51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

A sharp pinch to my toe yanks me from my sleep, and I kick. A brown rat scurries across the stone floor and slides under cell bars.

"Sorry, I've been keeping them away all night. I must have fallen asleep." Eoin scoots closer to me, chains clinking against stone as he shifts.

"Eoin! You came for me." My manacles prevent me from embracing him, so I lay my head against his chest.

"I told you I would." He rests his cheek on the top of my head. "I'm sorry I got caught."

"I am, too. I hate that you're stuck here because of me. Maybe I shouldn't have snapped the bar."

"Don't say that. I'm glad you did." He lifts his head and shifts, facing me more. "We can still get out of this."

"Some of us won't." My voice cracks. "I think Razenna is dead. They tried to perform the ritual on her, to put Maris in her, but I don't think she survived."

"I saw her," Eoin says, but his tone isn't hopeful. "While I was sneaking toward the castle, I saw her leading a group of soldiers. She seemed different. Her eyes weren't red anymore, and even the way she moved was different—like she was someone else entirely."

"Maybe Maris only needed her body. She mentioned one time that those sort of rituals are difficult to perform and maintain the soul." My voice is hoarse, and I cough. I lean back against the wall and pull my legs up to myself. My feet and ankles are swollen, and my chest aches. "How long have I been out?"

"I'm not sure. You were here when they threw me in. It's been a day, perhaps two. You need to heal."

I wiggle my swollen toes that look more like overstuffed sausages at the moment. I remember one of the women at St. Agatha's feet did this shortly before she died. I rub my chest. I think I was able to heal myself just enough to come back, but there must still be damage.

"I'm really tired, and I barely have anything in my well. I don't suppose you could help with that." I joke with him, but his face remains serious.

"No, Bron, I don't think I can. Not like this. I'm too worried."

"If you kill that rat, it's blood might help." I don't actually know if rat blood will help, but I hope. It will at least give us something to hold onto while we make a plan.

"Blood helps?" He furrows his brows.

"A little."

His eyes search the cell and land on my lips. He licks his bottom lip, pulls it into his mouth, and bites it gently as if contemplating something.

"What are you think—"

He leans down and presses his lips to mine. My eyes close, and I catch a sob in my throat. I didn't realize how much I missed him. He came back for me. Why did I ever let him leave?

He opens his mouth, and my tongue finds his, filling my mouth with the taste of copper.

It's working.

While sensing my well, I noticed a distinct lack of Luc's magical presence. The bond severed with my death.

He pulls away slowly, eyes darting between my own. "Did it work? Your face has more color."

A warm tear slides down my cheek. "I'm sorry," I croak.

He wipes the tear away with his thumb. "Don't be sorry. We're going to get out of this."

A blast somewhere above us shakes the dungeon, stirring many prisoners awake. Dust billows and small pebbles tumble down the walls.

"What was that?" I ask. "Do you think that was Luc?"

Eoin's eyes flick to my swollen feet and the lock on the cell door. "I'm not sure." A muffled, drawn-out squeak sounds from somewhere above. He swallows hard as he turns his attention back to me.

The squeaking sounds again, this time longer and stronger. Not a squeak—a scream.

Another blast sends dust and pebbles flying, and the prisoners in the other cells yell and clamor over the ringing in my ears. Could it be another dragon?

Guards rush past the cells, ignoring the calls for help and release. A tall tan guard carries up the rear, stopping at the first cell. She pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the set of doors, letting several prisoners free. "We are under attack," she says, moving to the next cell. She unlocks two more sets of doors and begins coughing.

Eoin and I slide down the wall, getting as low as we can as smoke creeps into the cell.

"Over here," Eoin calls. "She's injured."

The guard reaches our cell and looks over her shoulder at the space where most of the smoke emanates from, revealing a thistle tattoo on her neck.

Her hands shake as she attempts to unlock our door.

"The thistle," I cough out the words. "Do you know Moira?"

Her eyes meet mine with furrowed brows. "You see the thistle?" She drops the keys and bends to pick them up. "You're in the guild?"

