air whipping all around me. It was quiet, so still… yet I was soaring free as everything passed by me. I knew I was going fast. The cool air chilled my cheeks and seeped into my clothing. This was freedom. This had to be what a bird felt like.
“Astrid! Cut loose!” I snapped up my head to where I heard my name coming from. There down below me was Ashryn, Nova and Kylian floating toward the edge of the lake. My eyes widened. Did they really want me to cut loose? I whipped around and faced the wall where the arrow was embedded. A dead-flat wall, waiting for me to smash into it like a fly to a window.
“Screw this.” Power exploded out of me and my harness cut loose. I dropped down toward the lake and landed on something airy and cushioning.
“We should’ve let her go first.” Nova swam to me and threw her arm over the side of the pool raft I’d made at the last minute. She kicked her leg over and water splashed across my face and stomach. She hauled herself out of the water and flopped onto the raft next to me like a fish. “I have spent way too much time tonight being sopping wet.”
Ashryn and Kylian took up positions on the front of the raft and guided us toward the shoreline. A blue disk of power hovered over us then passed us and landed on the shoreline just before we did. Beckett stepped off it and waited.
I sighed. “He should’ve come before all of us.”
When we got to the shoreline, Ashryn and Kylian yanked up the raft as high as it could go. I hopped out, landing in water up to my ankles. I slogged to Beckett’s side and waited for the others to join us. Kylian dropped down onto the ground and yanked off one of his boots, dumping water onto the ground beside him. “Anyone want to tell me why you risked breaking me out of that cell?”
Ashryn glanced at the rest of us then turned to him. “We are on a rescue mission. And you’re the only one in the world who’s been where we’re going.”
Kylian froze, holding his boot in the air. “You don’t mean…”
Ashryn gave him a single nod and a light shrug. It was a silent communication that had Kylian shaking his head. “I’m not going there again. Ever.”
Enough was enough. This place, wherever it was, had been looming over us this whole time. And now we needed to know. What in the actual hell were we up against? “Where are we going?”
Kylian dropped his boot onto the ground and rested his arm over his knee. “We’re going where it rains blood, the air is poison and the grass kills. You don’t just simply walk in and walk out. This place… this is a place where even immortals go to die.” He turned to look at Beckett. “You want me to take you there, it’s gonna cost you.”
Ashyrn groaned. “Kylian, really? Have you no honor?”
Kylian sighed and shook his head. “Seeing how you all just broke me out, I’m assuming Mother dearest isn’t going to accept either of us back with open arms. Since I’m no longer welcome in my kingdom, I’m going to need more.”
Beckett’s hand curled into a fist at his sides. “Name it.”
A snarky smile spread across Kylian’s face. “You’re the Dustwick heir. Means you’ve got coin. I’ll take a place to live… to start with.”
“Done.” Beckett didn’t even hesitate.
“Good.” Kylian rose to his feet. “You’re the one that portals?”
Beckett narrowed his eyes at him. “Not sure I like that you know it.”
“We’re going to need it.”
I rolled my eyes. “For the love of Pete, where the hell are we going?”
Kylian crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re going to hell… We’re going into the Unseelie realm.”
Chapter 26
Cross
“Explain this to me again?” Ophelia leaned over one of the first of Alataris’ old journals. Strands of her long, straight hair fell from the braid on top of her head and brushed over the browning pages.
Penny leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. Her posture spoke of the time she lived in, even though now she looked more like a CEO in her black suit than a lady of centuries past. She shook her head. “It’s bad, very bad.”
I shifted from one foot to the other. “When isn’t it bad when it comes to our families?”
Ophelia snorted. “Good point.”
“Long ago, when there were no walls around the earth, the Seelie and Unseelie moved freely through our world and theirs. They were notorious for their tricks, cruelty and the lack of compassion they showed for any living thing.” Penny shook her head and leaned forward, resting her hands on the table. “They were very powerful, with abilities that I don’t even know about. As far as all of Evermore was concerned, the Seelie and Unseelie were the most powerful beings to walk the earth besides the Fallen. Hell, even some of the Greeks struggled against them.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “So these are like the fae of legend? The ones who were full of mischief and tricks?”
Penny shook her head. “These are more than that. They are the Seelie and Unseelie. There is nothing light about them. They’ve been kept from our world, and now they’ll be pissed and looking for more than coming in and playing some tricks.”
Ophelia stood straight and placed her hands on her hips. “What will they be looking for?”
Penny shrugged. “Who knows what they want now, but whatever it is, it can’t be good for the earth.”
Ophelia grabbed up the journal and hurled it across the room. Her body quaked from head to toe as she screamed toward the spot where the book had struck one of the stacks in the library. Little puffs of her gray smoke drifted up from her hands. “Is there one thing in this world that my father hasn’t messed up?”
Her chest heaved, and I felt the connection hum between us. Her anger was at boiling point. I moved behind her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her back toward my chest. Her small body fit against mine like a perfectly formed puzzle piece. Her shuddering breaths broke every part of me. We’d both come from shitty families, and with everything I had in me, I wish I could spare her this.
Penny sighed. “At the time, he was hailed as a savior, but now… now we’ve got a species hell bent on doing something. We just don’t know what.”
“What’s the difference between the Seelie and Unseelie anyways?” I had understood everything she said, but I still didn’t get this.
Slowly, Ophelia began to calm and I loosened my grip on her. She pulled one of her knives from behind her back and stabbed it into the table in front of us, splitting the wood. “Better yet, can they be killed?”
“I suppose anything can be killed.” Penny sighed and for a moment she just looked plain exhausted. She leaned to the side and rested her head on her hand. “But the most important thing is figuring out
how to get the damn walls back up so they can’t come in. Because if they do, we all will suffer losses.”
The house gave a tentative shake like a mild earthquake rumbled below our feet. I arched and eyebrow at Penny. “Was that you?”
“No.” She jumped to her feet.
Maze burst through the door toting Tilly behind him. His eye clouded to a thick milky white. “Something’s coming.”
The library door flew open once more, and Cassidy took up the whole doorway with Leo right behind her. Cassidy’s chest heaved with gasping breaths. Her short, pin-straight hair stuck out in all different directions. Dark streaks of dirt covered her face. A cut slashed through her eyebrow all the way down to her almond eyes. “Something’s happening!”
Leo swayed on his feet. Blood trickled from his lip; his eyes rolled in his head for a moment. “School… under… attack.”
I startled. “What the hell?” I glanced at Penny. “Unseelie?”
“EVERYONE TO THE BASEMENT NOW!” She ran for the door and we didn’t hesitate.
We all sprinted down the hall and around the corner. Penny hit the top of the steps and just jumped. Her body hurtled down the stairs, her blond hair streaming out behind her. Ophelia didn’t even stop. She, too, leapt down right behind Penny. They landed in the foyer and turned for the basement door. Cassidy and Leo went next, then I planted my foot and shoved off the top step. My heart jumped up into my throat as I fell down toward the foyer. My boots hit the ground and pain vibrated up my ankles. I rolled forward and popped to my feet.
Angel’s head snapped up from the couch in one of the sitting rooms. “What’s happening?”
“Run!” I grabbed her hand and yanked her over my shoulder. There was no time to explain. I didn’t know what was coming, but a heavy magic sat in the air. Angel smacked my back as she bounced on my shoulder. Maze and Tilly ran past me, hitting the basement door before I could. He, too, leapt down the stairs. Tilly followed closely behind him. I didn’t know if I could jump with Angel in my arms, but I was damn sure going to try.
Wicked Curse (The Royals: Warlock Court Book 4) Page 15
