by Jordi Burton
She licked her lips. “Are you going to kill me now?”
“You?” He laughed. “Never.”
“I’ll find you, wherever you go. I won’t stop till I do.”
“I’m counting on that.”
There was a flash of black smoke and then he was gone. Anastasia blinked, wondering if she was delirious. People didn’t just vanish into thin air. But then her mind quieted. This was a nice way to go, she supposed; quiet, gentle. Sure, the way she got to this point hadn’t been, but that didn’t matter, now.
Something jostled her, but she didn’t have the energy to scream any longer. She just let the pain ebb and flow, coursing through her. Something gold flashed across her vision, followed by more pain.
“Stay with me!”
This voice was familiar as well, but she couldn’t place it, either. It made her feel calm, though, despite the circumstances.
“You stay with me,” it commanded.
And she wanted to. She really did. There was something so pleasant about the voice; she wanted to do whatever it told her. But she couldn’t cling to awareness anymore. The pain was too much; the blood loss made her fuzzy. She tried to mumble an apology, but her mouth didn’t respond. She supposed that was for the best; she tasted blood on her lips. Funnily enough, it reminded her of when Aatu died, when she kissed him. Now she was to do the same.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
W illiam ran. Cradling Anastasia to his chest, he pushed himself faster and faster, but it wasn’t enough. He could feel her fading, her body growing limp in his arms.
He thought back to when she’d fallen unconscious after their fall from the Sky Temple. Then, he didn’t think he’d ever been so afraid for her life, so worried about her. Now? This was undoubtedly worse. Then, she’d just depleted her energy using magic. Now, she’d been tortured, her ankles nailed to a post. And that was just what he’d seen when he ran up towards her. The back of her dress was ripped open, blood smeared her back.
Gods and Angels. Whoever did this was going to pay.
Reaching the castle, he sprinted up to the gates. Warriors blocked his path, barring his entry. He wanted to scream at them. Couldn’t they see she was dying?
“The Princess is injured!” he shouted. “Someone help!”
The guards leapt forward. One ran towards the castle, while the other helped William with Anastasia. They hurried inside, halting in the foyer. Other guards came running, along with Valdon. Upon seeing him, William relaxed a little. Valdon wouldn’t let her die.
“Anastasia!”
William looked up to see the King running towards them. The look on his face twisted William’s heart.
Valdon motioned to William. “Bring her to my chambers.”
“Get Mistress Miglune!” the King shouted.
Waving his hands, Valdon created a direct portal. On the other side, William recognized Valdon’s rooms. They strode through and put Anastasia down on the bed. She’d gone so pale she looked like a ghost upon Valdon’s brightly-patterned sheets. Blood trickled from her mouth. William swallowed bile. His heart threatened to break through his rib cage. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t.
When he reached out to take her hand, he realized his hands were shaking. Had he ever been so scared in his entire life? He didn’t think so. The realization shook him to the core. Save her, he silently pleaded. Save her.
The door flew open and Mistress Miglune strode inside. Her eyes immediately went to Anastasia, assessing her injuries. William was grateful she didn’t look at him, for he didn’t think he was capable of speech in that moment. Bending over Anastasia, Mistress Miglune pressed her bony hands to her chest. Bright green healers’ magic exploded forth, shrouding Anastasia’s body. Closing her eyes, Mistress Miglune knelt, concentration making her body tight as a bowstring.
Behind her, Valdon clanked around his room. He went from table to desk, mixing herbs and pastes. King Elliot merely stood in the corner, his haunted eyes trained on his daughter.
The door flew open a second time. Ten guards marched inside, their weapons trained on William. He was so surprised, he actually staggered backwards. The frontmost guard stepped forward and secured manacles around William’s wrists.
“William Dinas,” she intoned. “You’re placed under arrest in the name of the Crown.”
Valdon stepped forward, his eyes flashing. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“This man is a wanted criminal.”
William just stood there, dumbfounded. None of this seemed real. How was it that Anastasia was dying, and he was getting arrested, all at the same time?
“He just saved the Princess’ life,” said Valdon.
The guard fixed a stony glare on Valdon. “I don’t care if he saved the Queen. We have orders to arrest him on sight. He is a dangerous man who needs to be contained.”
Him, dangerous? William felt surprise leak through him. He’d never considered himself particularly dangerous, unless there was a Shadow at the end of his blade. But, he supposed, that blade could easily be turned on another. He thought back to what it had felt like to wrap his hands around Anastasia’s throat, back when he’d been briefly possessed by a Shadow, right in this very room. He would’ve killed her then, if she hadn’t found a way to stop him.
How was it that they were always together when something serious happened? Of all the times Anastasia had nearly been killed in the last year, William had been present for nearly all of them. That didn’t give him the greatest track record. But, a small voice reminded him, she had survived all of those encounters. She had to survive this one, too.
The guards jerked him around, dragging him from the room. William glanced back at Anastasia, lying, unmoving, on Valdon’s bed. She looked so vulnerable; he just wanted to protect her.
“I’ll keep her safe,” Valdon vowed.
