Freed

by Samantha Britt

  The draekon started to circle the space just above the palace gardens. A noise behind me preceded an onslaught of arrows.

  “No!” I cried out. “Watch out!”

  I didn’t know how, but the draekon seemed to hear me. He tucked in his wings and fell into the garden, dodging the arrows. The sound of snapping wood and rustling leaves filled the air.

  Then, there was nothing.

  28

  “Lissa,” Min called behind me. “Wait!”

  I didn’t listen. The moment the noise from the garden had settled, I picked up the skirt of my gown and raced down the terrace steps, plunging into the dark garden before anyone could stop me.

  “Princess!”

  “Halt!”

  “Someone get His Majesty.”

  “It isn’t safe!”

  I ignored all of the cries. I needed to get to the draekon first. I could heal him, and then I’d ask him what happened. I didn’t know what King Aquin would do to an injured enemy appearing in his territory. His men had already taken shots at the beast. I couldn’t stand back and let them hurt him. I refused.

  Leaves and branches smacked my face as I rushed through the woods. My draekon eyes permitted me to see, but the objects were in front of me so fast that I wasn’t able to dodge them without completely losing my balance. I must’ve tapped into draekon or elven speed. Who could tell which one?

  Groans told me I was getting close. I pumped my arms faster and broke through a line of bushes, stopping short of falling over the injured male in front of me. He’d shifted back to his human-like form, and he was completely naked. I didn’t let that stop me from assessing his body for injuries. His face was twisted in agony, distorting his features. Scratches covered almost every inch of skin, but the deepest one ran the length of his torso. Fresh blood seeped out of the wound, and I knew that was the source of most of his pain.

  I fell to my knees and immediately placed my hands on the draekon’s chest. He moaned as I pushed against a bruise. “Shh,” I soothed. “It’s fine. I’m going to help you. But you must stay still.”

  A mumbled sound passed his lips, but I couldn’t make it out. I kept my attention on the wound. Closing my eyes, I pulled on the source of power buried deep in my stomach. I hadn’t practiced calling forth healing powers that way; I’d been focusing on offensive attacks and defensive shields. But my healing abilities were elven gifts. They come from the same source.

  I felt the power warm in my chest. I dragged it forward, biting my lip as I forced it to travel the length of my arm to go into my hands. Careful not to blast him with too much power, I slowly released the warmth into his chest.

  I heard the draekon gasp, and I felt his muscles flex beneath my fingers. I kept my eyes closed but pressed down, silently urging him to relax and let me heal him.

  The draekon continued to gasp and moan as my powers worked, but he didn’t fight me off. Beads of sweat gathered on my hairline, rolling down the side of my face when I tilted my head. My eyes squeezed shut from the effort I exerted. It was like my magic could feel the draekon’s injury. It longed to be set free and fulfill its purpose, but elven magic could kill a draekon. It took all of my self-control to keep it contained.

  It could’ve been seconds or minutes later, but I finally felt the pull on my magic lessen. The wound healed, and my powers sensed they were no longer needed. Like drawing in a fishing line, I wound the power back into a coil in my gut.

  I fell onto my backside and finally opened my eyes.

  I inhaled sharply, registering the identity of the draekon sitting up, staring at me in amazement.

  “Agent Leith?”

  I stared into the brown eyes of the rebel spy who’d posed as a Census Agent in Caldiri. A quick glance confirmed he’d been healed of all bruises and cuts, then I returned my gaze to his. “What are you doing here?”

  Agent Leith blinked several times. “You… you healed me.” His voice was scratchy, and there were bags under his eyes. My powers hadn’t cured him of everything, but at least they’d taken care of the life-threatening things.

  “I did,” I confirmed, then repeated, “What are you doing here?”

  Before he could answer, two forms broke through the bushes and joined us. Prince Finn and Min came to a stop behind me and checked me for injuries. Seeing I was unhurt, their attention shifted to the naked draekon sitting in front of me. Without pause, Min yanked his long tunic off, revealing a thin undershirt. He tossed the tunic to Agent Leith, who muttered his thanks and hurried to tug the clothing over his head.

