Freed

by Samantha Britt

  I tripped over a wooden pole from a collapsed tent. Arthur righted me easily.

  “Where… are we… going?” I wheezed, still catching my breath.

  “To your brother and sister,” he said. I watched as we rushed past the tent where I’d left Lin and Lorie. “But… they’re in there.”

  “No,” he continued to lead me away from the council’s tent. “Trust me. I know where they are.”

  Maybe it was some sort of father link to his draekon offspring. Whatever. I couldn’t afford to fight him on the subject. I couldn’t even walk on my own. My draekon strength had left me the moment I healed the lump on his head. My two abilities couldn’t exist simultaneously.

  A different horn blared above me, it’s sound unlike the previous warning horn. Arthur slowed down, just as surprised by the noise as I was. We looked up.

  Flying in a diamond formation was a group of at least forty elven soldiers. They were strapped in pairs. One elf maneuvered their flying contraption, and their partner either carried bows and arrows or wielded their own elven power in the palms of their hands.

  The horn hit a sharp note, and the elves released their first attack. My eyes followed their trajectory, heading towards a collision with four draekon beasts. The creatures saw the approach and slowed down, but they continued flying straight for the elven formation. None of the elves veered off. They were determined to meet the enemy head on.

  “RUN!” Arthur switched back to holding my hand and dragged me along with him. For a male who’d been unconscious a few minutes ago, he was fast.

  I realized what made him panic, and I pumped my free arm to hurry away from the spot where the two forces would collide. There was no telling what damage the warring enemies were about to unleash. Arthur yanked me behind another tent just as I heard an anguished draekon roar, followed by a serious of elven shouts. We kept running.

  We slowed, and my eyes landed on an unusual concrete structure. It was shorter than the inconspicuous tents around it, and it definitely didn’t belong in the camp. At least, it didn’t look like it.

  “What’s that?”

  Arthur pulled me towards the unusual structure.

  “A bunker of sorts.”

  Bunker?

  My question died on my lips when Lorie peeked her head out of the structure. Relief flooded her face when she saw us, and I was sure my expression mirrored her. Arthur flung me into the bunker. I crashed into Lorie’s arms.

  “Lissy! Are you hurt?” She stared at my clothes. I looked down and realized I was covered in dirt and embers of the fire had burned holes in my clothes. I hadn’t even noticed.

  “I’m fine.” I looked around. Only Lorie and I were there. Arthur had rushed off after throwing me in. “Where’s Lin?”

  Lorie dropped her hands and chewed her bottom lip. “I don’t know. He brought me here and then ran off.”

  Probably to fight, no doubt.

  Damn, Lin. He should’ve stayed with Lorie. There’d been no guarantee I would’ve made it.

  “What about Leith?”

  “What about Leith?” Lorie asked a little defensively. If we weren’t in the middle of an attack, I might’ve laughed.

  “Where did he go?”

  “Oh.” She blinked, and I caught a glimpse of her worry. “I don’t know. He said he’d meet me here after the fight was over.” Her hands twisted together.

  “Where is “here”?” I asked and gestured to the stone around us. “What is this?”

  “It’s stone from the mountains in Draek,” Lorie told me. “It doesn’t burn when hit with draekon fire.”

  Ah… convenient.

  I looked at my sister. “Do you burn when hit with fire?”

  “What kind of question is that?”

  “I mean draekon fire,” I clarified. “It doesn’t burn me. Do you know if it burns you?”

  “Oh,” Lorie frowned. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never been touched by it.”

  “Of course.” I didn’t know what to do. I had stronger elven abilities than my siblings, or so they said. I would assume that meant Lorie and Lin had draekon abilities, meaning she should be immune to draekon fire. But what if I was wrong? I couldn’t lead Lorie out of the bunker for fear she’d burn to death. That wasn’t an option.

  I walked to the concrete wall and slid down until I sat on the floor. One look up confirmed that even the ceiling was made of concrete, held up by thick, wood beams. What about Lin? Was he immune to draekon flames like me? I hoped so. The chances he’d come into contact with the powerful blaze was high. The elven element wielders wouldn’t be able to hold it back forever.

