Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

A maros scans the room for danger before turning to me. “Get back to the castle and lock yourself in your quarters. Now,” he demands and disappears through the crowd.

I frantically search for Lacinda and spot her with Demetros. With our academy training, I know they’ll be safe.

Angels scatter in all directions as I push through the crowd and make my way outside. Screams cut through the still night air as I release my wings and take off. I’m aware that danger could be nearby, so I don’t fly too high.

It’s dark out, and the various lamps dotted along the pathways below don’t help much, particularly from up here. I contemplate whether it would be safer to land and take the rest of the way back to the castle by foot. It’s about a ten-minute run to get back to my castle, and I could probably do it in seven. After a few moments’ pause, I swoop down to ground level.

Regardless of who is attacking our Kingdom, I’m safer at ground level where I can better use and control my powers. I slip off my heels and sprint along the grass on the side of the gravel pathway. The lighting is along the opposite side of the path, so this is my safer bet where I can hide within the cover of darkness.

Sweat drips down my temples, and I wipe it with the back of my hand as I approach the gates of the perimeter of the castle. I slow to a stop, checking my surroundings before I approach the gates. Of course they’re locked. I release my wings and fly over them, and then I land with a gentle thud on the gravel and continue to run.

Our castle sits within its own privately gated zone, and outside of that are the surrounding manors of the high-class angel families. An exterior perimeter surrounds those manors. The exterior perimeter gates are a few miles from our castle and border the area surrounding the manors of the high-class angel families. It’s a sort of gated community, I suppose you would call it, to keep us safe from exterior threats within the Kingdom. My father always says we need further protection and wants an invisible shield of magic erected above the gates and fences that border the outer perimeter.

I imagine this situation is cause to see that idea through.

I scan the sky, but can’t make out much in the darkness. A cool, gentle breeze brushes against my skin, and I shiver, instantly regretting the dress I have chosen as it blows up around me while I run. Voices sound in the skies above, and I take cover up against a nearby tree. The voices are definitely male, but I can’t make out if they’re familiar or not.

I stay put. It isn’t worth the risk to check. After a few minutes, it’s quiet again, and I carry on. I’m almost at the castle gates when two large males land before me, and I skid to a stop, almost toppling over. The gold symbols on their invisible wings glow in the darkness. Watchers.

“The King’s daughter,” one of them snarls.

The other one eyes me before speaking. “You’re the one who killed three of our kind down on Earth.”

I furrow my brows, remembering. “They attacked us, unprovoked. I had no choice.”

He laughs. “I wonder if you could take me.”

I brace myself for a fight as the large male watcher removes his cloak and tosses it aside to reveal broad shoulders and muscular arms. Markings are dotted across his skin, the markings of the watchers. The academy taught us they receive those markings when they become a watcher, that the markings signify their loyalty to uphold the ancient angel laws.

So much for that.

He moves toward me, his fists balled at his sides. He doesn’t bother with a weapon, and fear creeps up inside me at the thought of his skills to warrant not using one. This male must be strong. Watchers don’t have powers, though, and maybe he underestimates mine. I make the first move, taking him off guard and landing a firm kick to his thigh. He barely flinches, his smirk widening.

I back up, trying to hold my ground, but failing miserably. I reach my hands out, but my powers do not come. My hands tremble as I stare down at them and give them a shake. Why isn’t it working? I glance up as he reaches out and grabs me by my throat, lifting me into the air. I claw at his hands, but his grip only tightens.

My vision blurs, and I wonder if this is it, if this is where I die. A figure darts across the ground, and the watcher holding me releases me. I fall onto the rough gravel and gasp for air as I search my surroundings. What in gods was that? And then Demetros swoops down on top of the watcher, plunging his sword into the watcher’s back.

The other watcher moves towards him as I climb to my feet. Demetros raises his hand to instruct me to stay back. But the anger building inside me is too strong. My body shakes, and I can no longer control myself. I grit my teeth as I raise my hands, my powers surging out of me in bright white tendrils. I throw Demetros to the side as my power surges forward and into the watcher, lifting him into the air. He screams as I twist his body and throw him to the ground.

I take several deep breaths to calm myself, and I hear someone calling my name. I blink a few times until Demetros comes into focus. He’s sitting on the ground, cradling his arm. I hurry to his side and see his arm is bent at an unnatural angle.

“Demetros!”

He winces. “I’m okay. How did you do that? That was incredible.”

I instinctively reach out and take his arm, despite his protests. White light bursts out of my hands and flows into him. His arm straightens and his body relaxes. His eyes find mine, and we stare at one another. I can sense his curiosity, his questions, before he says a word.

“Zarla, that was insane. How— I mean, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

I stand, stretching out a hand to help him up. He cautiously takes it, surprised when he feels no pain.

“I need to get back to my castle. I have to check on my father. Where’s Lacinda?”

He moves his arm around, checking if it is in fact healed. “She’s safe. She’s at my manor.”

