The only thing my eyes latched onto was the sight of Adley’s tear-stained face. That was all that mattered, not the woman across from her or the corpse at her feet. Anger burned in her eyes, but it was the person it was directed at that told me this Adley wasn’t an illusion.
Alexandria was smiling from where she stood in front of a great window overlooking the sea, clearly in some unnamed room of Dain’s castle. Her head was held high as she basked in Adley’s pain, which I didn’t know the cause of until I noticed the head of flaming hair fanned out across the floor.
For a moment, I thought I was seeing my mom again, which made me wonder why Adley was both crying and snarling in outrage.
Only when she gasped and turned her head in my direction did I realize it was my body I was looking at.
“Rachel—you’re alive!” Her hand flew up to cover her mouth.
When Alexandria noticed me, she tilted h
Cheers filled the air and the music that had been playing increased in volume. There were people dancing again, the crowd moving and churning instead of standing still. I looked at Adley and said, “…the closest door, that’s what we need to find.”Both of us looked around, which was difficult to do crouched low to the ground. Only a handful of people even noticed us, and simply glanced down disdainfully before returning to their conversations. Thankfully, most didn’t have a reason to look down.“The doors to the courtyard, they’re the closest.” Adley nodded her head in the direction of the doors. “We can hide behind their dresses until we get close enough to make a run for it.”“Sounds good to me. I’d rather save my energy for when Callum comes back.” I said darkly, refusing to wince when the image of my little brother flashed in my head.The two of us kept low and weaved in bet
We followed the curve of the room, forcing our way past people that tried to split us up. Whether it was on purpose or because everyone here was drunk didn’t matter, not when half a second apart could allow one of us to slip away. More than once I had to use my magic to separate the crowd. A simple wave of my hand had people stumbling backwards, moved by an invisible wall that kept them away.Just when we began to draw serious attention to ourselves, I found the escort with the missing button and the corridor he stood in front of. He stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak when two men in crisp looking suits pushed through the crowd. Both had blank expressions on their face as they charged our way.Without wasting any time Adley and I made a mad dash for the corridor. At the last second, I paused before running inside and faced the two men. Thrusting my hand out with my palm flat, I let out a blast of magic that sliced through the air.It hit the fir
“Adley…” I spoke soft and slow, like I were coaxing a wounded animal from its den. “…I need you to come over here, now.”I begged her to listen with my eyes, but my attention kept straying to Ally. She was twitching beneath her veil of knotted hair, whimpering softly. My heart threatened to seize in my chest when I took a step in her direction and Adley’s stance turned defensive.“What—Rachel, no. We can’t…I can’t—” Her voice cracked like thin porcelain.It wasn’t weakness in Adley’s eyes but a slew of emotions that proved the sheer strength she possessed. Horror and anguish made the bright blue’s pale like brittle ice, while the stubborn refusal to leave her sister behind was a fire that glowed warm beneath it all.Ally began to say something under her breath, but her voice was wet and raspy. Adley jumped into action, unafraid as she reached
The weapon of light I held in my hand sputtered out, and for a long moment we stared at one another. Our eyes conveyed everything words couldn’t. Every agonizing emotion we felt was on display, along with the flimsy excuses we told ourselves to cover the bitter, ugly truth of it all.I murdered her sister, her twin. We came here to rescue Ally and failed.Blame and agony were the storm clouds that rolled across her eyes, leeching the blue from the horizon until her iris’s turned a flat grey. There was something different about her, something that changed when Ally’s body melted into the iridescent stars that now hung in the night sky.It could’ve easily been a mixture of shock and grief, but a feeling in my gut told me it might be something more.My brain was running on overdrive, taking in every detail, yet I it couldn’t find the words to say. I wanted to snarl and throw myself out the window a second time when an a
Thirteen tunnels circled the room with flickering torches in between. Choosing from them was going to be a problem, but that wasn’t the only one we’d have to face before getting the hell out of here. Each tunnel was incredibly narrow and would only fit the three of us if we went in a single-file line. The thought of being trapped while Callum, Nadia, or any one of their creatures raced for us made me feel a bit light-headed.What made matters worse was using any sort of fire power in such a confined space could hurt Adley or Apollo.Apollo stood at the very center of the cavern, a hand on his chin as he stared down each dark tunnel. Adley on the other hand walked the circumference of the room. As I paid more attention to her I realized her eyes were going blank every so often. It happened right when she’d pass a tunnel, though for some they remained normal.“This one.” Her voice bounced off the smooth walls, and she came to a stop i
“Now, now. We don’t want boy toy to get hurt, do we?” Alexandria cooed; her blood-red lips forming a perfect heart on her face.To prove a point she brought the blade up and nicked his cheek. A thin trail of blood ran down the side of his face, through the stubble that appeared to be freshly shaved. I hadn’t even realized I’d been snarling until she giggled and shook her head.Through it all, Aidan’s eyes remained blank.“What did you do to him?” I would’ve been surprised at how guttural my voice sounded if she hadn’t brought the blade back to his throat.She feigned confusion and used her free hand to tug his head back. “Oh, that. It’s just a little enchantment to keep him cool as a cucumber while we chat.”“After what you did to Ally, the only conversation we’re going to have is the one where you beg for your life.” I would’ve made an at
Alexandria had no qualms about releasing Aeacus, who seemed not to hear Adley’s ominous warning of his death and instead chose to lunge for her throat a second time.The glint of a bronze-colored blade flashed in my peripherals, and I stepped back in time to miss getting clipped by its massive hilt as Apollo intercepted his brother. I thought for sure Adley’s warning was going to come true when a loud clang filled the air.Apollo’s sword slammed into the spear that magically appeared in Aeacus’s hand. Sparks erupted where the two weapons met, but both men held their stances.Its body was crafted from the same bronzed metal as Apollo’s sword and was topped with a wavy-edged blade whose tip rested an inch from Adley’s throat.She didn’t move a muscle, nor did she take her eyes off Alexandria. I wondered if she had seen it coming, if that was why she hadn’t so much as flinched when Aeacus swung the blade at her
I wiped the vomit from my mouth but turned to heave again when Apollo lifted his brother’s severed head off the floor by his mane of bronze hair. There was a hideously disturbing splat, much too loud to be blood alone, as something wet hit the floor.“Do you really need to take his head with you, Apollo?” I asked after spitting and wiping my mouth for the second time.The question was supposed to be laced with venom, but instead I sounded almost afraid. His behavior was a bit odd, but it’s not like there were guidelines for keeping your shit together after beheading your own flesh and blood. Plus, he and Aeacus seemed to have some serious issues.Apollo cocked one of his sculpted eyebrows at me, like I was the one being difficult. There wasn’t a shred of regret or shame within his eyes, not that there should be, but I expected something substantial.This couldn’t possibly be it.‘