  “How did this happen?” Lorie asked quietly. She stared out the entrance, no doubt horrified by the burning tents and sounds of battle.

  “I think it’s the king.”

  “What?”

  My head fell forward. “King Roderick. Brion’s missing. And you heard him just before he ran out of the council tent. He thought he heard Finn. If both princes aren’t in camp…”

  “That leads us wide open to attack by the draekon army,” Lorie finished for me. “… but how did the draekon know where we were? Brion was captured near a goblin hovel far away from here. No one could’ve stumbled upon us by accident.”

  I’d been thinking the same thing, and I only came up with one possibility. “King Aquin and his men followed me from Avelin,” I reminded her. “What if someone followed him?” Elves spied on draekon. Who’s to say draekon didn’t return the favor?

  “Shit.”

  I lift my head and give a humorless laugh. In any other situation, I’d chastise her for cursing.

  Instead, I said, “You can say that again.”

  “What are we going to do?” Lorie began to pace. The structure wasn’t very large. She had to pivot every sixth or seventh step. “If the king’s men have found us, we’re doomed. We have to get everyone out of here.” I couldn’t help but notice Lorie wasn’t just speaking about us. She wanted to help everyone. I hated to be the one to tell her that wasn’t possible.

  “We will stay here for a few more minutes,” I said. Lorie continued to pace. “We need to give Lin and our parents the chance to come back. Leith too. If they don’t return soon, we will leave without them.”

  Where’d we go? I had no idea, but we couldn’t sit there like lambs waiting to be slaughtered. King Roderick was smart. He wouldn’t have attacked unprepared. The gods only knew how long he’d been organizing his army. If he had followed King Aquin, he could’ve known our position days ago. All he needed was for his son to be out of the line of fire, and then he could unleash his formidable army upon us. The chance of a rebel victory seemed slim. We needed to escape while we had the chance.

  “What about the others?”

  “They are soldiers,” I reminded her. “They’ve been trained to fight.”

  Lorie raised her chin. “So have I.”

  I wanted to be proud of her bravery, truly I did. But I couldn’t encourage her. Not when her life was on the line.

  “A few sparring sessions with Leith are not the same thing,” I said harshly. “Don’t be a fool.”

  Fury flitted into my sister’s eyes.

  I tried a different tactic. “What would Leith want you to do? Would he want you to risk yourself so recklessly?” I didn’t ask about my parents or Lin. Leith held my sister’s heart. I knew all too well how the person who held your heart was the one whose opinions mattered most.

  I could see the conflict play across my sister’s expression. She didn’t want to admit it, but she knew I was right.

  “Fine,” she bit out as angry tears rolled over her cheeks. “I’ll leave, but not yet.”

  I visibly slumped with relief then got to my feet. “Like I said, we’ll wait to see if anyone else comes here.” I take a deep breath. “If no one shows up, then the first thing we need to do is find a decently clear path through an area that’s already been attacked.”

  Lorie lifted a questioning eyebrow. “Shou
ldn’t we avoid the attack?”

  “If King Roderick is behind this like I expect, he would’ve instructed his men to destroy the entire camp. Any untouched area will be their next target. We want to avoid those areas at all cost.”

  Lorie gulped. “That’s so… cruel.”

  “What is King Roderick if not cruel?” I returned.

  She nodded. “How long do we wait?” Lorie glanced outside again. I knew she wanted to wait until Leith showed up, but she would come with me whenever I said it was time. My sister trusted me. I prayed I wouldn’t let her down.

  “Soon.” I, too, looked outside. Only, I wasn’t looking for someone. I observed which tents were burning, trying to find those closest together with decent flames. The goal was to reach the Royal Forest and hide there until it was safe to move. I needed our path to be damaged, but not unpassable. I spotted three sections that fit the description, but there could be more behind the concrete structure. I wouldn’t know until we stepped out from our cover. I moved back into the bunker to wait for the time to move.

  Lorie didn’t speak. We were both content with our silence. For her sake, I hoped Leith would show up, but I doubted the draekon rebel would appear before the battle was over. He didn’t strike me as the type to abandon his men.

