CHAPTER 54

QUEEN MALINA

Dommik and I race out of the castle, leaving the fae woman behind. I steal one last glance at her before I go. She's in a terrible state. So badly hurt that I couldn't even tell what she really looked like, other than auburn hair with orange ends and a strange reddish tint to her eyes.

I've no idea why the fae have beaten her so severely, but if she hadn't been dumped in there with us, we wouldn't have been able to get out. Leaving her behind seems a poor way to thank her.

Even if she is fae.

"Wait," I say after Dommik and I run around the corner. We press our backs against the wall, temporarily hidden from view from the army collecting at the other side. "We can't just leave her."

"We have to. You know we do, Malina. She can't walk, let alone run." He grits his teeth, straining once again to shove the cuff off his hand, cursing when he still can't do it. "We need to go, and I can't use my shadows. You heard what she said. Something is coming. We need to run."

He points straight ahead in the direction where we found that ruined house and spent one blissful night together. That seems such a long time ago.

"It's a clear shot. None of the army is in this direction. If we run, they might not see us."

A sudden sound erupts from across the land, but not in the direction of the bridge. Still, I can't help but remember what the fae said.

What's coming down that bridge next is something you can't survive.

My stomach twists.

When he reaches for my hand again, I pull away. "Dommik…"

Fearful exasperation fills his face. "Malina, we can't bring her, dammit!"

I look over his handsome face with a despair that clings. It latches onto me, squeezing my skin, cinching my throat.

As I stare at him, at a loss, his expression falters. "Malina?"

"I…"

A Stone Sword comes from out of nowhere.

He lets out a noise of surprise when he notices us, but quickly recovers and moves to attack. With his sword raised, he flings himself forward, so it's very fortunate that my assassin is so skilled.

Even being caught unawares and without a weapon, Dommik reacts in the blink of an eye. Body swiveling, he turns, blocking me from harm and jerking to the right so that the sword's trajectory misses.

Turns out, Dommik doesn't need his shadows to assassinate, because his movements are fluid and wickedly fast even without them.

I can barely track him as he ducks and spins, avoiding another swing before he turns and kicks out the soldier's knee. The soldier cries out in pain and falls to the snow, and Dommik launches himself at him.

Dommik wrests away the sword from his grip, and I start backing up several steps, looking away as he slices the fae's throat.

When it's done and the soldier lies bleeding out on the snowy ground, Dommik turns and looks at me. "Queenie?"

It takes great effort for me to speak past my fisted throat. "If I commanded you to do something, would you do it?"

A frown forms between his brows as he pants out breath. "What? No."

My heart fills with desperation. "If I asked you to do something, would you do it then?"

He takes a step toward me, but I take another one back. His gaze drops to my feet before flicking back up. "What are you doing, Malina?"

I shake my head. Tongue thick, I drag out the laden words. "Please," I beg. "Go get her."

His eyes flare with frustration. "I told you, she can't come with us! Not without my shadows, and not if we have any hope of getting away!"

"Please!" I shout, my voice gone shrill, drowned out by the wind that's begun to whip. " I need you to go get her!"

"Fine!" he hisses through clenched teeth and glaring eyes. "You stubborn, foolish fucking woman. I'll go get her. Wait here!"

He turns and hurries back the other way, and I hold my breath as I watch him go. He pauses for a moment as he peers around the corner. Then he shoots me a look over his shoulder and darts away.

I turn and run.

I'm entirely aware that I only have mere seconds, which is why I don't hesitate. Dommik will be confused when he comes back and I'm not here, and then that confusion will turn into fear.

But I couldn't allow him to follow me, and no amount of explaining would've deterred him. He wouldn't listen to me if I asked him to stay behind.

This is the only way, and this is my only chance. The fae told me, don't waste your chance , so I won't.

Forgive me, Dommik.

My vision blurs, but I run through the snow faster than I've ever run before, making it to the back of the castle and then darting around the corner. I don't let myself think, I just go. Racing alongside the edge of the world as the fog rolls like clouds of threatening thunder.

Straight ahead, I see the bridge, see the Stone Swords now cleared away from it, the army giving it a wide berth. With my heart pounding in my chest, I leave behind the cover of the castle and start sprinting out in the open, aiming straight for the entrance.

The fae spot me.

Their heads turn in my direction, their shouts tossing into the air. Panic and pressure build up inside me, pushing me to go faster. To not be caught.

Because I can't be caught. If I am, then it's over. If I am, Orea is over, and I can't let that happen.

Suddenly, the terrible roaring we first heard inside the castle erupts again, coming from the bridge. From inside the thick fog.

I can taste bitter fear at the back of my throat.

I must go faster.

The woman's warning pounds beneath my temples.

The fae coming next are monsters. They will pick the muscles from your bones and eat your flesh while you're still alive. They will defile everything. There will be no escaping it once they're unleashed into your world.

That's what's coming. An evil that celebrates its own vileness by roaring threats into the air.

Shouts sound to my right and I see soldiers running for me, their feet slipping in the snow. Yet my steps are steady, my arms pumping, gaze determinedly set.

I make it to the entrance of the bridge before anyone can get to me. Hand curling around the white pillar, I swing myself down the path of the bridge.

The fog swallows me whole.

As thick as the wool of my dress, it envelops me, closing me into its shrouded embrace. I look over my shoulder at the shadows of soldiers who start to follow me in, but I keep running despite the thick air. Despite the terror in my wide-open eyes.

Then that chilling sound of a thousand joined voices in vicious roaring erupts again, and the other fae soldiers scatter, leaving me behind. Abandoning me to the mercy of whatever kinds of monsters are making those terrible noises.

If the Stone Swords won't even risk meeting up with the fae coming down this bridge, then Orea truly is doomed.

Unless I stop them.