I nod. “Thank you for saving me. I’m still getting used to my powers. If you hadn’t come?—”

He takes my hand. “Don’t. Don’t even say it. We were both lucky. And I’m happy for you that your powers have come.”

I give him a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks. I need to go. Please make sure Lacinda is okay?”

He hesitates for a moment before taking off into the night sky. He knows I can take care of myself, and right now, he is needed elsewhere. I close my eyes and tune into my bond with Kyle, sensing his calm mood. He is safe. I fear if the watchers tried to attack him before, perhaps this is a distraction to do it again.

Finlay, the Kingdom is being attacked by watchers. Kyle seems okay, but is everything all right down there?

I release my wings and head for my castle as I await Finlay’s response.

What? What is with these watchers? Everything is fine down here. You okay?

Yeah, I’m good. I’ve got to focus. I’ll check in again soon.

Be careful, he replies.

Within minutes, I land on the gravel outside the main entrance. It’s eerily silent as I slowly make my way inside. The scent of death fills my nose when I open the door, and I immediately spot two dead guards.

My stomach turns as I take in the scene. I squeeze my eyes closed for a moment and pray to the gods that my father is all right, then make my way through the corridor toward his quarters. I know Amaros instructed me to get back to my quarters, but there’s no way I’m going to do that. My father may need me.

Muffled voices cut through the air up ahead, and I move to hide around the corner.

“She’s got to be around here somewhere. Find her.” A powerful male’s voice echoes though the corridor.

The hairs rise on the back of my neck. Are they looking for me? My mind races as I try to think of a plan, a way out of this, but I come up empty-handed. I reach for my mother’s locket, imagining what she would have done in a situation such as this. Warmth surges through my body, and I know she is with me.

She would fight. She would stop at nothing to protect her family. And I will do the same.

I step out from behind the wall and come face-to-face with a group of watchers. There are six of them, all large males, as all watchers are, and the one in front, clearly the leader, eyes my locket. He whispers to the other watchers, and then three of them step around him and move toward me. They all unsheathe their swords, ready to fight.

I swallow the lump forming in my throat. You can do this. You’ve got this.

Got what? a voice asks back. Finlay.

Not now! I warn him.

The watchers move apart, clearly a plan to distract and confuse me, but I know what to do.

Zarla!

Shhh! I am about to get into a fight with a bunch of watchers. Now is not the time! I need to focus.

Gods above, Zarla! I’m coming.

I let out a frustrated grunt. Don’t you dare. Your job is to protect Kyle. I can handle it.

The watcher to my left makes a move, rushing at me, but I am prepared. I duck out of the way and kick him in the back, sending him flying headfirst into the stone wall. That’s one down. That wasn’t so hard.

Fine, but you better tune in and tell me you’re okay, or I’m coming.

Fine , I hiss through the mind link.

The second watcher sees an opportunity and shoves me into the wall, pinning me with his body. He holds his sword to my neck, his breath warm against my cheek.

“Where’s the King?” he demands.

I struggle against his grip but manage to headbutt him, followed by an elbow to his cheek. He stumbles back and grits his teeth at me. His gaze drops to my locket again, and he looks to the other watchers.

“What are you waiting for? Take it!” the leader instructs him.

They want my mother’s locket? The same anger as before builds within me and my body shakes. I struggle to steady my breathing, but again, it’s as if I am no longer in control. The watcher rushes forward and reaches out to grab my locket, but curses as he makes contact and yanks his hand back. Something about this locket is important. I’m not sure what, but I’m going to protect it with my life.

My powers burst out through my hands and blast into the watcher, sending him flying back into the others. They dodge him as he falls to the ground in a broken heap. Their eyes widen before the leader sends the other three watchers to attack, but I use my powers to blast them up into the stone ceiling, and they all fall to the floor.

The last remaining watcher, the leader, glares at me through dark eyes. He slowly removes the hood of his cloak, revealing a shaven head with a strip of blond hair running down the centre. He looks deadly. His lips curl up at the side as if he knows he has won already.

“I must admit, you’re more than I expected you to be. You’re not just a sweet little angel, are you? Now how about you give me that locket,” he says, pointing to it, “and I’ll be on my way. Hell, I’ll even let you live.”

I reach for my mother’s locket and twist it in my fingers. “Here’s an idea. How about you leave now, and I’ll let you live?”

The corners of his mouth twitch, and he clasps his hands together as a deep laugh rumbles up out of his chest. “You are quite something. I can understand his desire for you.”

My brows knit together at his words, and he charges at me, using the distraction to his advantage. I attempt to move out of the way, but my movement comes too late as he shoves me back into the wall. I hit my head hard and fall down onto the cold stone floor. My vision blurs as he hovers over me, removing his sword from its holster. He crouches down next to me and holds it close to my neck.

The tip of the blade pricks my skin, and warmth drips down my neck.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to take your life, but that was not the deal I made, and I am a male true to my word.” He reaches out with a gloved hand toward my mother’s locket and yanks it from my neck.