"No. She was a friend."

The lock seems to jam as the guard attempts to turn the key. "Only honorable thieves can see the thistle. Fuck!" She glances over her shoulder again.

"I'm sorry," she says, yanking the key from the lock and tossing them into the cell with us. She leaves us, her echoing footsteps barely audible over the growing clamor above.

Eoin stretches a boot out and slides the keys toward us. I grab the set, and it only takes three attempts to find the right key to unlock our manacles. It takes less than a moment for us to get out of the cell, but by now, everyone is gone, and there's no one to follow.

I'm sluggish and slow and have a hard time keeping up as we head in the direction of the retreating guards. Eoin throws my arm over his shoulder and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me along.

The stone walls around us are an unwelcome familiarity. "I know how to get out of here." We're only paces away from the tunnel I followed to those glass orbs. "There's a tunnel somewhere between cells that should emit faint light. It leads to a cavern, and I know the way out from there."

Eoin grips my side, and I lean on him as we search for the tunnel. Abandoned prisoners grumble and moan as we pass cells, and Eoin stops dead in his tracks. Near a lantern ahead, a wide grin slowly spreads across a warmly illuminated face. The guard steps fully into the light and draws his sword.

Eoin sets me down gently and charges the man. The guard swings at Eoin and misses, and it's too late for him. Eoin grips the man's wrist with one hand and slams a palm against the attached forearm. The arm breaks, and the man screams, dropping the sword.

Rapid footfall approaches, followed by a thunderous yell. Two more guards rush in, and Eoin handles them in seconds.

He returns to me, still holding the sword, and helps me up. "Come on. I saw the tunnel ahead."

We find the main tunnel of lights and make our way back to the hidden set of marble stairs. As they crack open and begin their descent, the loud clamor of soldiers fighting grows louder.

Eoin grips me tightly as we climb and yanks me back as a body falls from the edge above. The stairs begin to move, sliding back up into place, and we scramble up the last few into utter chaos.

Selene warriors in full black fighting leathers kick down the doors and attack any armed fae in sight. The tapestry to my left is fully engulfed in flames, and a woman runs past us, screaming.

Eoin takes my hand and pulls me through the mayhem. I stumble up a set of marble stairs. Flaming bits of plaster fall from the ceiling like rain, and I cover my head. The short jog up the stairs has me heaving for air, and my heart fights to keep up.

"Over here!" Ciaran points at me from across the landing, but he's not shouting at us. August rushes into view, covered in gore.

Helios soldiers with sun emblem breastplates file up the second set of stairs on the opposite side of the landing. They charge August. Ciaran rushes to his aid, and Eoin pulls me behind him, swinging his sword at an oncoming soldier.

He drops my hand and grips the sword with both fists, swinging laterally. A head falls, and blood sprays. "Get to Moira's. I left a rune gate in her stable just in case."

"Don't leave me." I cling to his arm.

"Fine. But if I say run, you listen. Wait here."

He rushes the onslaught of Helios soldiers and attacks them in unison with August and Ciaran. One without a breastplate breaks away and stalks toward me. August grabs him from behind, and the soldier's eyes go wide as he's lifted into the air. August jams his right hand into the man's chest cavity and grips his ribs. I watch in horror as he pulls the man's rib cage clean out. Flesh tears and blood sprays as his intestines spill from his body.

A nearby maid lets out a blood-curdling scream. I feel cold and numb.

Blood bubbles from the man's lips as he opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water. August drops him and steps over the body. His eyes soften as he reaches out and caresses my cheek with a steady hand.

"Get them out of here." August turns to Ciaran. "Mads is outside waiting."

"Wait!" I pull August's wrist, and he turns to me.

"I need you to be safe." His eyes are stern. This is not up for debate. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch for this."

"It's not Luc! It's Lydia." I hold him in place with my gaze. "She has control of him."

He ignores me and speaks to Ciaran. "Protect her at all costs. Get her and Eoin to safety."

My heart thunders in my chest as Ciaran tries to pull me away. I plant my feet and yell at August, but he's not listening. "It's not him!"

