Chapter 10

10

“ S he has something in her hands!”

Captain Hezarwick’s voice sounded above the rest of the din, and in the next second he bolted forward, his magic reaching for me.

The Totalis warmed further once I had it firmly cradled in my hands, direct contact, and as I tuned into my magic, my hesitation dimmed.

The Augundae Totalis was ancient, foreign, almost alien in its depth of power, and my physical body jerked as that power entwined with the essence of who I was.

“Stop right where you are!”

There’s no stopping .

My cognitive manipulation rose despite any shredded emotions. A rare gift, I’d been told once. Rare and valuable. And I’d never been so grateful for it as I was now.

“No.” My voice rose much louder than it would have been, amplified by the artifact. “You stop. All of you.”

The captain did as I commanded, his footsteps slowing until he halted in front of the platform, with the rest of the guards behind him frozen in the act of drawing their weapons.

I paused for a moment to mutter a spell under my breath, something I’d been taught to hone my focus before I reached out for the minds and energies of everyone gathered. I blocked out the future and what might happen if I failed. I blocked out Mike in the crowd and my regret over what happened to Barbara. The bulk of my power needed to focus on escape.

This gift did not manifest often, I reminded myself. I had the magic for a reason. If it wasn’t to save my life and the lives of people I cared about, then what good was it?

I took a deep breath. “Stop the execution. Onyx and I are innocent. Cosmo Foxfall has decided to rescind his execution order,” I continued.

My magic rose to a fever pitch and I spared a glance at the glowing tool. It really did amplify power. I felt everything, roiling inside of me, magnified larger than I’d ever felt it before.

I practically saw it in the air like visible sound waves cresting over everyone. Even the bodies outside the gate went still as my command rippled outward.

“Onyx and I are leaving,” I called out. “Captain Hezarwick, remove our chains immediately. We’re free.”

I reached for the premier and saw his energy signature clearly. It pulsed around him in shades of navy and gold with a thin core of startling red. I grabbed for him, my power clearer and sharper than it had ever been, and sent a powerful pulse of magic his way.

He had to believe everything I painted for him. Sights, smells, images—even if I didn’t see it in reality, it didn’t matter. Foxfall would perceive it all as true.

I held his magic, and distantly the energy signatures of the rest of the crowd, while the captain removed my chains. A huge weight disappeared as they clanked to the ground, Onyx’s following right after.

There wasn’t time to breathe a sigh of relief. “Nobody moves from their spot for the next fifteen minutes. You stay exactly where you are until we are well out of reach,” I added.

“Tavi? What are you doing?” Onyx hissed from the corner of his mouth.

He was the only one immune to my spell.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m getting us out.” I spoke in the same hushed near-whisper and gestured for him to come closer, still gripping the tool in my hands.

Sweat broke out along my spine, dripping to my lower back with the effort of holding on to so many energies at once.

Onyx spared a skeptical glance at the statue-still crowd before he stepped over the chains pooled at his feet. He wasn't about to waste any more time but instead of running, I forced my feet to slow. Calm and unhurried, we walked to the steps and out into the crowd.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I clutched the tool tighter yet, afraid of it slipping out of my clammy palms.

What if I missed someone?

What if there was a guard out there, or a civilian, someone on the Council, impervious to my magic?

Miraculously, we managed to weave our way through the courtyard. Onyx kept close enough for the heat of his body to seep beneath my skin, but even so, I shivered.

I glared from one person to another, paying special attention to Cosmo Foxfall. He stared straight ahead, frozen solid, and soon we were past him.

I didn’t stop until we met up with Noren.

“How in the world did you manage—” Onyx started.

“Later.” I smiled at the direwolf as he bolted toward the side gate. “I’ll explain it all later.”

We had less than fifteen minutes to get as far away as possible before everyone unfroze. Because at that point, the spellwork might be too thin and my cognitive manipulation unable to remain in place.

Cosmo would remember that we were not innocent. He’d send an entire army after us.

Shit, this had to work, just long enough to let us leave.