  “Leith,” Min growled, still angry about the fact he’d had a rebel snake in his recruitment team and hadn’t known it.

  “You know this male, Min?” Finn asked, looking between me and the half-clothed draekon.

  “He works with the rebellion,” Min revealed.

  Finn’s nostrils flared, and I swore he was going to burst fire from his mouth.

  “Before you kill me,” Leith started to speak, but he was interrupted by a bout of coughing. Black mucous flew out of his mouth.

  “Your lungs,” I reached out towards him. “They’re clogged.”

  “Smoke inhalation,” Leith revealed, waving off my reaching hand.

  I pulled back. I didn’t think draekon suffered damage from smoke inhalation. I remembered the fire at the garrison. Only human soldiers had been affected by the smoke.

  Seeing my confusion, he explained, “I’m half-draekon, remember? I’m not as indestructible as full-blooded draekon.” He coughed again. I was relieved to see less mucous that time. With any luck, now that I’d healed most of his injuries, his natural draekon healing could take care of the rest.

  “What happened?” I asked, dread pooling in my stomach. His state screamed it could be nothing good. “Why’d you come to Avelin?”

  “The rebellion was attacked,” he wheezed, spitting off to his side. “I needed to warn you.”

  “What’s going on here?” Finn stepped forward, leaning over us threateningly. “Amelissa, are you friends with this rebel?” The prince knew about my brother’s involvement in the rebellion. Brion told him. He’d had to. Brion couldn’t move me into their private apartments without giving his brother a good reason, and watching over a hostage whose presence ensured the rebellion didn’t attack the castle again had been that reason.

  “He knows my brother,” I admitted, meeting Finn’s accusing stare. “But I haven’t had any contact with either of them in months.”

  It was Min’s turn to intervene. “You said the rebellion was attacked. Were there any causalities?” I held my breath, not sure if I wanted to cover my ears or hear his answer. The thought that something could’ve happened to Lorie or Lin felt like a knife scratching my heart.

  “Many were injured,” Leith revealed, “But none of ours died.”

  “Ours?” Finn’s voice was deathly calm. The chill in the word made me shiver.

  “None of the rebellion died,” Leith elaborated, locking eyes with me. He didn’t seem to care that he sat under the prince of draekon’s violent gaze. It was at that moment I knew he came to Avelin for me. He’d needed to tell me something. And if my family and the other rebels were okay… then that could only mean…

  My shivers turned into trembles. I couldn’t stop my lip from quivering as I choked out, “And the draekon army? What of them?” Jasper’s face and the faces of countless soldiers who served the draekon filled my head, but there was one in particular who spiked unfathomable fear in my soul.

  Leith’s head fell forward. He couldn’t look me in the eye as he said, “Prince Brion has been captured. His execution is scheduled for dawn.”

  29

  The ground felt like it was ripped from underneath me. I fell back, but a sturdy hand kept me upright.

  Brion had been captured.

  The rebellion was going to kill him at dawn.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  Brion was the best general the draekon army had ever seen. There was n
o way he’d been captured. Leith was wrong. He had to be wrong.

  Finn, sharing my disbelief, growled low, “You lie. No one could capture my brother alive.”

  The word alive pulled a tiny whimper from my lips. The hand against my back gently pressing its fingers against me. I knew it was Min.

  Leith lifted his head, but his eyes landed on me. “I do not lie. The rebellion has captured Brion, and our leaders plan to execute him at dawn.”

  He wasn’t lying.

  Gods help me. He wasn’t lying.

  “You were injured in the attack?” It was Min who asked the question.

  Leith nodded.

  “Then why would you risk death to journey here and tell us this? You are with the rebellion. You are not our ally,” Min stated without judgement, only curiosity.

  “Because I know,” Leith’s eyes drilled into mine. “I know about you and Brion. I know about the gliminee bond.”

