by Everly Frost
Howl seems thrown for the first time, which surprises me. He glances between me and the crowd, heaving me up against his side. Rather than loosening his grip, he plasters me closer, one arm wedged against my back so that the Heartstone doesn’t touch me, while his other arm presses inward across my collarbone in a painful opposing force. His left wing curls around me like a curtain hiding me from view.
I turn my head away from the green veins crisscrossing the inside of his wing as Cassian pulls up on Howl’s other side. There’s enough of a gap for me to see him. Jasper and two guards are close behind Cassian. Jasper glares at the way Howl’s holding me, but as soon as he attempts to shuffle closer, one of the guards yanks him backward.
Cassian takes one look at Howl and immediately holds out his hand for my chain. Despite the urgency of his movement, his voice remains moderated, calm, even if it sounds forced. “If I may, King Howl? I can take the Princess from here.”
Howl doesn’t respond. If anything he pulls me closer. I wince as his fist presses into my spine, forcing me to arch backward. It’s as painful as a vice and I’m suddenly afraid my spine might snap. I try to take calming breaths as Cassian shoots alarmed looks at Howl.
He says, “You have a solution, my King. Now you need to carry through with it.” His jaw clenches. “Before anyone notices.”
Their earlier cryptic conversation returns to me. Solution to what exactly? Dealing with me? Finding more heartstones?
Cassian makes a more forceful move toward my chain and I hope Howl will release me because the pain shooting through my back is growing stronger.
In response, the King growls deep in his throat, a threatening sound. His right wing dagger descends toward Cassian and his left wing extends the remainder of the way around me like he’s an animal that doesn’t want to share its food. For a second, I think he’s going to take Cassian’s head off.
Cassian freezes, slowly lowering his hand and taking a careful step backward.
I crane my head back, trying to see Howl’s face and figure out what’s going on with him. His pupils are fully dilated. Light flickers across his neck. I can’t see the heartstone but the light is definitely shining upward from that. To my shock, Howl’s face is descended in my direction, far closer than I expected. I’m suddenly reminded of the way he absorbed the thunder last night, pulling it into himself, the way he inhaled my lightning and picked me up when I was about to trip, touching me at every opportunity, pulling me close to him at every chance he gets. He told me that my magic was intoxicating and now he’s acting almost… possessive.
My eyes turn into saucers. The idea of Howl being possessive over me is terrifying. He told me he was sending me to the mines, but now it looks like he’s changed his mind. Of the two options, I’d rather be as far away from him as possible. Especially because the pain in my back is only growing worse. Much worse. Too much.
I swallow a whimper. “Please… you’re… hurting me.”
The pressure on my chest eases so suddenly that I lurch forward into his now open palm. He catches me, the fingers of his right hand splayed across my stomach. The fist he held clenched against my spine opens at the same time, removing the painful force against my back. I’m suddenly resting on my two feet and not sure how I got there.
His wing doesn’t open, but his hold has loosened enough that I can spin and face him. “You… let go.”
His eyes narrow, resembling slits of midnight. I sense a pull, but it’s not his arms or hands. His lips part. At first, I think he’s going to speak, but instead, he inhales. It’s only then that I realize I’m glowing at the edges. I must have been accessing my power to deal with the pain.
Howl sucks in the glow around me, pulling it off my skin.
If my eyes were saucers before, then now they must be plates because the way he’s reacting to my power… the way he let me go…
I can’t see around the curtain of his wing, but I can see Cassian standing directly beside us where Howl’s wing doesn’t quite connect with his chest. He looks genuinely worried and the reason for his worry is slowly dawning on me.
“King Howl,” I whisper, allowing the faintest glow of lightning to shimmer across my skin, watching him react to it. “Please remove my chain.”
He lowers his hands. The metal band around my waist opens with a click at his touch. The chain slithers to the floor.
Now I know why Howl didn’t want me showing my power here: he didn’t want anyone to see how he reacts to it. Or that I might be able to use it against him.