My fingers were frozen to the Totalis , my pulse thundering in my ears.

Noren wound through the gate, squeezing to get his frame through. Onyx followed, with me going last, sending one last thought toward Mike before we disappeared and broke into a run.

Find me .

The cobblestone streets were eerily silent. Too many citizens of the city had gathered to watch the execution.

Neither of us moved fast. I’d spent too much time in the dungeons for my muscles to respond with my usual strength, and forget about grace. Necessity drove us around the side of the castle and back to the rear greenspace. The field stretched, gently sloping upward toward the forest circling the city. The trees were old, their trunks fat and their branches spreading in a thick canopy overhead.

We’d trained there when Melia first set me up with Onyx, the only other half shifter in her acquaintance.

The paths through those trees were familiar.

Onyx limped but he never complained at the pace.

The climb made talk impossible, both of us too focused on getting as far away from the courtyard as possible. My lungs heaved like bellows and my muscles tensed and strained.

No looking back. There was no going back after this.

We moved farther away from the village with each passing breath and into the wilds. The trees grew closer together the farther we went, away from the manicured tending of the palace landscapers.

Only the sound of my name, spoken in a strangled whisper, had me pausing enough to look up. The sky overhead had darkened without me noticing and seconds later a crack of lightning split the sky.

Noren led the way and seemed unbothered when the thunder rolled, the sound like two stones grinding together. The lightning continued to worsen as we scrambled higher and higher.

Soon, hopefully, we’d crest the edges of the mountains around Eahsea, the town cradled in the valley between the ranges. I had no idea what was on the other side or how close we were.

Another bolt of lightning, and the rain poured as though someone split open a seam in the sky.

Faerie was upset.

The same thing had happened the first week I came here, and I knew inherently this weather was my fault.

I’d saved myself but the magic I’d used had caused a stir in the natural elements of this entire land.

My insides were wrecked as surely as if someone had slid their claws across my guts. Everything I’d had to do since coming here had been awful, terrible, for this land.

I really was going to be its destruction. Even though I’d done my best to minimize my impact, the land knew. I knew. Nothing I’d done had been good enough and now the natural elements, the very weather, retaliated.

Noren paused in front of a boulder to glance back at us and huff out a small whine. The rain plastered his fur to his skin.

Chilled to the bone, I scrambled up the rockface, my fingertips numb and the Totalis still clutched in the other hand. “I think we’re getting close to the top,” I called back to Onyx.

Then stopped short when I noticed him several yards away and leaning against a tree trunk for support.

He glanced up at me and nodded, his white hair stuck to his cheeks. He was flagging badly and his limp was noticeably worse as he struggled to close the gap between us.

“Hey, how about we try to find somewhere to rest,” I offered. “This rain is going to get worse. Hopefully it will work to our advantage and cover our scents.”

He was too out of breath to answer.

I wanted to get farther but the weather and Onyx’s condition made the going too slow to be safe. I glanced around, nodding at Noren until he jogged off. A few seconds later he returned and flashed his teeth in a terrifying facsimile of a canid smile.

“This way.” I gestured for Onyx to follow and then decided better, heading over and offering him my shoulder to lean on.

He refused and limped ahead as we followed Noren through the trees.

The thin trail wound through several rocky outcroppings, and loose gravel skidded under our feet.

Eventually the trail widened out, taking a sharp turn and ending in a broad flat spot. Noren huffed for us to continue and I lost him around the next bend. The view of the valley was barely visible through the driving rain, and although I didn’t see the castle, we were still too close for my peace of mind.

Noren found a cave large enough for the three of us to crouch together. At least we’d have shelter and a chance to talk. I told myself it was a good thing, a great thing, but I refused to let go of the tool on the off chance someone followed us. It worked on a crowd. It would work on a single person, if my magic held.

At this point it was a big if —I already felt my strength waning.

I snuggled against Noren, the tightness of the space leaving little room for any of us to move. My shiver deepened as the chill sank deep into my bones.

“This is because of me,” I murmured. “The weather. Faerie knows I don’t belong.”