  I sucked in a breath, as did Prince Finn. Well… that secret was out.

  I’d deal with the fall out later. There were more pressing matters at hand than speaking with Finn about how I was his twin’s perfect match, and that there could never be anything between us.

  “How?” I asked. Surely, Brion wouldn’t have said anything.

  “Because I’m observant,” he replied. “I knew Brion felt something for you, but it wasn’t until I intercepted his letters that I knew the depth of his regard.”

  “You intercepted his letters?” There were so many things I should focused on, but I couldn’t help it. Brion actually wrote to me. The reason I hadn’t heard from him wasn’t because he’d changed his mind about us. It was because the rebellion had stolen his correspondence. No doubt, they’d done it to learn information about his strategy.

  I should’ve been furious, but for a brief moment, a weight was lifted off my heart, and I allowed myself to feel relieved.

  “Several,” Leith confirmed.

  “Does anyone else know?” I imagined my rebel parents would have been shocked to learn their daughter was spiritually attached to their enemy.

  “No, I burned all letters containing information about you before anyone else could see them. Now, I regret that decision.”

  Alarm bells rang in my head. “Why?”

  “I burned the letters because I didn’t want your mother or father to stop their pursuit of Brion. We needed to capture him to have a bargaining chip with King Roderick, and I didn’t know if they would let him go if they knew about your connection.”

  “What changed?”

  Lines of regret formed around his eyes. “After we captured Brion, I realized their plan wasn’t to keep him to negotiate with Roderick. Brion is the next in line to inherit the throne, and your parents don’t plan on letting him live long enough for that to be a possibility.”

  The breath flew out of my lungs, leaving behind a burning sensation. I was dreaming. That’s it. No way was I living in a world where my parents planned to murder my soulmate. No way.

  The hand on my back disappeared, and then I heard the sound of a scuffle. A glance revealed Min was holding Finn back. The prince’s eyes were wild, and he looked ready to rip Leith’s head off with his bare hands.

  Leith continued, ignoring Finn. “I came here to ask you to come to our camp and talk your parents out of their plan. They won’t believe me if I tell them of your bond. They will think I’m lying in order to keep Brion alive.”

  “And why would they think that?” Min questioned, still using force to keep Finn back.

  “They know I think Brion a reasonable male, and I believe one path to success for the rebellion is having Brion on the throne instead of his father. We might be able to negotiate with the draekon if he’s their leader, but all that is tossed out the window if we murder the draekon’s beloved general and prince. This war will never stop between us.”

  Agent Leith was right. The draekon would support King Roderick unreservedly if the rebellion murdered his heir. Any sympathy or support the rebellion gathered would disappear like smoke.

  I pushed myself off the ground and tried to brush the dirt from my gown. It was no use. The damage had been done. I remembered why I didn’t wear white. The color stained too easily.

  When I straightened, determination was set in my expression. “Take me to them.”

  “Lissa, I don’t think that’s a good idea—”

  “I don’t care what you think!” I snapped at Min. He winced.

  I softened my tone, but remained firm, “I can’t let them kill him, Min. You know I can’t.”

  “It could be a trap.” Erwin stepped out of the bushes, entering the conversation like he’d been a part of it all along. Suspicion filled his eyes when they turned to Leith. That’s when I noticed the tell-tale signs of a sound barrier erected around us. The sheer light blue glow was almost invisible in the night, but if you stared hard enough into open air, you could see it. Erwin had made it so our conversation wouldn’t be heard by any elven guards who ventured this way. I imagined he’d also put up some sort of physical barrier as well. There’s no way someone wouldn’t have reached us by now.

  “A trap?” Leith asked incredulously. “Set by who?”

  “Her parents. They could’ve learned Lissa’s here, and they sent you to lure her to them.”

  I didn’t understand Erwin’s argument. “Why wouldn’t they just ask me to join them?”

  He spared me a side glance. “Would you have gone?”