August stands at the stair landing and yells over the banister. "Lucanis!" His booming voice is filled with rage. "Come out here and face me."

Ciaran tugs at me again but I dig my heels in, holding onto a door frame. Luc bursts from a door across the stairway, wearing nothing but silk sleeping pants and a matching robe. His face blanches when he sees August. Lydia steps from the room behind him with a blanket wrapped around her. I swear a smile crosses her lips.

Ciaran breaks my grip on the door frame and his golden eyes flash before he picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I catch Luc's eyes as Ciaran carries me down the stairs towards the exit.

"You!" Luc yells at me with manic fury. "You can't have her!" The stairs below us illuminate in a golden half-sphere of light.

"Stop!" I yell, and Ciaran stops just in time as the stairs below us explode. He turns and takes the brunt of the blast, and runs back up the stairs. August sheathes his sword and exchanges blows with Luc on the opposite landing.

Ciaran sets me down. "We're going to have to leave from the roof. Will you be a big girl now, or do I need to carry you?"

"I can run."

"Stay behind me and stay close." He nods to Eoin. "Sorensen. Help her keep up, and we'll get you safely to the castle with your brother."

"My brother?" Eoin asks.

"August had him picked up before we came here for Bronwyn. He thought Luc might target him." Ciaran holds out a hand toward the ceiling, and lightning strikes three charging soldiers.

"Stop them!" Luc shouts at several Helios soldiers and points at us right before August punches him in the eye with a sharp crack. The line of soldiers split, some coming to his aid and the rest towards us.

I can't keep up with Ciaran. I feel a sudden snap in my right thigh, and I fall to the ground. A crossbow bolt juts through the meat of my leg.

Ciaran runs back to me and curses. He roughly yet efficiently yanks the bolt from my leg and shoves me behind a marble statue of Luc's father. "Heal that. This will only take a second." Eoin joins Ciaran as they face off against seven Helios soldiers.

The clang of swords stops, and I open my eyes. Ciaran's lips peel back into a snarl as he latches onto the neck of a Helios soldier, draining his lifeblood. He drops the body and wipes the blood from his face.

Eoin helps me up, and I stand, wincing in pain. I limp forward.

"Why didn't you heal? Are you empty?"Ciaran asks.

I nod, squeezing fresh tears out of the corners of my eyes.

"Wait here one second." He jogs just out of sight and less than a minute later comes back dragging a Helios soldier who kicks and flails about. He brings the solder right beside me and then swiftly clamps long fangs down into his neck. The man yells and kicks frantically. Ciaran releases him from his jaws and leans the neck over to me. "Here. Drink."

I close my mouth over the fresh bite and swallow several mouthfuls of blood. The magic that flows through my veins is rich and heavy. I heal my heart and leg, and still I drink. I feel so powerful right now. I close my eyes and drink my fill. I never want my well to be empty again. More blood must equal more power. Ciaran pulls the man from me and tosses him.

"Let's keep moving." He grabs my elbow, and we jog towards the tower. I feel so powerful. The magic from the blood zings through my veins. I have the great desire to run, or smash things, or. . . I stop jogging and hunch over. My breath comes rapidly, and my mouth fills with saliva. Ciaran jogs back to me. "Are you okay?"

I am not okay. I drank too much. I open my mouth to tell him so and vomit fresh red blood all over his pants and shoes. He jumps back and grimaces at me. "That's disgusting."

"I'm so sorry. I wanted to fill my well." I wipe the blood from my face.

"You know you can't metabolize it like we can. You can't drink that much." He shakes one of his boots off. "Disgusting."

We make it to the tower stairwell and step out onto the battlement. If watching someone's rib cage getting ripped out wasn't shocking, this surely is.

Selene soldiers aren't just attacking the castle; they're also sacking the city.

Dozens of buildings light up the night, fully engulfed in flames. People run through the streets and into the river, some fleeing in carriages. The House of Cards is merely a smoldering framework, and bodies lie in the streets, unmoving.