Everything within me wants to stop him, but I’m too dizzy to think straight. A puddle of warm liquid is pooling beneath my head. Am I bleeding?

Zarla? What’s going on?

I try to blank out Finlay’s annoying voice in my head as I focus on the watcher before me. He tucks my mother’s locket into his cloak pocket and gets to his feet.

“Take care, little angel,” he says before turning and walking away.

I blink, trying to refocus my mind when Amaros swoop in and slams his fist into the watcher’s face. He stumbles back, his eyes growing dark, before Amaros plunges his sword into the watcher’s stomach.

White spots dance across my vision while Amaros removes the locket from the watcher’s pocket before he falls face first into to the ground. His eyes lock with mine, and he rushes toward me as everything goes black.

“Zarla?” The male’s voice is laced with concern. A voice I would recognise anywhere.

I slowly open my eyes and my father’s face comes into focus.

He brushes a rough hand across my forehead, the warmth from his touch soothing me like it always did when I was young. I scan the room, realising I’m in my own quarters, not with the healers. I sit up, and my father positions a few pillows behind my back.

“You’re okay,” I say, my voice hoarse.

He takes my hand. “Yes, I am fine. It seems someone took care of most of the watchers before they could find me.” He eyes me with a knowing look.

I remember the watchers I encountered in the hallway and reach behind my head. My hair is sticky and knotted, but my head doesn’t hurt. So that’s a plus.

“Amaros took you to the healers, but once you arrived, you were already healing yourself. He covered for you and suggested taking you back to your quarters instead.”

I remember how Amaros swooped in and killed the last watcher, the one who took my mother’s locket. I instinctively reach for my locket, feeling the bare skin where it would usually sit. Fear creeps into my chest at the thought of not having it. My father doesn’t yet know I have the locket, and for some unknown reason, I feel the need to keep it from him.

There’s a knock at the door, and my father moves across the room to open it. Amaros steps into view and nods to my father, who allows him to enter.

“I’ll give you a moment,” my father says and leaves us alone, closing the door behind him.

Amaros stands at the door for a moment before crossing the room toward me.

“Hi,” I say.

Something flashes in his eyes, as if he is battling an inner torment. “I’m glad to see you’re all right. But why didn’t you listen to me? I told you to get back to your quarters.”

I glance down, a little taken aback at his harsh tone. He has every right to be pissed. I ignored his command, but if I hadn’t, my father could well have been the one to end up injured, or worse, killed. They seemed awfully interested in my mother’s locket.

Before the words leave my mouth, Amaros reaches into his pocket and pulls out my mother’s locket. I stare at it, so happy to see it is safe.

“May I?” he asks, holding it up. “I fixed the clasp.”

I nod, and he sits on the bed next to me. I bend forward a little and lift my hair out of the way as he gently fastens the locket around my neck. His face hovers close to mine for a moment before he pulls back again.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

He opens his mouth to speak when the door bursts open, and Finlay enters my quarters. Amaros is off my bed in a flash and moving into position to protect me.

Finlay holds his hands up in the air. “I’m sorry, but you left me with no choice.”

I close my eyes for a moment and shake my head. “What are you doing here?”

Amaros looks back at me, and I nod. He hesitates before he leaves me and Finlay alone. There’s something strange going on with Amaros. He isn’t acting himself.

Finlay moves towards me and sits on the end of my bed.

“Remember our little mind link? Yeah, well, I have been trying to connect with you for hours. You left me no choice but to come back here to check that you’re all right.”

Crap, I completely forgot about that. “I’m sorry, but I’m okay, see?”

He shakes his head at me. “Zarla, do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? I knew you would kill me if I left Kyle, but I had no choice.” He raises a hand to stop me from interrupting. “Kyle’s fine. He’s with two other seconds.”

My heart pounds as I sit up straighter in bed. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t have much choice. I was unconscious.”

His eyes widen. “What happened?”

I reach for the glass of water next to my bed and take a long sip. “A group of watchers attacked the castle. I fought some of them myself. One caught me off guard, and he took my locket. He didn’t kill me, but Amaros showed up and killed him.”

Finlay cracks his fingers as he takes in what I have just said. He gets to his feet and paces the room. “That is insane. You could’ve been killed. And what locket?”

“This one,” I say, holding it up. “It was my mother’s.”

He walks towards me. “How did you get it back?”

“Amaros got it back for me. I don’t know what they wanted with it, but that’s one of the reasons why they were here. I’m sure of it.”

He runs a hand through his hair and lets out a long breath. “This is crazy. The watchers are only supposed to intervene when we break angel law. Why are they doing this?”

I twirl my mother’s locket in my fingers and open it, and then I study the image inside of me and my mother. I replay the words the watcher said: “I wouldn’t hesitate to take your life, but that was not the deal I made, and I am a male true to my word.”

A deal had been made, but for what, and between whom?

“I don’t know,” I say, “but I’m going to find out.”