Onyx scoffed, the bags under his eyes heavy enough to draw his entire face south. “I don’t believe that,” he assured me.

“It’s true, though. Look at how quickly it started to pour. The same thing happened when I arrived. The land knows I’m not supposed to be here.” And I’d used enough magic today to put myself back on its radar.

“It’s a storm, Tavi, it happens.” Onyx breathed deeply, his nostrils flaring. “Now how about we talk about this direwolf of yours.”

“I call him Noren. I don’t know if that’s his name or not but he’s my friend. My partner.”

Noren groaned and leaned the bulk of his weight into me.

“You do tend to collect outcasts, don’t you?”

“I hope you’re not talking about yourself.”

A small grin flickered across my lips regardless. It was hard to imagine this moment, given the last time I’d seen Onyx in his hospital bed. Or before, when he’d attacked me in his halfling wolf form. We’d done some damage to each other. I’d fought the way I had to fight to survive.

“Of course I am,” Onyx continued. “Still, it’s not every day you see a tame direwolf without the help of some sort of spell to keep its mind controlled.”

“I broke the spell on him. The same thing you saw me do today, I did with him, on a smaller scale. It’s my cognitive manipulation.” I palmed the Augundae Totalis and opened my fingers to allow Onyx a glimpse of the tool. “Mike got this to me right before…you know. It’s the reason we’re here and not dead.”

Onyx stopped, then groaned, the sound half laugh and half choke. “Then I suppose I'll have to be grateful to good ol’ Mike. What’s the plan? Do we even have one?”

I opened my mouth to automatically respond and snapped it shut quickly. I hadn’t given it a thought. “Honestly, the only thing on my mind was getting us out.”

“Thank you,” he said eventually. “For saving me. I really thought we were out of time. And luck. Not that I’ve been able to count on luck for most of my life.”

Hell no. Not when your dad was Kendrick Grimaldi.

“Are you okay?” I glanced down at his bent knee, the one he kept cradled to his chest. “You were limping a lot.”

He looked like he’d rather swallow his own tongue than answer. Then, finally, “Many of my injuries healed. There are some the doctors who tended me said will never completely heal. I will likely live with debilitating pain for the rest of my life, from those injuries.”

“The ones I gave you,” I filled in. Permanent damage.

He nudged me with his shoulder, our forearms brushing together. “Chronic pain is a small price to pay for what you did.”

“I hurt you!” Shit, was I going to cry again?

“You saved me. I’m grateful. Technically, at this point, you’ve saved me twice.”

I stared sideways at him. “I didn’t realize we were keeping track.”

In which case, it didn’t matter if our fight had broken the spell on him or not. If he lived in constant pain, then I’d be aware of it for the rest of my life.

Onyx sagged into the rock at his back, staring out through the rain past the mouth of the small cave. “We need to figure out our next step. It’s fine to stop for a while and recuperate but we can’t stay long.”

Understatement of the year.

“I’ve actually been trying to find my mom. She's still alive.” I realized then how much information I’d learned since Onyx had been in the hospital. How much he didn’t know at this point.

There was no turning back now. If we were doing this together, on the run from the crown, then we had to be able to trust each other. I needed to know that he would have my back, and vice versa, and part of that was being utterly transparent.

“Apparently she’s been living in Yelaine. From what I’ve heard, she might be able to help us.”

Onyx arched a dark brow. “Do you know how far away Yelaine is? Do I need to remind you?”

“I haven’t exactly had a chance to calculate the distance,” I said dryly.

“It’s nearly eight hundred miles from us.”

I refused to let my surprise show. “Then it looks like we need to find transportation. Don’t we?”

“I mean…it’s worth a shot. At least there will be eight hundred miles between us and the premier.”

His eyes fluttered closed. More than anything, I wanted to give him a chance to rest. He’d already pushed himself to get to this point. A few more minutes, I reasoned, and then we’d have to go. It wasn’t safe to stay in one place.

If we got caught again, I probably wouldn’t have a chance to use my powers.

We’d be killed on sight.