I don’t know how far I can go, but I’m going to try. I need to get away from here and take Baelen, Jasper, the Storm, and the Phoenix with me. I reach up on tip-toes and plant both my hands on Howl’s chest, either side of the heartstone. Allowing tiny pulses of lightning to travel through my hands, I feed magic straight into him and whisper, keeping my voice as low as I can so that nobody else can hear me. “Release Jasper from his chains.”
Howl’s eyes meet mine, jet black. He looks completely gone as he lifts his head and orders the guards, “Release the male elf.”
Through the slit between Howl’s wing and chest, I catch glimpses of Cassian with Jasper’s guards. They exchange glances as they bring Jasper forward and remove his chains, scooping up the metal loops. I can’t see Jasper’s face to know how he’s reacting, but I’m sure he’ll be suspicious. And probably worried, since he can’t see me and I’ve been in here for a full minute.
I know I’m probably pushing it too far, but it’s now or never. “Give me back Baelen. Let us go free.”
Firelight flickers across Howl’s eyes—lightning sparks that are evidence of an internal war. He doesn’t want to let me go. I’m feeding him the magic he wants and now I’m asking him to part with me. I don’t dare break the contact between us until he agrees to what I want. Even then, I’m not sure he won’t retract his orders as soon as I leave his side.
I try again. “King Howl, let us go.”
He growls. “I will…”
“Let me go.”
He grins. “I will… never release you, little doll.”
Disappointment burns through me. But I’m certain he wasn’t toying with me the whole time. The worry on Cassian’s face tells me that.
Howl’s wing opens, allowing me to step backward. He continues to grin at me, his expression turning lazy and confident. Despair fills me as he draws up to his full height, taking back his power over the situation.
I glance at the silent crowd. Howl’s wing was around me the whole time. For all they know, he was torturing me for the last five minutes. I swallow down my bitter disappointment. Every time I think I can beat this male, he turns the situation around and gets the upper hand.
I stare past his right shoulder, waiting for his next order. Baelen is in my line of sight and it horrifies me that I want to cry right now.
Then… something shifts in the distance above Baelen. I try not to react as a grey form unravels from one of the flags. It’s a… flying thing. A streak of movement. A… male gargoyle. And it’s suddenly speeding toward Howl.
It’s Llion! I bury my reaction before I give him away as he soars directly toward Howl’s exposed back, disappearing from sight as he flies right up behind the King’s bulky form.
Howl continues grinning at me. “Well, Princess, to the mines you go. But don’t think you won’t see me again because I promise you—”
I lurch backward as two sword points shoot through Howl’s chest, impaling him all the way through.
He roars and spins, the swords still embedded in his torso. His wings knock me to the side, his wing daggers sweeping around in an arc. Llion uses his powerful wings to push himself back and safely out of reach.
Howl curses. “Llion! You were supposed to be dead.”
Without a word, Llion launches himself at Howl, his golden dagger flashing. It’s the dagger that can cut through a gargoyle’s wings.
I hit the ground at the same time as Cassian shouts for the guards. I
roll backward and up to my feet, screaming, “Jasper! Storm!”
I shoot lightning into the nearest guard and wrench his sword right out of his hands before he hits the floor. Jasper deftly catches the sword when I throw it to him and spins to deflect the two attacking guards behind him.
Oddly enough, it’s not the burst of lightning, but the thuds when the guards hit the floor that send the crowd into panic mode. They scramble backward, away from the fight. Females in the Lightsworn Clan grab Liliana, but she refuses to budge, curling down into a ball as gargoyles all around her take flight in a swarm.
“Llion!” Her scream is swallowed by the roar of the guards and Cassian’s shout to let the crowd go.
“Get everyone out of here!” Cassian shouts as he spins back to the fight between Howl and Llion. I’m sure he’s not worried about the crowd’s safety—the grim determination on his face tells me he doesn’t want anyone getting ideas about joining us in our fight against Howl.
