Page 112 of The Kingdom Cursed By Iron

Of course, I know these fae don’t give a damn about my father’s well-being. There’s not a chance in the world that they actually intend to let me go home. But if they wanted to distract and upset me, then they’ve definitely succeeded.

“Ignore them, Eleanor,” Ruskin says. “Your father will be okay.”

I don’t even know if we’ll be okay, but hearing his voice reminds me that at least I have more control over that. I can sense Ruskin and Destan some feet behind me, probably reluctant to do anything when I have a blade at my back, but I don’t have the same qualms.

I yank at the tip of that blade with my magic, dragging it away from me. There’s a surprised curse from the fae behind me.

“I told you to watch for her magic!” Evanthe shouts as several more fae level their weapons at me. Ruskin seizes the moment to throw a wide net of magic, roots erupting from the earth and snatching at the gathered fae. They shout and scatter, the Wild Hunt’s horses bucking with alarm.

Strong hands grab me, and I find Ruskin behind me, having abandoned his horse to reach me faster in the chaos.

“Listen,” Ruskin says, speaking rapidly. “You are the most important person to her. Without you, she can’t become High Queen. You need to run.”

“We need to run,” I correct him. “…Right?” Surely he knows that I’m not going anywhere without him.

A huge tree trunk suddenly rises up from the ground between us, sending Vanis, who’d been charging at us, flying.

“I need to stay and give you time to get away.”

“No.” I hate the idea of us separating—of him putting himself in the line of fire while I flee.

“Do it for the court, for Halima,” he says. “Continue with the original plan. Go to Lisinder with Destan and ask for help.”

I want to argue, but then I look around, really taking in the chaos around us. The Hunt and Evanthe’s other followers are already hacking away at Ruskin’s trees and branches, cutting them back and starting to surround us. I can’t immediately see Evanthe, but I know she’s here somewhere. We’re outnumbered, and I know I have to make a snap decision. If I wait too long, our chance to get away could disappear. And then Halima’s death would be for nothing.

I won’t let that happen.

With my heart in my throat, I nod to Ruskin, just as I also spot Evanthe approaching from over his shoulder, spinning a curse in her hands.

“Evanthe on your left,” I warn. “And I love you.”

“I love you too,” Ruskin replies, before spinning to face his mother. At the same time a wall of trees shoots up between us, hiding me from view, and I feel like he’s enclosed my heart in a dark forest of its own, separating me from the sun. I search around for Destan, only to see him still mounted, battling with Lady Rivera. She spins her blade around and swipes at the legs of his horse. The poor animal screams and falls, nearly crushing Destan as it rolls onto its side. Luckily, my friend is nimble, and he leaps free of the animal. In the meantime, I concentrate on Rivera’s blade, her amber eyes flashing with confusion as I yank it from her grasp and turn it on her so that it pierces her arm. She screams in pain, and I sprint towards Destan, helping him up from the ground.

“Run!”

While Rivera focuses on extracting the sword from her arm, we sprint for a copse of trees not far from the lakeside. We fling ourselves down among the cover of the leaves, scanning the road behind us. Evanthe’s followers are mostly scattered around the lakeside, Ruskin’s twisting roots still giving them trouble. I can see Lady Rivera is now looking for us, ignoring the gash streaming blood down her arm.

“We’ve got some cover here until that ridge,” I say, searching behind us, pointing to where the track starts to rise up, ascending towards the mountains.

“What about Ruskin?” Destan asks.

“He told us to go ahead. He’s gone after Evanthe.”

“Is he insane?” Destan asks. He looks nauseous.

“He’s doing it so we can get out. So we can reach the Unseelie Court,” I say. I wonder if I keep repeating Ruskin’s argument if I’ll start feeling better about leaving him.

We stay low, running through the sparse tree cover and up the slope. I can hear the sounds of magic fizzing and exploding behind me, and once we’re above the tree line, I can’t resist looking back.

Down below us, I can make out the two figures of Ruskin and Evanthe, exchanging magic in a storm of splinters and smoke. I wonder for a moment why Evanthe isn’t using her iron shoots, but then we’re so far from the Seelie Court, maybe she can’t reach them. Or maybe she’s not ready to let her followers know she’s behind the eruptions yet. At this moment they hang back as Ruskin and Evanthe fight by the lakeside, seeming unsure whether to intervene.

Being all the way out here means Ruskin has an advantage, his High King magic still strong on this ground. But my heart still rises up into my throat as I watch him wrap Evanthe in so many vines she struggles to get free. When they see that, several fae dart forward towards her to free her. Ruskin seems to realize he needs to keep Evanthe separate from her allies, because the vines start dragging her towards the lake. Ripples form on its surface, and I wonder what he’s planning.

Then something goes wrong. The vines around Evanthe explode in a cloud of black shadows, enveloping her and Ruskin. It billows across the lakeside, obscuring them and the edge of the water from our view. Only then does the sound of the explosion reach us, a rolling boom like thunder.

The fumes of the spell clear. Evanthe and Ruskin are gone.

“Ruskin,” I whisper, shock making my body go rigid.

I frantically search the lakeside, sure my eyes have just missed them. But there’s no sign of either one. It’s like they’ve been wiped from the face of the earth. I squint, seeing that there’s something odd about one section of the shore, but I can’t quite make out what.

“Eleanor,” Destan says, his voice strained. “Eleanor, we have to go.” He tugs on my arm, and it pulls me back to myself. I look down and see the figure of Rivera—easily identifiable with her red hair—pointing with her sword in our direction.

We’ve been spotted, and the Hunt start gathering their horses together, heading towards us.

I feel like I can’t breathe, like the air around me is too thick to take in, yet the memory of Ruskin’s voice rings clearly in my head. We need to get to the Unseelie Court. We need to run.

I turn and begin to sprint up the mountain path with Destan, the Hunt hot on our tail.

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