watchers screeched and
three others flew wide in a sudden attack on me. I blasted them
from the air, hoping they’d not have time to feed off my power, and
Chevelle leapt over one and slammed into another, who had already
been rising. The few that were left had apparently been driven to
madness by their defeat, because they were frantically darting
around the room, high-pitched bird-like screams and hisses trailing
behind.
Steed began to drop stones from the ceiling,
which finally brought them low enough to be caught. Spitting venom
and cursing, they fought resembling cats, claws and all. At last,
the room was silent. I glanced around, incredulous at the
destruction. Pools of water and blood stood on the dismantled stone
floor, the furnishings were scattered shards of wood and metal.
Bits of wing littered the ground like so much confetti. My gaze
caught as it came across the strange pale scraps covering the floor
near the back wall where Rhys had stood. It appeared he’d found a
way to deal with the frost monsters. I felt a shiver and turned to
the others, who also seemed to be in various stages of shock and
post-combat unrest.
“ Steed, take Ruby to her
room. Bar the door.”
He snapped out of his stupor quick
enough.
“ Grey, Rhys, Rider, search
the castle. I don’t want to find any strays later by
accident.”
They didn’t waste any time either, which left
three of us alone.
I turned to Anvil. “How did they get here so
fast?”
He shook his head. “It isn’t impossible, but
they likely discovered your decision on the way.”
“ So, why were they
coming?”
“ To celebrate your return?”
he offered.
I scoffed.
“ It is possible he has heard
of the attempts.”
“ I agree.” I bit my lip,
considering. “See what you can find out.”
“ Indeed,” he said, touching
his fist to his chest.
Chevelle and I stared after him, remembering
the bloody battle and the proposal by Veil.
“ When this is over...” he
growled.
“ I know,” I answered. War .
Chapter Fourteen
Prisoner
For as long as I could remember, even during
those times I couldn’t remember, I’d had one thought, one
obsession: If I could just overcome this one insurmountable
obstacle, then things would be bearable.
But my whole life had been a series of those
hurdles, and each time I crossed one, each time I broke through a
barrier, there was nothing but another on the other side. A chasm,
a mountain, one more impossible challenge. As I stood there with
Chevelle, wanting only to right the council’s wrong, to avenge my
mother and my kingdom and be done with it, I could see nothing but
more problems on the horizon.
I pulled the necklace from my belt and stared
at the pendant beside my mother’s. It was a long spike, formed by
four smaller twisted strands. It was an odd sensation, as two of
the strands were cold, the other two warm, but I didn’t think it
was charmed as I’d feared at first. What had Veil meant by it?
There was no question the fey were tricksters, but they were clever
as well. This was no simple gift, but had he meant it for a
warning, or a promise? He’d seemed sincere in his proposal, though
he hadn’t given the pendant until I’d declined his offer.
I couldn’t blame Veil for the others, for all
that had happened, but I couldn’t entirely trust him either.
Between the lot of them, they’d invaded my home, insulted my
second, and attempted to steal my guard. And who knew what the ones
we hadn’t seen were doing.
I glanced at Chevelle who seemed to have his
anger under rein now. “We should probably help the others.”
He moved to place his hand at my lower back
as we started for the corridor, but stopped just short of touching
me. I pretended not to notice.
The halls were a quiet mess. The staff tended
to stay in their rooms during a fairy raid, so the corridors were
empty aside from the fabric, beads, broken furnishings, and
occasional foodstuffs scattering the floors. We came
three others flew wide in a sudden attack on me. I blasted them
from the air, hoping they’d not have time to feed off my power, and
Chevelle leapt over one and slammed into another, who had already
been rising. The few that were left had apparently been driven to
madness by their defeat, because they were frantically darting
around the room, high-pitched bird-like screams and hisses trailing
behind.
Steed began to drop stones from the ceiling,
which finally brought them low enough to be caught. Spitting venom
and cursing, they fought resembling cats, claws and all. At last,
the room was silent. I glanced around, incredulous at the
destruction. Pools of water and blood stood on the dismantled stone
floor, the furnishings were scattered shards of wood and metal.
Bits of wing littered the ground like so much confetti. My gaze
caught as it came across the strange pale scraps covering the floor
near the back wall where Rhys had stood. It appeared he’d found a
way to deal with the frost monsters. I felt a shiver and turned to
the others, who also seemed to be in various stages of shock and
post-combat unrest.
“ Steed, take Ruby to her
room. Bar the door.”
He snapped out of his stupor quick
enough.
“ Grey, Rhys, Rider, search
the castle. I don’t want to find any strays later by
accident.”
They didn’t waste any time either, which left
three of us alone.
I turned to Anvil. “How did they get here so
fast?”
He shook his head. “It isn’t impossible, but
they likely discovered your decision on the way.”
“ So, why were they
coming?”
“ To celebrate your return?”
he offered.
I scoffed.
“ It is possible he has heard
of the attempts.”
“ I agree.” I bit my lip,
considering. “See what you can find out.”
“ Indeed,” he said, touching
his fist to his chest.
Chevelle and I stared after him, remembering
the bloody battle and the proposal by Veil.
“ When this is over...” he
growled.
“ I know,” I answered. War .
Chapter Fourteen
Prisoner
For as long as I could remember, even during
those times I couldn’t remember, I’d had one thought, one
obsession: If I could just overcome this one insurmountable
obstacle, then things would be bearable.
But my whole life had been a series of those
hurdles, and each time I crossed one, each time I broke through a
barrier, there was nothing but another on the other side. A chasm,
a mountain, one more impossible challenge. As I stood there with
Chevelle, wanting only to right the council’s wrong, to avenge my
mother and my kingdom and be done with it, I could see nothing but
more problems on the horizon.
I pulled the necklace from my belt and stared
at the pendant beside my mother’s. It was a long spike, formed by
four smaller twisted strands. It was an odd sensation, as two of
the strands were cold, the other two warm, but I didn’t think it
was charmed as I’d feared at first. What had Veil meant by it?
There was no question the fey were tricksters, but they were clever
as well. This was no simple gift, but had he meant it for a
warning, or a promise? He’d seemed sincere in his proposal, though
he hadn’t given the pendant until I’d declined his offer.
I couldn’t blame Veil for the others, for all
that had happened, but I couldn’t entirely trust him either.
Between the lot of them, they’d invaded my home, insulted my
second, and attempted to steal my guard. And who knew what the ones
we hadn’t seen were doing.
I glanced at Chevelle who seemed to have his
anger under rein now. “We should probably help the others.”
He moved to place his hand at my lower back
as we started for the corridor, but stopped just short of touching
me. I pretended not to notice.
The halls were a quiet mess. The staff tended
to stay in their rooms during a fairy raid, so the corridors were
empty aside from the fabric, beads, broken furnishings, and
occasional foodstuffs scattering the floors. We came
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