by Candy Crum
Arryn didn’t understand. None of this made sense. This is a trap. You knew I was coming. How?
Because you're annoying. You were so weak that day that I saw straight through you. There was no way in hell you were going to give up. It's been a real treat watching Talia collapse into her own psychosis, and now I get to enjoy you taking revenge on her. The best part is that she has no idea you’re even alive, let alone back in Arcadia.
Well, after I’m done with her, I'm coming for you next, bitch, Arryn sent, her internal voice flat and angry.
Oh, I'm counting on it. Have fun now! Do tell Talia I send her my best.
With that the tingle in her brain was gone and she was left to her own thoughts. Scarlett had set Talia up, or so it seemed. That was okay—Arryn didn't care if it came easy, though she was happy she wouldn't have to fight her way in.
Arryn slowly made her way through the door and up the stairs, hoping the wood wouldn't creak under her tiger’s weight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Arryn didn't trust Scarlett as far she could throw her, so she didn't believe for an instant that the mystic hadn't alerted Talia. While the mystic fully believed she was capable of betraying the Dean, Arryn didn't feel that luck would be on her side when it came to catching Talia off-guard.
When Arryn reached the top of the stairs, the landing’s boards whined loudly. Her entire body froze as she watched the door, waiting for someone to investigate the noise. She didn't have to wait long.
The door swung open and a woman stepped through, one Arryn didn't know well but was certainly familiar with. Rebecca was her name, and she was a teacher at the Academy.
Rebecca smiled as her eyes locked on Arryn's. The tiger had ducked out of sight, lying flat on the stairs while Arryn stood on the landing above.
"Oh, Talia is going to love this."
Arryn smiled. "Not nearly as much as I'm going to—trust me."
Arryn stepped to the side, flattening herself against the wall. The landing was a slightly wider area than the stairwell—more like a foyer—but Arryn didn't want to be in the way.
Rebecca regarded her with a confused expression, and Arryn winked. She had no more than thought about the big cat before she appeared at the top of the stairs. The woman's eyes widened when she saw the oversized tiger pull her lips back over her long, sharp teeth.
There was a low growl coming from the cat’s throat, and the rumble was so deep it gave the illusion that the walls themselves might rattle.
"As I said, I think I'm going to enjoy this far more." Arryn stepped forward and placed her hand on the tiger's neck. "Make it as quiet as possible. I have an office to sneak into."
With a wave of her hand, Arryn magically yanked the woman farther into the small area and slammed her against the wall across from her.
"How many people are in the building?" Arryn asked.
"Fuck you! I'm not telling you anything."
The tiger walked forward, placing her nose a couple of inches away from the woman's face. Rebecca’s breathing became ragged as tears formed in her eyes. She squinted them shut as the tiger pushed forward, licking the entire side of her face.
"Did I mention she climbed all the way down a fucking mountain yesterday? Oh, and then she traveled all the way here tonight. Haven't seen her eat once. I'm starving, and I rode her here. I can't imagine how famished she must be."
While Arryn hadn't ever enjoyed being particularly nasty to people, after having spent a couple weeks nearly freezing to death on the mountain while torturing herself in the worst way possible with the exhaustion and training, her rage was even more satisfying than she'd imagined.
"Five, counting Talia!" Rebecca said quickly. "Five. Please. Please don’t kill me."
Arryn shook her head. "You know, I couldn't remember anything from the day I was taken. A couple of flashes, that was it. Nothing made sense. But you? I remember your face. You helped take me down in the alley. You helped put me there. You helped a murderer. You helped dump me on that mountain and expected me to die, so you’re a murderer, too."
Arryn turned and made her way to the door and slowly poked her head through, scanning for people. The immediate area seemed to be empty, but that could change at any moment.
Looking back at the tiger, Arryn ordered, "Make it quick and quiet."
Ducking low, Arryn stepped into the outer room, searching the area again. She heard a sound down the hallway. She closed the door to the dungeon without latching it so the tiger could walk out when she was ready.
