Page 56 of The Curse and the Silver Rose

She gazed at the sword in wonder. The symbols on the blade shimmered and a current passed over it, like the ocean tide. Nothing remained of the raider except for a dark, watery stain.

Laughing in amazement and disbelief, she leaped from the bed. She would not die just yet. Armed with the Sirenstone and fresh hope, she set off to find Davron.

CHAPTER 24

An eery silence cloaked the castle.

Amelie sheathed the silver rose before leaving Davron’s chambers. The Sirensong would alert raiders to her location, if it hadn’t already. The quietness unnerved her. Davron would’ve come to find her if he was able.

The castle was enormous though, she reasoned. He might still be fighting the invaders in another wing.

Unlike when she fled the raider, she now walked with slow deliberation. At every corner, she paused to listen and only proceeded when she heard no footsteps, voices, or scuffling. She headed toward the last place she saw Davron, in one of the gallery alcoves near the Great Hall.

The first raider she encountered was dead. He was slumped upside down on the white marble staircase, the six parallel gashes on his chest bleeding profusely. Another two bodies lay in the next hallway. She stepped around them, grimacing at their injuries. A candlestick protruded from the skull of one, and the other man lay at strange, impossible angles. His eyes were missing, dashed out by something jagged.

An echoing bellow reached her from ahead.

Davron. He was alive.

Willing him to guide her to him, because the candles on the wall were not, she ran through the corridors with her rose in hand. The shouts of other men became audible.

Several more bodies littered the floor, and she used them like gory breadcrumbs to find Davron. The shouts became the loudest when she approached the Great Hall. The main fight was happening inside.

She stood in the doorway, panting. The hall where she had first come face-to-face with Davron was now in violent disarray. The table and chairs were upended, and a man lay groaning and bleeding near Amelie. Davron fought nearly a dozen raiders in the center of the room. Arrows were embedded in his back and shoulders, and his sharp, silver-white claws were out.

A raider swung a sword at Davron, who dodged the blade and swept the raider up with one hand. He threw the raider at the stone wall with incredible force, the raider’s body making a sickening crunch. The man fell to the floor in a lifeless heap.

At that moment, Davron looked up, as if sensing her. Their eyes met and his face transformed from rage into horror. One of the raiders noticed the exchange and turned to spot Amelie standing in the archway.

The raider ran for her without a backward glance. Davron lunged at him, but three other raiders tackled him. He roared and straightened up, when another man sank a knife into his thigh. Every raider attacked him, except for the one running toward Amelie.

“If you touch her, I will tear your limbs from your body!” roared Davron.

Trembling with anticipation and terror, Amelie unsheathed the Sirenstone sword when the raider was just paces away. He flinched from the sound, but kept running. As he lunged for her, she ducked and wove around him like Raphael had taught her.

Before the raider could regain his balance, Amelie plunged the blue blade into his back. His body locked up, turning blue. In the chaos, she did not realize another raider had ambushed her from the alcoves until he slammed his body into her.

She landed hard on the stone floor, winded. As she gasped for breath, she stared into the face of the raider she’d stabbed with the Sirenstone. His blackened eyes blinked unseeingly, water gushing from his mouth and nose. Finally, he exploded into water.

The silver rose clattered to the ground in a pool of seawater. The blue blade had vanished when Amelie let go of the stem, and the Sirensong with it. Before she could reach for it, the raider who’d ambushed her began dragging her by the arm.

He took her back out into the hallway, pushing her up against the wall. The candles on either side of her head fluttered wildly, as if mirroring the terror within her. The raider wrapped his hands around her throat and squeezed, a manic gleam lighting his paunchy face.

Amelie tried to punch and kick, but she was too weak from being knocked over to hurt him. Her lungs felt like they were on fire as she struggled for air. She dug her fingernails into his wrists and scratched him while her vision faded to white.

Her hearing became distorted, like everything was happening in slow motion. Then, her body began to go numb. The last thing she felt was her hands dropping uselessly at her sides. She was dying, she realized.

Vaguely, she registered being swept sideways and then falling. Was this death? Fuzzy shapes moved around in front of her and she blinked. The feeling started returning to her chest, making her cough. Fighting the urge to vomit, she attempted to push herself up but could not gain purchase on the stone floor.

Her vision and hearing returned in full just in time to witness Davron making good on his promise to tear off the raider’s arms and legs. For an awful moment, the man remained alive without his four limbs, his high-pitched scream piercing Amelie’s hazy consciousness like a dart. With both of his hands, Davron crushed the man’s skull as if he were crumpling a piece of paper. He tossed aside the body.

Davron bent and scooped up Amelie, carrying her into the Great Hall. A handful of raiders attacked him, buffeting her as he held her high. With a grunt, he batted the men away for long enough to open the hearth door to the drawing room. He set Amelie on the lounge and placed the silver rose in her hand. Before she could focus her vision on him properly, he left, slamming the door behind him.

She slumped on the lounge, willing sensation back into her body and thoughts into her mind. Muffled screams and thuds came from outside. The noise continued until one huge crash was followed by silence.

Amelie tried to move, in case Davron was dead and she would need to defend herself. The silver rose felt sticky in her hand. It was only then she realized it was drenched with blood, as was much of herself and her dress. Sitting up, the room lurched. How badly had the raider injured her? She was alive, at least. But was Davron?

The door opened and he walked through, making her dizzy with relief. She collapsed into the soft cushions of the lounge, unable to hold herself up. He stood over her, breathing hard, covered in blood. He’d yanked the arrows out of his flesh, the puncture wounds seeping. His claws had retracted, and he seemed determined to avoid eye contact with Amelie.

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