Twenty-Nine

EVE

Cautiously, we made our way out of our cells, but our wariness was for nothing. The corridor was deserted. The prisoners were all out in the yard.

"You! Get in the yard!"

I flinched as a guard appeared out of nowhere behind us, fear making his eyes wild as he prodded his amethyst staff at us. Ellis put himself between me and the guard, his hands held up. "That's fine. We're going."

The last place I wanted to go was the yard, especially if Strumo was on the warpath, but it was apparent that herding us all together into one space was likely the best chance the guards had at containing us.

"MOVE!"

Ellis jerked as the guard jabbed his side like a cow being branded. Ellis nearly fell as his legs jerked wildly from the blast of magick, and I had to help him toward the yard. My worries about being seen were for naught; there was so much chaos going on in the yard that no one noticed our entrance.

There were only ten guards left, including the one who'd prodded us here, and over a hundred prisoners. Purple staffs glowed and prisoners fell by the dozens, but it was a numbers game. They couldn't take down every prisoner all at once. Twenty fae ganged up on one guard, swarming him until his gurgled screams got lost under a sea of bodies and fists. The glow of his staff faded and a human prisoner snatched it, breaking it over his knee.

The other guards quickly turned tail and ran.

"What's happening?" I asked, voice shrill because of all the horror around us.

"It's like your prince said, isn't it?" Ellis remarked wryly, having to shout over the cacophony. "There was an attack on the palace and riots in the street. Most of the guards were called away to help, or perhaps they simply ran to join the rebels. Who knows?. Hence … this." His eyes closed. "All those screams and voices I'd heard in my dreams. It's surreal, you know? Unless I'm still dreaming."

He looked so genuinely unsure that my anger and fear fell away. Reaching up, I grabbed his head and yanked him down to me, putting his ear against my chest. His arms went around my waist and he held me tightly. Ellis's fingers dug into my skin, his own breathing evening out as he listened to my heartbeat.

"I am real. You are real. This is real. Nothing else matters," I assured him.

BOOM.

A ball of fire erupted in the middle of the yard, drawing everyone's attention. Hayida stepped out of the middle, his face fixed with fury. "What are you doing? Stop it! These are not the fae who deserve your scorn! Kill the human lovers!"

He threw his hands out and the walls of the prison exploded away from the yard, baring open fields and wide roads.

"Go into the city! Fight the true enemy! Kill the humans!" His eyes sparkled with triumph as he laughed and laughed. "I will rule again, and humans will be under our thumb where they belong. Then the half-breeds will be next. You will all be rightfully restored!"

He thrust a fist in the air and the prisoners cheered, rallied.

My heart sank. They didn't care about putting Hayida back on the throne or about any grand political ideals. They just cared about themselves.

"Go now! Go!" Hayida ordered, gesturing to the crumbled walls.

The prisoners stared in shock at their own freedom, then glanced back to the last guard left. His white, terrified face reminded me of Ellis's family before they died. The prisoners' eyes held that same sick, burning fire for vengeance and retribution that Trenton and his people had.

And Hayida was only feeding the flames.

"This is why my way was right. Humans are vile, simple creatures. They need us to rule over them for their own good! Look at what they did to each other on their own land! They're monsters!"

I shook my head at him. Did he not see the fae just as bloodthirsty next to him? It wasn't a specific problem, it was just fear and pain. The violence wouldn't fix anything. These fae guards were just doing their job. They—

"Kill the guards, then we kill him!" Strumo shouted, pointing one thick sausage-link finger at Hayida. "I don't want no king! I don't need no king!"

Oh my gods, fuck Strumo. How was he not dead yet?

But at the same time, go Strumo!

The crowd roared its approval and descended on the remaining guard. It was like watching Ellis's younger brother and sister die all over again.

How many people would I watch die today?

Ellis got to his feet, and we booked it toward a blown out wall while the crowd was busy. The city loomed in the distance. I had no idea if that was where we should go, or risk it by taking off to parts unknown.

I had expected the prisoners to turn as a group and sprint for freedom. It was a brilliant distraction tactic on Hayida's part.

Too bad it didn't work.

Because when faced with their own freedom or the promise of violence and violence, any frenzied mob's choice was clear. Violence. Pain. Blood.

Even over their own well-being.

The guard's screams mingled in the air, the discord loud and shrill.

Then the crowd turned toward Hayida, still hungry for blood.

Hayida practically frothed at the mouth in his anger, a golden hue of magick outlining his entire body as his hands shook. Even though his death loomed in front of him, he stood his ground and didn't run. "You idiots! Freedom stares you in the face and you refuse to set aside your petty grievances. And here I thought humans were the lowest forms of life. You deserve everything coming to you!"

Why wouldn't he run? Would he stand his ground and level them all with his magick?