There was a low rumble followed by a thump against the wall, and Arryn knew it was done. She took a few careful steps before stealthily running through the building, making as little noise as possible.
As she sped down the hall, she followed the sound to a room on the right. Sensing the area, she felt three people inside, and one of the life energies in the room was familiar to her.
Arryn smiled as she straightened and kicked the door in as hard as she could. It blew open, smashing into the wall and crumbling some of the plaster to the floor.
As she stepped inside, Arryn saw William, who was also a teacher, Brandi, a student, and Hugh. He had been the one with the familiar energy. When the western side of the Capitol building had been destroyed—not far from where they stood now—she had engaged three people in combat.
Two of those three, she'd managed to kill. The last person, Hugh, she'd subdued on the ground with vines, but she hadn't killed him. Those were just two more of the deaths she'd been blamed for, when in truth she'd been defending the city and trying to save lives.
"Hey, Hugh! Good to see you, buddy. How ya been?" Arryn asked, her smile exaggerated.
Hugh laughed. "Better than you're about to be. You look like shit."
"Ha! Funny story. Hilarious, even. See, I spent a couple weeks on top of a mountain. Isn’t that funny?" she asked, aware that her wide smile and dishevelment made her appear slightly insane. She went with it.
"Hilarious," William agreed flatly, arcing his hands over his chest and creating a fireball in each.
Arryn waved her hands in the air and shook her head, smile never failing. "Wait, wait, wait! I haven't told you the best part. I spent all that time up there with no shower. No way to brush my hair. Or my teeth. I must look hot." At that moment, she reminded herself of Cathillian. He was incapable of taking anything seriously, including battle—he would make a joke in any situation. She continued, "But I also picked up a couple neat tricks."
William laughed. "I doubt that. You spent two decades with teachers. I doubt very seriously two weeks on a mountain taught you anything."
Arryn shrugged, and her eyes turned black. William launched his fireballs, but he was too late. She'd allowed the magic to swell around her and she teleported behind her enemy. She jumped forward, pulling her daggers from her belt, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled.
William fell to the ground before he was able to make another sound, bleeding his life out on the floor.
The other two jumped into action, but Arryn was quicker. She threw a knife, hitting Brandi in her shoulder before planting a hard kick in Hugh's stomach. She quickly sheathed the knife in her left hand before running for Brandi.
She ducked under a fireball before coming up, punching her in the face hard enough to knock her off-balance. Arryn kicked the student hard in the knee, taking her to the ground before finishing her with a hard stomp to the throat.
She heard his footsteps before she saw him. She bent forward at the waist, narrowly avoiding a punch aimed at the back of her head, then twisting her body and twirling out of the way. Hugh rounded on her, charging without really paying attention to what he was doing.
Arryn squatted as Hugh reached out with both arms to grab her, keeping her fists up by her face to guard it. She jabbed, punching him in the stomach with her right fist before quickly repeating the move with the left. As he doubled over, she stood, planting an uppercut on his jaw. She followed it up with an elbow to the
nose.
He was staggering when she rushed forward to kick his feet out from under him and dump him on the floor.
He groaned as he laid there, struggling to get up. "Oh, no, big boy. That's not a mistake I'll make twice. I won’t fight you again."
Arryn grabbed the knife from her left hip, squatted, and thrust it into the man's heart as he reached for her. She pulled the blade from his chest before cleaning it on his cloak and sheathing it again in her belt, repeating the process for the knife in Brandi’s shoulder.
Rising from her crouch, she turned to the door to see her tiger standing there with blood on her face, watching her closely. "Bet ya didn't know I was a badass, huh?" The big cat made a noise that translated loosely to “hmph.” Arryn smiled as she walked to the door. "Come on, let me have my two seconds, okay? You’ll get to see some real badasses when we go to the forest. Until then, I'm the only one you got."