  “LISSA!”

  Lorie and I both snapped to attention. We looked at each other and then rushed to the entryway.

  “LISSA!”

  I gasped, recognizing the voice just as the elf stepped into sight.

  “Erwin,” I called out, waving a hand outside the bunker. His head twitched my direction, then he ran toward us. Lorie and I stepped back to let him into the bunker. Erwin’s hands were on me in an instant, running up and down, convincing himself I was unharmed. He, on the other hand, sported several bruises across his face and neck. His clothes were torn and burned in places, and I saw angry-red skin through the fabric.

  “I’m fine,” I told him. He didn’t stop examining me. “I’m fine, Erwin.” Lorie watched from across the bunker with wide eyes and a confused expression.

  Erwin didn’t stop. He was panicking. His concern touched me, but I needed him to get control of himself. I wrapped my fingers around his wrists and pulled his hands to my face. I pressed his palms into my cheeks, forcing him to meet my eye.

  His green eyes were wild, and his chest heaved with ragged breathes.

  “I’m fine.” I willed my eyes to convey that truth. “Stop worrying. I’m fine.”

  Gradually, his breath began to slow. Erwin heard me. He was beginning to believe me. I released his wrists and tried to take a step back, but his hands kept me in place.

  “Erwin? I told you I’m fi—”

  My reassurance was cut off when Erwin leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, shocking me beyond all thought.

  41

  The pressure against my lips held desperation and fear. Erwin wasn’t himself. I could feel it in the way he held me. He’d never done this. Even drunk on the ship, he’d restrained himself.

  I didn’t know what to do. His impassioned kiss was not met with equal emotion on my end. His kiss felt… wrong. There was no better way to describe it. I cared for Erwin, deeply. But I didn’t love him. Not like that. There was only one male who could elicit passion from me, and his father was currently trying to kill me and my family.

  Lorie’s sharp gasp filled the bunker. The sound was enough to break Erwin free of his trance. The elf pulled back. He looked into my eyes. Whatever he saw quickly dosed the passion lingering in his body. He took two large steps back, and he ran an agitated hand through his hair.

  “Forgive me.” His voice was thick. He swallowed several times. “I… I was not myself just now.”

  I held up a shaking hand, stopping his explanation. “It’s okay. Let’s just forget about it. What are you doing here?”

  Hurt flashed across his eyes, but he quickly hid the reaction. The confident lord returned. “I ran into your father. He told me how to find you and Lorie.”

  My sister stepped up. Erwin’s gaze finally left me. ”What’s going on? Are we winning?”

  “King Aquin’s army has joined the rebellion’s side to ward off King Roderick. It’s impossible to tell who is winning, but our forces are keeping the king at bay. I’m here to help you two escape to the forest while we still have a chance.”

  “Are you saying King Roderick is attacking us himself? He’s actually here?” I’d thought the draekon ruler would sit back and let his men do the dirty work. I certainly hadn’t expected him to put himself in danger by participating.

  Erwin nodded. “Yes, and we’re all as shocked as you are. King Aquin also fights. I’m afraid we are in the middle of the most powerful battle the world has ever seen.”

  Gods.

  What damage could the most powerful of both races do? It was unfathomable… and terrifying.

  “We need to get out of here.” I grasped Lorie’s hand. If the defenses failed, King Roderick would not hesitate to destroy every last inch of the camp. He didn’t know mercy.

  “This way.” Erwin ducked out of the bunker. Lorie and I followed, holding hands for dear life.

  Erwin erected a barrier around the three of us as we wound through the ruined camp, sidestepping the most damaged areas. He’d had the same thought as me: we needed to avoid the untouched areas if we didn’t want to find ourselves in the middle of draekon fire raining from the sky.

  Erwin came to a sudden stop. I bumped into him, but Lorie’s grip pulled me back. One of the larger tents had collapsed and was aflame. It blocked our path. Erwin looked left, then right. “This way.” He rushed to our left.

  Again, we followed.