Above, groups of riders swoop through the air on their flying horses, releasing arrows on the city below. A small sob escapes my lips, and Ciaran turns to me.

"We didn't know where you were, just that Luc took you. We had to hit everywhere at once, so he wouldn't have time to dispatch you. Coming here to get you is an act of war. We had to strike hard."

All of this was for me. Ciaran grabs my elbow and places two fingers in his mouth, making a high-pitched whistle. Mads's horse hovers near the crenelations, and Eoin hops onto it behind Mads.

"I'll get you back to Selene. August has an artist waiting for you both with fallonite. He will melt it and ink you both for protection if you like. Then I must come back to help August." He dips his head towards the courtyard, where August engages three Helios soldiers on his own. He's doing alright, but I don't know how long that will last.

My heart plunges at the thought of something happening to him. He blasts fire at them, but one of them has a shield and blocks it. Ciaran whistles again and mutters. "Where the hell is he?"

The door behind us bursts open, and dozens of Helios soldiers file out, followed by Luc, who holds a bloody hand over his eye. He points with his free hand at me. "Stop her!"

Ciaran pushes me in front of himself and yells for me to run. The soldiers chase after us single-file.

Ciaran stops to face them and yells to me, "Run to the end and stand on the crenelation!" His sword meets the first soldier, and he shoulder-checks him over the wall.

I turn and run to the edge of the battlement, climbing up onto the crenelation, toes hanging just over the edge. My heart pounds in my ears as I look down upon the burning city and the four-story drop below.

Rapid, high-pitched whistling sounds behind me, and I turn to see Ciaran running full speed towards me, with a half dozen Helios soldiers right on his tail. Oh, gods, he's not going to stop. I turn around and brace for impact as he leaps into the air.

My heart stops, and the breath leaves my lungs as Ciaran's chest slams into my back. He grips me tightly to him as we fly over the edge of the castle wall and plummet. I let out a scream just as my butt slams onto horseback.

Ciaran's solid black horse lifts us back into the air. He grips me tightly to him and shifts us properly onto the saddle away from the horse's wings. He doesn't release his grip as we fly forward, faster and faster, toward the nearest arch gate.

"Ciaran!" I yell over the wind, whipping against my face.

"Hmm?" I feel the rumble of his chest against me more than actually hear his response.

"Did I curse him?" I look below at the burning city and castle—and at August—who is now quite literally the villain everyone thinks he is.

"There was no reasoning with him when it came to your rescue."

My heart breaks, and I start to shake. I did this to him. I cursed him for real.

August continues to obliterate anyone in his path with unmatched ferocity. Look at the monster I created.

No—it's me. I'm the monster. I'm a fucking danger to everyone around me. I can't be here. I need to fix this. There has to be a way to break the curse.

My eyes flit between Eoin on the flying horse in front of me and the rage-filled August in the retreating distance. I can't stay with them and risk putting everyone I care about in more danger. My dear friend already died for me. Fury burns away the deep, sorrowful ache in my belly as Lydia's face comes to mind. And Luc—perhaps he's a victim in this as well, but I can't help but hate him right now.

We land near an arch gate where two Selene soldiers await. Ciaran dismounts and as he reaches for me to help me down, his necklace glints in the moonlight. As my hands reach his chest, I allow my full weight to fall into him, knocking him back a couple steps. He grips me tightly and makes sure I'm steady before handing me off to one of the awaiting soldiers.

The other soldier prepares the arch gate, and wavering light ripples before us. I peer over my shoulder at Ciaran as he mounts his steed, hoping he doesn't notice his missing necklace. I grip his arch gate key tightly in my fist as I follow Eoin through the filament. As soon as I'm alone, I'll find my way to the secret gate I saw in the woods. I know how to get to a certain windmill in Mabon and then to the university. I don't know anyone there, and I don't know anything about breaking curses, but The Curses and Maladies wing feels like the place to start.

Razenna would be proud; thrilled that I'm finally standing on my own two feet. I'll do it for her—break this curse and return for my revenge.