The tiger backed out of the doorframe and let Arryn into the hall, and she used her senses to search the area. Rebecca had said there were five people including Talia. Had that been five people including Rebecca? If so, Talia was alone. If not—if Rebecca had excluded herself from the count—there was one more person in the building.
As Arryn traveled through the halls to the front of the building into the receiving area, she felt the energy of two people in the Chancellor's office.
Fuck, she thought to herself.
Arryn slowly moved forward, her breath coming hard and heavy even though she tried to calm herself before she got close to the door.
This was it.
This was the moment she'd awaited for weeks. Not just the two weeks she'd spent on the mountain, but the many she'd spent before that, knowing what this woman had done.
But before her visit to that small village, Arryn hadn't even come close to knowing everything Talia had done. She’d spent her entire life terrorizing her own mother and murdered the men in her mother’s life, starting from the age of five.
She had been cold and heartless from the beginning, and the next few minutes wouldn't only settle the wrongs she’d committed since she had come to Arcadia, it would settle the wrongs that had been committed since her birth.
Arryn reached the door to the Chancellor’s office and debated whether she should open it and walk through, or spend the energy to teleport inside. She shook her head, knowing that once all was said and done, she would have to teleport to the Dark Forest.
She couldn't risk traveling on foot with Scarlett on the loose. It was hard to say where the mystic was.
I hope you're ready for this. If it comes down to the two of us, let me die. Your baby is on the wall, and he can't live without a mama. Take him and go west to the Dark Forest. You'll be safe there.
Taking a deep breath, Arryn decided to do what she did best.
Arryn flung the door open and walked inside. Talia jumped up from her seat behind the desk, her eyes widening. On her desk sat Camdon, which Arryn found quite interesting, but she let it go
"Amelia! Oh, Amelia, it's so good to see you. Though, I must say…" Arryn took a step forward, giving another award-winning false smile. "I'm a little disappointed in the welcome party. And Amelia, you've really let yourself go. You look like shit."
Talia shook her head, her shock replaced by confusion and rage. "It's good to see you haven't changed a bit."
"Quite the contrary, Amelia, I've changed a lot." Arryn looked around the office before turning back to the Dean, or the Chancellor, as Talia now styled herself.
"Call me by that name one more time—"
Arryn laughed loudly, interrupting the Dean before she could finish her threat. "And you'll what? Kill me? You've already proven you fucking suck at that. Let me tell you a few more things I discovered you suck at. Being Amelia, for one. You’re a bitch—can’t quite pull it off. Actually, I've been compiling your failures into a nice list, but I didn't get a chance to put a tune to them yet. You see, I thought they were worthy of a song. I'm not the best singer, though. Maybe we can get your boyfriend there to sing it for you."
As Camdon rose from the desk, obviously ready to attack, a deep, guttural roar rolled into the room from just outside the door. The tiger had stayed out of sight, but she was more than happy to allow herself to be heard.
Talia's eyes widened. "What the fuck was that?"
Arryn smiled. "Like I said before, not only did you not kill me, you abandoned me in a place that allowed me to get stronger. That was the sound of my familiar. She announced herself because she’s bored. Did I mention she's as tall as I am?"
Arryn gave Talia only a moment to react to the news before she continued, "You failed to kill me. You failed to kill Amelia. The remnant attack was a failure. You failed to pick a group of people who were worth a fuck. I should know, since I've killed almost all of them. You also failed to pick a confidant who liked anything about you."
Talia's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
Arryn smiled, tilting her head to the side as she regarded Talia with great amusement. "Wow, you really had no idea! I'm talking about Scarlett. Before I even approached this building, I felt her messing around in my head. She knew I was here, back in the city. She could have warned you, but she didn't. In fact, she sends her regards."
Talia shook her head. "You're a liar."
"She told me to pass them along when I discovered she'd placed my bow and staff in the dungeon where I could find them. She knew it was coming, Talia. She'd been waiting. Why do you think she isn't here? The city was never yours. It's not hers either, but she has taken it for the time being. So, as much as I love talking to you, I'm done playing. It's time to end this. I'll take this victory now, and come back for the rest later."