"Kill the old king! Kill every royal!" Strumo roared over the crowd, who cheered. It was senseless violence without purpose or direction, unfettered anger with no object other than to take their own hurt and force it on someone else.

Ellis yanked me toward him and closer toward freedom, but I fought back. I couldn't do it. I couldn't watch one more person die while I looked on.

"Eve! No!"

I ran back toward Hayida, who snarled at the mass of angry prisoners heading his way. There was no way I'd get to him in time, and even if I did, what was I going to do to help?

The first few to reach him were thrown backward by an invisible force, but Hayida was flicking his fingers left and right, faster than my eye could follow. Could he keep it up with twenty attackers? Fifty? One hundred?

They would overwhelm him eventually, just like with the guards. In the end, the amount of magick you had didn't matter. Maybe it never mattered.

Hayida laughed hysterically as he disappeared under a throng of people, just like the guards. Only his face was visible, his golden eyes glowing like a beacon in the dark hatred surrounding him.

"KILL THE OLD KING!" they screamed.

I just didn't want to see anyone else die.

"GET OFF HIM!" I screamed, my throat raw from the effort.

Yes, he had murdered countless humans. He was a horrible individual and an even worse king.

But he'd kept the other prisoners off our backs, and protected us. There was a soft spot in my heart for him, even though half of it was fucking terrified knowing who he was and what he'd done.

Weren't relationships a bitch?

Screaming was a mistake. Strumo heard me and dropped Hayida in favor of letting the others tear him apart. He stomped toward me with single-minded focus, eyes bright.

"Fuck, shit on a stick," Ellis hissed behind me, his hands growing hot where they held me back.

Strumo didn't go for me; he grabbed Ellis and pushed him down hard enough that his head smacked off the ground. Dazed, Ellis couldn't get up fast enough to stop Strumo from grabbing me and throwing me like I was a piece of parchment. Ellis seemed like he was trying to summon his fire powers, but his eyes crossed and he tripped. He was too stunned to do anything.

Ha, this is how I die.

I flew forward, and time slowed. It didn't matter though. Ellis couldn't protect me this time.

Everything around me swirled in a chaotic kaleidoscope of colors and dizzying angles. Fire exploded overhead and though I was still worried about Hayida and the others, a small grin still stretched my mouth even as the ground raced up to meet me.

I forced my eyes to focus back on the throng and Hayida. I laughed at the absurdity of wanting Hayida to win his fight. Hayida deserved death more than me, right? Life was a bitch.

Hayida's mismatched met mine in a split second before I crashed. He turned from the three fae he'd been holding back, who all held crude shivs in their hands and advanced towards him. His eyes widened, then one hand stretched out toward me and a force grabbed me and pulled me back, slowing my descent by a lot, but not stopping it entirely.

The split second he broke his focus on the crowd to reach toward me was his undoing. A fourth fae got behind him and stabbed straight down into his neck and back.

Ellis got to his feet, staring at the pile of angry fae on Hayida with horror.

Hayida jerked, magicking sparking all over his body.

"No time to balk," Hayida snarled at Ellis, and with a final, desperate vigor, grabbed the fae and pulled the knife out of his neck, plunging it into his attacker's guts. With a vicious smile, he snapped another's neck.

More prisoners joined, and I lost sight of Hayida under the horde of bodies.

Time raced forward.

WHAM.

I hit the ground hard.

Something cracked as my side connected with the hard ground, and my head smacked the same ground a second later. Blackness tried to claim me, but I fought it, struggling to climb out of the oncoming rush of unconsciousness. If Hayida hadn't used magick to slow me, I'd be dead.

"Get back! GET BACK!"

Heat washed against my skin, and vaguely I wondered how Ellis was doing it. Didn't the cuffs stop him?

Prisoners screamed and yelled, but it was hard for me to see anything, as my traitorous eyes closed. Hopefully, it meant Ellis was succeeding and getting to Hayida.

He'd have to tell me all about it.

I lost my battle to the pain and dizziness and slipped into the darkness.

I woke to screams and crying, and hot water pouring down on me as thunder clapped from the sky. My head and hand ached fiercely, but it might have had something to do with the position I was in, which was slung over Ellis's shoulder with my head facing down, the world bouncing around me.

It shouldn't be that surprising that he could carry me. The fae had superior strength, even a half fae, but I still wasn't used to any man just easily lifting me.

All around me was chaos—people running, fires everywhere, and rubble. The sky was a deep magenta with purple clouds that swirled and rolled, raining down hot water on us. That explained why I was wet, at least. How had we gotten back into the city? How long had I been out? Had Ellis carried me the entire way here?

"Not a chance in hell. Heal her first, then I will help you." Ellis was speaking harshly, while a fae female argued with him. The voice wasn't Fallon or the other princess, and yet, it was still familiar.