  Fair enough.

  Still, Leith had been gravely injured. His journey had risked his life. He wouldn’t have done it unless he felt he had to.

  “I’m going,” I announced.

  “How will you get there?” Erwin’s question wasn’t challenging, only thoughtful. He would support my decision to travel to save Brion.

  “I’ll take her.” Min stepped forward. “It’s a long flight, but if we leave now, we can get there before dawn.”

  “Thank you, Min.” I never felt so appreciative of his kindness as I did in that moment. Not even when he arranged to keep Lorie and I together after our recruitment.

  “I will accompany you,” Finn said.

  “No,” both Leith and Min stated.

  “The rebellion already has one prince. You cannot risk us getting you, too,” Leith explained. For someone who supported the rebellion, he was obviously torn by the leadership’s tactics.

  Finn scowled. He wanted to argue, but he knew Leith was right. He couldn’t risk getting captured. “Very well. I will stay behind.”

  “Then it’s settled.” Erwin announced, then closed the distance between us. He grabbed my hands and brought them up to his face. He kissed the knuckles on each hand, but he didn’t take his eyes off mine. “Be careful, Lissa. I understand why you must go, but don’t do anything to endanger yourself. Brion would not want that.”

  The care in his gaze would have been overwhelming on its own, but add to that the return of his affection, and the emotions were too much. Erwin was a good male. He cared about me, and he’d gone out of his way to ensure my safety these past months.

  He’d pushed me to successfully use my powers, both elven and draekon. He’d helped me see how I had a part to play in this rebellion. Because of him, I believed I could help all those I loved. That included Erwin. Only, it wasn’t the romantic kind of love.

  Only the Mother knew what could’ve happened between us, had I been born a full-blooded elf or if I had met Erwin first. But I wasn’t… And I didn’t.

  I was part draekon, and that part tied me to Brion forever. I met him in my darkest hour, when I’d believed I was doomed to an unfulfilled life serving those I viewed as my oppressors. Like Erwin, Brion pushed me to be my best. He’d irritated me. He’d frustrated me, but he also thought highly of me…

  Brion loved me.

  The prince of Draekon was my match in every way, and I wouldn’t let him die.

  I would do everything in my power to see him freed.

  Or I would
die trying.

  30

  My birthday celebration was completely forgotten as Min, Leith and I prepared for our journey to Caldiri. Erwin used his power to enact a concealment bubble around us to hide our take off. He really did possess amazing talent.

  I’d nearly lost my composure when Leith revealed Brion was being kept in my home region. Apparently, the rebel headquarters was located just along the border of the forsaken region, adjacent to the unoccupied lands of Mar.

  Moments before our departure, once Finn and Erwin had agreed on the story, they’d tell King Aquin and the others about what’d happened, the prince lightly touched my elbow and drew me to the side.

  “It seems there was more to you than I ever imagined.” There was hurt in Finn’s voice, but there was also understanding.

  I looked him straight in the eye. “I promise to answer any question you have. But first, I need to go save your brother.”

  Finn’s eyes flickered between mine. “I always thought he acted strange around you. You ruffled his feathers more than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

  A smile tugged at my lips. “I could say the same for him.”

  Finn smiled, too, but it swiftly fell as his expression turned serious. “Do you love him?”

  I didn’t pause. “I do.”

  The prince bowed his head. “Then, go get him. When you two return, I will hold you to your promise. My mind is swimming with questions.”

  Stepping forward, I threw my arms around Finn’s shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. “Thank you, Finn.” He could’ve just as easily caused a scene when learning about my draekon bloodline and connection to his twin, but he didn’t. He’d accepted it. He’d bowed out gracefully.

  A moment later, Finn stepped back. I gave him one more smile before turning to face the rest of our group. Leith was dressed in the clothes Erwin had sped off to get a few moments ago. I didn’t have time to change, but Erwin wrapped me in a long brown overcoat to fight off the worst of the chill in the air.