Well, at least I can do something about Cassian. I shoot lightning at his feet before he can help Howl.
“Get back!” I scream at Cassian. I may not be able to stop Howl, but I can stop anyone trying to hurt Llion.
To the side, Liliana stays low, avoiding the final attempts of another female to pull her out of there. “Liliana, you need to escape!”
“I’m staying with my husband!”
The female flies away with a final worried glance. Within seconds, the entire congregation has taken flight and it suddenly makes sense why Crimson Court is open on three sides—fly in, fly out. I’m glad to see that Carmen and Gilda have also fled.
At the back of the room, the miners are the last to leave. The female who tried to take Liliana with her shrieks over their heads. “Help Llion!”
For a moment, I think the miners are going to stay. For an even crazier second, I think they’re going to start fighting the guards. One of them—a gargoyle with pale blue streaks in his wings shouts to the others. But then the guards lining the back of the room turn and draw their bows and arrows. Suddenly all of the remaining guards are focused on the miners.
After a brief argument with the gargoyle beside him, the one with blue wings lowers his hands, head bowed. Even from this distance, I can see the clench of his jaw and the snarl on his lips. He inclines his head to the others and, as one mass, they spread their wings and take flight, a formation soaring out and away.
Jasper, Liliana, and I are now the only ones remaining.
The guards form two wide circles around us: the outer circle faces outward against anyone who decides to come to our aid. The inner circle focuses on us.
Jasper and I take on the role of defense for Llion, stopping any guard who makes a move to tip the balance in Howl’s favor. When one of them fires an arrow at Llion, I shoot the weapon out of the air, lightning crackling in the space above Howl’s head.
Jasper takes up position on the opposite side and takes a less forgiving approach. He quickly dispatches two guards who try to enter the battle. Then another two, stabbing both and whirling to behead a third with such speed that the remaining guards back away, giving Jasper space.
I know that I can probably annihilate all of the guards if I need to, but Jasper’s safety is at the forefront of my mind: I don’t want him to get caught in the crossfire. I also don’t know whether the guards have been coerced into serving Howl. I can’t assume that they all want to be here.
In the center of the Court, Howl and Llion are—to my surprise—evenly matched. I’d thought Howl would crush Llion within moments, but Llion is deft and wields his weapons with an expertise I’ve rarely seen. I’m even more relieved now that I didn’t see the fight between him and Baelen or my heart would have been in my throat. It’s more surprising to me than ever that I escaped this gargoyle’s wrath.
Llion uses every part of his body as a weapon. From his clawed feet to his wing daggers, not to mention his gold-plated knife. Howl on the other hand, relies on brute strength and bulk to try to overpower Llion, trying to turn Llion into a punching bag. But the more Llion evades him, the angrier he becomes.
Not to mention… Howl hasn’t bothered to remove the swords from his chest and the constant energy he must be using to keep healing seems to be taking a toll. His movements are slowing. The next swipe he takes at Llion sails across Llion’s head without touching him. He roars his frustration when Llion’s dagger rips through his left wing, shredding it right down the middle.
“You think you can beat me,” Howl roars, folding his wounded wing into his side. “You will burn, cousin.”
Howl’s right. Llion is an incredibly skilled fighter, but with the heartstone… Howl is indestructible. I sense the crackle in the air as Howl finally harnesses the stone’s power. It doesn’t matter how well Llion fights, Howl will always win.
As the two males circle each other, Llion takes a final plunge at Howl, aiming the knife at the heartstone itself. My heart leaps as I hope that the shimmer beetle casing—the most indestructible substance in our world—might actually damage the stone. A glimmer of worry crosses Howl’s face, but the knife glances off the stone, tearing up and through Howl’s shoulder instead. The knife lodges in his upper wing bone and sticks there. Llion skids to a halt several steps away from me and for the first time, dismay floods his features.
