Page 102 of Tainted Souls

“We will,” I said, and I turned to Dearen. “Let’s go.”

He nodded. No one objected, so Cari led us outside the room and back into the hallway. Dearen got ahead of me toward the end, and he conjured a door.

Cari seemed excited as she took a step outside. I tried to think about how many years she’d been trapped here and decided not to. It was hard even to think about.

“How will we turn back the monsters?” Kieran asked. “Will you use the well for that as well?”

“Are you sure you want to turn the monsters back, Dark Prince?” Cari asked without looking back as we started to climb up the stairs. “You can use them yourself to fight the queen.”

“No,” Kieran’s reply was quick. I appreciated it greatly. “We want to free the fae who have been trapped in the queen’s magic for so long. We cannot use them.”

Cari did not say anything out loud.

He’s an idiot, she said through our minds. A noble idiot, but an idiot nonetheless...

He is choosing to do the right thing, I told her. That’s not being an idiot... That is being kind and caring. He loves his subjects and wants them to...

The queen won’t play by your rules, Cari replied.

And we won’t play by hers, I replied.

“You didn’t respond to my question,” Kieran asked suspiciously.

We were about to reach the ground floor. As we climbed the stairs, Cari looked over her shoulder to speak.

“Yes,” she said. “I will use the well to turn back the monsters. Jasmine can help me too. We should be prepared to run. The queen will notice it as soon as we do it. She has a way of keeping tabs on me.”

Cari kept walking. She was leading us back into the room with the mirrors and doors. From there, we would go out the exit and reach the lake. She went under an archway and stood aside to let us into the mirror room.

I did not see them until I felt someone grabbing me by the arms.

I’m sorry, Cari said.

And it sounded like she meant it.

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