by Ciara Graves
“Move it!” Henson sat in the driver’s seat of the pickup.
Behind us was complete chaos.
Guards shouted, and there were sirens blaring. The air was thick with acrid smoke.
I threw Aiden into the backseat of the truck then sprinted around to hop in the passenger door.
Henson took off, maneuvering us across the south lawn to the rear gate.
I ducked down low and yelled for Aiden to do the same. There was no one to try and stop us as we raced away from the mansion.
I looked in the side mirror. The mansion was in flames.
“Iona, thank you,” Aiden said.
I whirled around to glare at him. “What the hell were you thinking? Why did you come after me? Were you trying to get yourself killed?” I blinked a couple of times then added, “How did you even get inside?”
He lifted his chin and nailed me with a glare of his own. “I’m not as helpless as you think.”
“Never said you were helpless. I told you not to stop me. I told you to stay away if you couldn’t handle it.”
“Can you handle it?” he shot back.
“Why do you think I went there?”
“You went there to die. Don’t deny it.”
I turned back around. The urge to knock Aiden out again was strong, but I resisted.
Henson’s lips twitched as if he was fighting back a smile. Then he caught my furious glower and coughed.
“I’m going to assume Mariana and Venkalth are still alive?” Henson asked.
“Yes. No thanks to our friend back there.”
“I can hear you,” Aiden mumbled. “Why didn’t you just let him kill me if you wanted vengeance so badly?”
I ground my teeth and didn’t answer. What was I going to say? I heard the voice of my dead king inside my head telling me to save his sorry ass? Adrian would think it was residual symptoms from the poison. For all I knew, it was.
Henson started to head for the outskirts of the capital.
I shook my head. “No.”
“We can’t stay here.”
“I know a place,” I told him. “Trust me.”
He grunted but took my directions.
I heard Aiden shifting around in the backseat like he couldn’t get comfortable. Good. I didn’t want him comfortable. This was all his damned fault. Now Mariana was still alive, and she was free to marry Prince Reyson. Why had Jeric wanted me to save Aiden? What good was a healer going to do me except get us all killed?
I hope you know what you’re doing, I thought to Jeric. Otherwise, we’re going to end up at war and then dead.
Chapter 12
Aiden
I wasn’t sure exactly what happened back at the mansion. I managed to get onto the grounds without any trouble. Finding a way inside had been easy, too, almost like someone was making the guards turn an eye away from me. I walked right through the front doors like the guards weren’t even there.
Once inside, I’d wandered around, waiting for Iona to show herself. I’d felt Jeric’s presence beside me until I reached the second floor. He’d been pointing me toward his study when suddenly he popped out of sight with a pained look on his face. Not wanting to be caught out in the open, I’d ducked into his study and ended up standing right in front of Venkalth.
There’d been no chance to run. He’d taken in delight in seeing how much pain I could take while he grilled me about Iona. I hadn’t told her all this yet, including the part about not giving up any information. Then Mariana had joined him, and they realized that sooner or later, Iona would show up, and they could use me as leverage or bait. I’d tried to get free, and all that got me was a swollen eye.
Now Iona, Henson, and I stood on a ridge, overlooking the cemetery. We were too high up to see much, but I could just make out the top of the royal tomb where Jeric would be laid to rest.
“We can’t stay long,” Henson told Iona quietly.
“I know. I just had to come here once. Not like I’ll be able to visit him at his grave. I’m a wanted woman still.” She glared at me over her shoulder as she said it.
“I’m not apologizing again,” I said, standing my ground. “Killing them like that would’ve damaged you.”
She laughed darkly. “I’m already damaged, Aiden. There’s no antidote to fix me.”
“You can’t let yourself turn into a monster.”
“Can’t I? How else do you fight monsters? How else do you stop evil from taking over? It’s a destiny of destruction. That’s my destiny .Being good was Jeric’s destiny. It’s what got him killed. I can’t follow that path. I was destined to destruct.” Some of the anger seemed to leave her with those last words. She planted her hands on her hips and stared up at the darkening sky. “There’s a storm coming, Aiden. It’s going to be one of blood and death. That’s my path. It’s a path of exile. If you can’t handle it, then please find your way to somewhere safe. With Mariana alive and Venkalth at her side, the goblins aren’t safe. No one is.”
She shut her eyes as the wind kicked up, rustling the leaves in the branches overhead. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and a flash of lightning lit the sky. The funeral for Jeric had clearly been postponed after the attack at the royal grounds.
Iona was right. There’d be no coming back here for her. This was her goodbye. Her lips moved with words I couldn’t hear. A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye. She hastily wiped it away, turned on her heel, and stormed for the truck.
Henson nodded respectfully toward the cemetery, then followed. I lingered a few seconds longer. I hadn’t sensed Jeric at all, but now as cold raindrops pattered my face, he appeared. I said nothing and all he did was look toward the truck and Iona.
I had no way of knowing what was going to come next. Iona’s assurance of blood, death, and destruction on the horizon weighed heavy on my shoulders. The fate of Charus and all the goblins within her borders were now in Iona’s hands and mine if I joined her.
“Damn it,” I whispered to the storm and walked away from the ridge. I felt Jeric walk with me a few more paces, and then he was gone.
I’d never wanted practice healing during a time of war. Looked like my mostly peaceful life was about to change, and it was all because of a dead king and a stubborn, dangerous half-goblin.
What could possibly go wrong?
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Copyright © 2019 by Ciara Graves
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