Talia slowly walked around the desk, the expression on her face enough to turn the very building they stood in to ash. "I'm going to destroy you. I'm going to rip you apart and dump the pieces in the Dark Forest just before bu—"
"Burning it to the ground, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah. You've made that speech before." Arryn squinted her eyes, giving an exaggerated smile as she leaned forward. "How has that worked out for you?"
A fireball came from Camdon's direction, but Arryn had enough time to react. Thrusting her hand out, she used telekinetic force to send it directly back at him. "Not today, pretty boy."
He screamed as his fireball hit him in the shoulder. Arryn could actually hear him sobbing from across the room.
Talia's eyes turned black, and Arryn immediately recognized the energy she was pulling. She threw both hands out, creating a barrier around the Dean before she could teleport out of the room. It distracted Talia enough to halt her attempt, and Arryn dropped the barrier, shoving her magic forward and slamming Talia into the wall.
Camdon disappeared behind the desk. She had no idea what he was up to, but she would have to keep an eye on him as well. She'd meant to kill him when she sent the fireball back, but she’d missed his chest.
Talia recovered and sent two fireballs flying at Arryn. She was able to dodge them, but not the surge of telekinetic energy that came directly after. Talia had anticipated her movements and slammed her into the wall this time.
Arryn could hardly move, pinned by magic to the wall as Talia and Camdon both advanced on her.
Talia laughed. "Here we stand again. Little girl, I've been at this for a very long time. You're never going to be a strong as me."
It was true that Talia was strong. She may have even been too strong. The force pushing against Arryn was almost enough to keep her from breathing, but Arryn managed.
Summoning all the strength she could muster, Arryn tried to wiggle her fingers and was happy to see that she could. "I don't have to be stronger. I just have to be smarter."
Arryn's eyes turned vibrant green, the white parts turning obsidian. She could hear the rumble of the tiger outside of the room, and she silently willed her to stay there.
Talia looked terrified for a moment, but it was only a flash. She quic
kly recovered and took a step forward. "If you were smarter, you never would've come here."
The Dean had become overly confident, exactly as Arryn had hoped. Her force had weakened some, allowing Arryn to move her hands. She took advantage of that, causing a gust of wind to blow through the window, raining shattered glass down to the floor.
Talia laughed. "Really? That's all you've got?"
Arryn smiled. "Not even close."
Arryn twisted her hands and the shards of glass lifted from the ground. Talia’s eyes widened as she stopped pushing against Arryn to create a shield around herself, but she failed to create one around Camdon before Arryn loosed the glass. Camdon was dead within seconds, and Arryn set her sights on Talia.
Arryn's eyes turned blacker as she created an ice shield around Talia that enveloped Talia's own barrier and began to push. Spikes of ice pressed harder and harder against Talia's magic, Arryn's rage and force causing the furniture and other items in the room to tremble.
Talia screamed, her face contorted with the massive amount of power she was drawing on. But Arryn had had weeks of practice, building her strength and her rage. Talia could not compete with the sheer amount of white-hot anger Arryn had saved up for this moment.
She pressed harder, and Talia's shield began to crack. "One last thing,” Arryn said, enjoying the look of terror on Talia's face. "Your mother says, ‘Rot in hell.’"
Arryn stepped forward, shoving her magic toward Talia with incredible strength. Talia's barrier crushed under the weight of it, and the ice shards impaled her from every direction. The last one sheared straight through her neck, fulfilling the promise Arryn had made when the Dean's severed head hit the floor.
Though it hadn't been Arryn's intention, she couldn't help but feel satisfied knowing she'd kept her word.
Exhausted, Arryn collapsed to the floor and took a moment to gather herself. The tiger walked into the room, coming over to sniff Arryn's face and check on her. "I'm okay, monster paws, but I need to get outside and touch the ground fast. I don't have much remaining in me, and everything I have left will be used to get us to the Dark Forest."