"We're in the middle of a war zone!" she pleaded. "Bring her back to the palace where I can properly treat her! But you need to free me! Please! The weather and the magick—"

The fae medic. Shyllon's sister. How the fuck had Ellis found her? I craned my head to the side, seeing her on the ground with one leg buried underneath stone rubble. Her face was white and pressed.

"If you think I'm letting her back into Fennis's hands, you've got another thing—"

"She could bleed out internally before then! I don't know how much damage the cracked rib has done!"

I banged my fist on Ellis's back to get his attention.

"I'm up! I'm up! Put me down!"

His grip around me only tightened.

"No. You are dying, according to this female!"

Shyllon's sister tilted her head to the side, lips parted in shock as I squirmed in Ellis's arms.

"Put her down. I want to see something."

I scowled, but Ellis let me go. Stumbling a bit as I got my feet under me, everything seemed to be in its proper place and the only pain I felt was still in my head from being upside down, and a slight ache in my hand. At least the swelling had gone down, and only light yellow bruising remained where there had been ugly black and blue before.

The female's eyes flared with surprise as they settled on my neck.

"She has a fae mark. That's why she's healing. It will continue to heal her. Now free me, please." Her voice grew weaker, her eyes unfocused.

Ellis's gaze whipped around to stare at Alihandro's mark on my neck. Was it possible that the same ‘blood magick' that threatened my life also kept me safe? Was that on purpose, or just a side effect Alihandro hadn't expected?

"Thanks for the information," Ellis informed her. "Goodbye."

Ellis grabbed my hand and tried to tug me away. My eyes tore from the ruins of the palace in front of us, the western half completely missing as if a giant beast tore an entire chunk out of it. I glanced at the row of ruined shop fronts and stores, trying to place where I was on the street from the short but wonderful day I'd had with Calten. Where was the cafe? The tailor's shop?

I couldn't find any of it. It was all destroyed. Had the tailor and his wife made it away safely? Their poor shop! What about the young girl that had served me my meat pie?

It was too late to help any of them, but not for Shyllon's sister.

"Wait, we need to help her!" I insisted, refusing to let Ellis lead me away.

The smell of charred bodies and smoke filled the air, clogging my lungs and choking me. Fire and heat, ashes and dust. Screams and panic.

"No, we need to get out of here!" Ellis said. "This will be our only time to escape while everyone is distracted."

"Escape where?" I argued, my voice rising uncontrollably. "We need to stay. We need to fight!" I gestured at Shyllon's sister, whose name I didn't even know. "We aren't leaving her."

I fell to my hands and knees, fingers scrabbling uselessly against the rough, heavy stones that trapped her in place. The hot rain made it difficult to grab the edges; my fingers kept uselessly sliding and scrabbling against the edges. My injuries didn't matter. Whatever magick was in the wound in my neck was the good stuff.

Ellis's face fell.

"Eve, her leg is buried too deep. There's nothing we can do. I—"

"You're stronger than me!" I shouted at him, hot tears gathering at the corners of my eyes. "Get over here and help!"

His lips pursed, but he got down next to me, grunting and trying his best to move the first heavy boulder.

This close to Shyllon's sister, I could see the strain on her face. Her messy bun had disintegrated, leaving dark streaks of wet hair haphazardly stuck around her pale, pointed face. Bits and pieces looked charred off. Her large eyes glazed over with pain.

I leaned in close to whisper in her ear.

"Is there a way I can get Fennis for you? Would he send guards to help free you?" I asked.

Her laugh was bitter and full of despair. "I am not his daughter. Shyllon is my half-brother. And even if I was, he wouldn't give a shit around me."

I grit my teeth, but said nothing. It was up to Ellis and me, then.

"Go away, Princess. Your mate has the right idea, even if the execution is piss poor," she protested weakly. Her eyes lifted to the sky. "Finally. Finally it has come to this."

Ellis stopped pulling on a rock, turning to narrow his eyes at the fae female.

"What do you know I don't?" he asked bluntly.

Her grin was weak, laced with pain.

"Did you know those fae marks used to be used to brand slaves? It helped us keep track of them, and told us your whereabouts and if you were all hale and healthy, or in danger. It was protection. Strange how things are twisted, yes?"

I stared at her, confused as hell by a history lesson in the middle of a war zone. Well, Alihandro's threat to possibly kill me with the mark made more sense, at least.

Slave mark, indeed.

The memory of how he'd made me come was wildly inappropriate considering my surroundings, but it still made my stomach flip.

"I'll tell you something Fennis doesn't know," she continued, panting heavily, "and that fae are dying every day to keep it a secret from him. Get to the barrier before all of this unravels before you. Magick always knows. Magick always restores the balance. Go home. The barrier is open."