Howl’s energy crackles around us as he turns. Streaks of electricity gather force around his torso and within his hands. He launches himself at Llion, palms out, ready to unleash a killing blow.
Llion reaches for his sword, still crouched, but Howl bats it out of his hand, gripping Llion’s throat and squeezing. Electricity rockets through his arm, through his hand…
“No!” Liliana’s scream echoes in my ears.
At the same time, Jasper runs at Howl, leaping toward his back. But it’s a death plunge. As soon as he touches Howl, he’ll be killed too.
Panic shoots through me, sharp and quick. Llion is choking and Jasper is leaping to his death, and Howl still hasn’t pulled the swords out of his chest and suddenly…
He isn’t Howl anymore.
His image morphs.
Suddenly all I see is Baelen in gargoyle form moments after the Elven Command stabbed him in the back.
Pain explodes in my heart. Blood rushes in my ears. A scream works its way out of my lungs, up into my mouth. “Baelen!”
A boom rocks the building.
Thunder crashes out from me, thudding through the entire space. The ceiling shudders and the supports tremble. Howl’s head snaps up, focusing on me as everything slows and freezes.
Jasper stops, one foot already in the air, one still planted as he was about to launch off the ground. Cassian and the guards become statues in various stages of motion, some leering, others… to my surprise… turning their faces away as if they don’t want to watch Llion die.
The Storm remains crouched next to the High Priestess’s cage. She alone is moving while the older female is frozen; the High Priestess points through the bars at me or maybe at Howl, I can’t tell which. Her mouth is open like she was shouting something but I didn’t hear her before she froze.
Howl’s movements become labored, struggling, slowing. There’s a moment of disbelief on his face before he slows to moving inches at a time.
I can’t believe it. The thunder is working. I’ve actually slowed him down this time. But I haven’t completely stopped him. I have to move fast—get Llion and Jasper out of here—before everything returns to normal speed. Which is happening faster than I want it to. Howl curls upward, regaining his feet, fighting the power, but instead of turning his fury on me, he pushes toward Baelen instead.
Suddenly, I’m the one who’s frozen.
I realize why my power is working against Howl this time.
I see the thread Howl was talking about now—a thin sapphire line of light connecting Baelen and I. A line of ruby light is entwined around the sapphire thread. Droplets of acid rain rise up from both of them, ascending into the air
above the thread. It’s just like when I was riding the Phoenix.
I’ve connected with Baelen.
In the distance, Baelen twitches. One hand clenches at his side. It’s a small movement but visible from where I stand.
He’s waking up.
13
No. No, no, no… I have to stop him.
Baelen’s voice sounds inside my mind, the connection so strong he could be standing beside me. Marbella, baby, you’re in trouble. What’s wrong?
I shout so loudly inside my mind that I slap my hands across my ears before I scream myself deaf. Baelen, stop! You aren’t healed. Don’t come out or you’ll die.
There’s a pause, confusion in his voice. But I feel stronger…
That’s because we’re connected. But that was a mistake. This is a mistake.
Somehow I’d flashed back to the moment when Baelen died. The pain I felt was so strong, the memory of him was so strong, that I’d connected with him again without intending to.
Don’t come back! Please, Baelen. Whatever you do. Don’t come back until I ask you to.
But… you did ask me. You called me.
Tears leak down my cheeks. I had called him. I’d shouted his name. I suddenly realize I’ve closed my eyes while Baelen and I were speaking and I have to open them, because I sense…
Howl.
Every laborious step he’s taken has brought him within two steps of me. His hands are outstretched and he’s reaching, reaching for me and my power.
His lips move, the intense need in his eyes burning through me. “So. Much. Power.”
I have to stop what’s happening. I can’t let Howl inhale our connected power like he did with mine earlier. I can’t let him touch me. And not only because the thought of him touching the connection between Baelen and me fills me with horror and disgust and… just no.