William nodded, unable to say anything. He wasn’t sure what he would do if anything happened to her.
The guards marched him through the castle, towards the dungeons. Everyone they passed stopped to stare at him. A few servants uttered frightened shrieks at the sight of his face. But the whole spectacle only mildly irritated him. None of this mattered anyways if Anastasia didn’t pull through. They could leave him to rot in the dungeons forever and he doubted he’d mind very much. Every part of him felt numb, which was probably for the best.
When they reached the dungeons, the guards split in half, guarding either end of him as they moved single-file down the spiral staircase. At the bottom, they frisked him. When they found the dagger Anastasia had given him, he wrenched against their restraints.
“Don’t take that!”
The guard holding the dagger spat at his feet. “One such as you doesn’t deserve a blade as fine as this.”
Opening the door, the guards shoved him inside a cell. He leapt forward, hands curling around the bars. “Please!”
The guard only laughed, tucking the blade into his belt. Anger unfurled in William’s chest, bright and raw. He threw himself against the door. The guard flinched back, scurrying from the room. William shook the bars, but it was to no avail.
A weak voice sounded through the darkness. “It’s no use. The door is too strong.”
William started as he recognized the voice. “Chris?”
“William?”
“You’re still in here?”
“Gods and Angels, they caught you?”
William slid down the wall of the cell, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry. I wish we could’ve come back for you.”
Chris let out a brittle laugh. “You were getting grayed out, William. You needed to leave.”
Gods and Angels, that felt like ages ago. Had it only been a couple of months since he and Chris had been sentenced to imprisonment? It felt like another lifetime that he’d knelt before the Representatives of Jacqueline in the throne room. Another lifetime since he’d been rescued from being grayed out. And even longer still since he’d last seen Chris, or any of his family.
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He ran a hand over his face. He couldn’t imagine what this was all like for his father and Dani. They would have to watch as he was grayed out in front of the entire city, and then probably exiled. It was too much.
“How are you?” Chris asked.
William went cold all over. “Anastasia’s dying.”
“What?!”
“I—I saw her, nailed upside down, screaming. She—he did something to her, took something from her with a needle.”
“Who did it?”
William shrugged, even though a wall separated them, and Chris was blind as a bat. “I didn’t see.”
“Gods and Angels,” Chris breathed. “You’re sure she’s dying?”
William put his head in his hands. “Mistress Miglune is with her now, but she lost a lot of blood. If I had just gotten there sooner. If I had caught the guy—”
“There’s no use to what ifs.”
He was right, of course. But William couldn’t shake the feeling. It was a habit, he supposed, after being alone with her all those months, searching for her grandmother. He had been the only one there to protect her; his only job had been to keep her safe. Now, it felt like he’d failed her.
Pushing all of that from his mind, he got to his feet. He needed to have a clear head for whatever happened next. Calling on his training, he compartmentalized his thoughts.
“How are you?” he asked of Chris.
“Still blind, still here.”
Pity flashed through William, but he quickly squelched it. Chris had blinded himself in service to the realm. He didn’t deserve pity; he deserved admiration. Besides, neither was sure the List had done any real damage to his sight. For all they knew, as soon as they found the person that could read it, he would be able to see again.
Chris cleared his throat. “What’s the plan, William?”
“What do you mean?”
“About us? What are we doing, here?”
William sighed. “The same as before. We take whatever punishment the Representatives dole out. Once the Shadows unfreeze, you go free, and I go into servitude.”
“This isn’t right. We don’t deserve to be here.”
Though he was right, William knew they couldn’t just up and leave. They couldn’t live life as fugitives of the Crown. He’d had a taste of it the last couple of months. It was a prison, same as this. They’d be ostracizing themselves from everything they’d ever known. And as much as that didn’t seem to matter now, it would later, when it counted. Not to mention, they’d probably never be able to see Sehir, or Anastasia, again.
“You still have a chance to be a warrior again. You won’t if you go.”
A crash sounded in Chris’ cell. “You honestly think I care about that?”
Surprise flashed through William. “What?”
“Anastasia is dying, the Shadows are going to move on the realm, and what are we doing about it? William, we’re the only ones that know what’s really coming. We have to stop it, before everything we know is destroyed.”
“And how do you suppose we do that?”
Steel threaded Chris’ voice. “We get the person who broke you out the first time.”
William blew out a breath. It had been risky the first time around, especially because William hadn’t wanted to leave the dungeons. But he’d been convinced, knowing he needed to do something to protect the realm from the horrors he’d seen in the alternate universe. It just didn’t feel right, going against the Representatives. But, part of him reasoned, they’d charged him with a treason he didn’t commit.
Perhaps the Representatives weren’t who he thought they were. Maybe there was more to meeting Representative Zand in the alternate universe than he’d originally thought. Even thinking it felt wrong, like he was turning against a vital part of himself. However, he knew that the part of himself that loved Anastasia, that needed to protect her above all else, the part of him that was a royal warrior, would always win out against anything else within him. That was who he was; not even a graying out ceremony would change that.