  We made four more turns before Lorie questioned in a low, breathless voice, “What was that?”

  “Hm?” I hopped over a burning branch. Lorie extended our arms to skirt around it.

  When she returned to my side, she leaned close and hissed, “That kiss… I thought you loved Brion.”

  “I do love Brion,” I replied in a huff. To my mortification, my cheeks heated. I didn’t think I’d ever confessed that out loud before. If the gods willed it, I would express it to Brion the moment I found him.

  “Now is not a good time for this conversation, Lorie,” I pointed out. We were, after all, running for our lives.

  I could feel Lorie’s scrutiny. I was certain she saw my blush. Thankfully, she did not press me. Instead, she focused on keeping up with Erwin, who was several paces ahead of us. Our short conversation had slowed us down.

  Then, descending from the sky like a burning bullet, a draekon engulfed in flames crash landed between us and Erwin.

  Dirt and debris flew into the air. Lorie and I turned away and fell to the ground, covering our heads as we curled in on ourselves. Fabric ripped and wood beams snapped. All the tents around us had been decimated by the fire and large beast’s graceless landing. When most of the dust had settled, I looked over my shoulder at the beast. My heart stopped. I recognized him.

  “Brion!” I stumbled to my feet and ran to him.

  The creature weakly lifted its neck. Then, the next second, it shifted back to its human form. It wasn’t Brion. “Finn?” I stopped just short of throwing my arms around him.

  The prince coughed violently. He untied a string around his ankle, and I realized he had a pair of trousers attached to him. And that’s when I realized he was naked.

  Still coughing, Finn stood to put on the pants. I spun around before I could see anything.

  “L-Lissa.” I peered over my shoulder. Finn was decent. Through the smoke, I saw Erwin walking toward us.

  The prince wobbled, and I quickly reached out to catch him before he fell. I helped him to the ground. “You’re hurt.”

  “You need… to run,” he panted. Pain twisted his face when I touched a burn on his shoulder. As if drawn out by his injury, healing power flowed through my fingers.

  “No,” Finn grabbed my hand. The healing light faded.

 
I met his gaze and repeated, “You’re hurt.”

  “I’ll live,” he coughed. “Listen to me. Get out of here. Run. Go to Mar. Not the forest. My father is waiting for survivors there.”

  My blood ran cold. King Roderick was going to slaughter anyone who tried to escape.

  Erwin arrived and crouched down by Finn’s side. “You broke free from Aquin.”

  My eyes snapped up. King Aquin did this to Finn? But why?

  Then, it dawned on me. The elven king had to blame someone for my sudden disappearance. He’d thought I’d been abducted, and his man had seen me fly away with the prince’s travel companion. But Erwin was supposed to smooth things over with King Aquin! How could he let the king hurt Finn? He’d done nothing wrong.

  The elf’s attention rested on Finn. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you escape.”

  “It’s okay,” Finn released my hand and managed to pat Erwin’s arm before his hand fell weakly to the ground. “We all had to keep up appearances. You needed the king to trust you.”

  Prince Finn was far more forgiving about the situation than I could be.

  I cleared my throat. “Let me heal you and you can come with us.”

  “No,” Finn repeated. “There’s not enough time. You must go. Now.”

  The prince was right. Time was limited. Only, he didn’t know by how much.

  A second draekon beast descended from the sky. I didn’t see him coming, but I heard him. He crashed through the same trees Finn had moments before. Erwin threw out a hand, reinforcing the protective barrier around us. Lorie screamed when the beast’s blazing eyes and sharp teeth drew near, but it collided with the barrier and reared back, snarling from impact.

  Gods bless Erwin and his protective barriers. We were almost a draekon’s midday meal.

  “Go now!” Finn’s alarmed cry was all the warning we got before two more draekon landed. The three beasts spread out around us, stalking closer. Danger and hatred blazed in their reptilian eyes.

  Movement on the back of the last draekon to land drew my eye. I gasped. King Roderick, adorned in full battle armor and wearing his golden crown, slid off the beast’s back and landed on the ground with a loud thump. I shoved Lorie behind me.