Getting to his feet, he went to the door and peered into the dim hallway. Their escape would be complicated, with Chris’ inability to see. But they were more than capable of making up for it. Especially with their person on the inside. He only hoped she would be up for the task a second time.
“Alright,” he finally said. “Let’s do it.”
Chris’ voice was fainter when he said, “What?”
“We’re breaking out of here.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
D ani just managed to get herself retied to the rope hanging from the ceiling before the door opened. Her feet dangled above the dusty ground, but she knew if she pulled just so on the rope, she’d go tumbling free.
Durse Follant and a handful of his Soster fellows stepped into the room. She tried to read their expressions but found them to be disturbingly blank. What did they want from her? It couldn’t just be the locations of the Shadow statues, could it? That seemed too simple, too mundane. Durse Follant was the son of the most powerful warrior in the realms. He had to have another motive for capturing them. Didn’t he?
“Dani Dinas,” he said, slowly moving around the perimeter of the room.
Dani tried to follow him with her eyes but couldn’t turn her body all the way around. “Durse Follant.”
“Tell me you’re in a cooperative mood.”
Dani did the closest approximation of a shrug that she could manage. “I can’t say that I am.”
“Gods and Angels, you sound like your brother.”
A pang of sorrow shot through Dani at the mention of William. The last she’d heard of him, he’d broken out of prison in Sehir. Had he been found? Had he been captured?
Thankfully, no one had been around when she received Anastasia’s letter, summoning her and Hayde back to Sehir. Vaguely, she wondered what the necessity was. It couldn’t be about William, or Anastasia would’ve said. Something else must’ve happened. But what?
She grinned. “I take that as a compliment.”
“You shouldn’t.”
His holier than thou attitude was really starting to get on her nerves. “Either torture me or let me go, Follant. I grow bored of your games.”
“I’m not going to torture you, Dani. I don’t have a taste for it. But neither will I let you go.”
Dani groaned. “So, what? You’re just going to leave me here, hanging like a piece of meat?”
“Until you comply, yes.”
“Great.”
Durse pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. His goons fanned out around the room, leaning against the walls. Dani glared at him. Her arms were starting to ache. When was he going to leave? She’d finally gotten the key finished. All she needed was the chance to use it. But she wouldn’t get that with them in her cell. And there was no way she could fight them all off by herself. Besides, she needed to figure out how to get to Mira and Hayde. She couldn’t just leave them here.
She needed to do some recon. She’d be lucky if her key fit the locks on the other cells, but she highly doubted that was the case. And the only other thing she had on her was her one crossbow bolt. As satisfying as it would be to pierce Durse’s chest with it, it wasn’t enough.
“You could just tell me where the Shadow statues are.”
Dani frowned. “I could, if I knew where.”
“Don’t feign ignorance.”
Two of Durse’s men stepped forward. One menacingly cracked his knuckles. The other just tilted his head and looked at Dani with an expression so calculating it made her shiver.
Dani flicked her eyes to Durse. “I thought you said you weren’t one for torture.”
“I may not be, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t.”
With a quick breath, Dani clutched at the rope over her head. As the bigger of the two men neared her, Dani moved quickly. Planting her feet firmly on the man’s chest, she pushed outward. The larger man stumbled back, while Dani swung backwards. Using he
r momentum, she knocked the second man to the ground. Durse’s other men leapt forward, trying to grab her.
She gave her rope a firm yank; it pulled free from the ceiling beam. She fell, taking the larger man down with her, while she used the rope like a whip and snapped two of Durse’s men back. Bending down, she threw dirt into the eyes of the last man. He staggered, clawing at his face with a cry.
Turning, she pulled her crossbow bolt from her headwrap. Durse’s men were lying around her, groaning. Stepping forward, she pointed the bolt at Durse.
“Let me out.”
Durse considered her. “That’s your only bolt. It would be a shame if you wasted it on me.”
She worked her jaw. “I said let me out, Follant.”
Instead of moving to the door, Durse smiled and got to his feet. Dani took a step back, weighing her options. His men were already recovering. She needed to get out of there. But Durse just moved towards her, a strange look in his eyes.
Dani raised her hands, taking up the fighting stance William had taught her. She ran through the things she remembered about self-defense. Never let your opponent get your back. Use your surroundings to your advantage. Go for the softer parts of the body. Don’t aim to maim; just get your opponent on the ground and run. But there was nowhere for her to run to.
Before she could say anything, Durse swung at her. She narrowly avoided his punch, leaping aside at the last second. But then all she saw were a flurry of fists. She struggled to block him, feeling herself getting pushed back towards the wall. It was a messy, uncoordinated fight. He punched and kicked, while Dani blocked, working to get a hit in. When she finally saw an opening, she swung out as hard as she could. Durse grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, throwing her off-balance. She quickly recovered, kicking out at his knee. He staggered, and she saw an opportunity to move away.
Heaving, Durse held up a hand to his men. “Leave her to me.”
Emboldened by his words, Dani wiped blood from the corner of her mouth and leapt forward. Her fist connected with his side, then her foot with his chest. He drew a shaky breath, and she knew she’d winded him.
