Page 117 of Oath of Rebellion

One of the Robins, Ashur, pointed up and yelled at another one, Will. She followed their gaze and clenched her jaw. Thanks to her sharpened senses, she could see perfectly fine even at this distance.

Knox fought with the king on the balcony above. Her blood ran cold, and her heart raced. She'd been a prisoner of that madman for days. Knox was strong, but he couldn't defeat the strongest mage in the kingdom by himself.

She raced past the two big Robins and yelled, "That's Knox. We have to help him."

She made directly for the closest door, but one of them yelled back, "This way."

Scarlet turned and followed behind them, swinging the sword and slicing open the throat of one of the guard officers.

His hand went to his neck as he gasped. Sticky blood seeped between his fingers. Scarlet ran past him before he even hit the ground.

She followed the two men, barely panting. "Do you know where we're going?"

Will looked back at her then took off down a hallway. "You'd best stay on guard down here. We'll help Knox."

"Knox can handle himself. He said to save the queen, if she'll let us," Ashur said as they entered the large foyer.

A scream echoed off the walls, "No!"

Together, they sprinted up the grand staircase to the third floor. When they rounded the landing, they saw movement in the ballroom. They ran through the open doors, the two men falling behind her as she sprinted.

Knox was on top of the king on the edge of the balcony, landing blow after blow and stabbing with his tail. Magic shimmered as the queen reached out her hand and cried out.

Scarlet changed course and ran to Bella. She couldn't let the queen hurt Knox either; he was handling himself at the moment. The queen saw Scarlet coming out of the corner of her eye, stepping back and facing her.

Her glowing hands flew up, and a shockwave of magic blasted the air. Scarlet jumped, but the Robins behind her were too slow, their boots sticking in the melted tile.

The blast slammed into Knox and sent him over the side of the railing.

"No!" Scarlet cried, racing to the edge. Frantically, her eyes searched the ground, but she didn't see him splattered below. Her heart raced too fast and she started to panic.

A motion to her right had her turn. The princess had swirling magical wings of brilliant colors, her arms wrapped around Knox as they crashed into a nearby roof. They rolled but came to a stop on the edge.

Scarlet took a deep breath of relief, but the queen cried out behind her.

"No, no, no, no, no. You're alright. Come on, my love. Let's get you a nice healing potion, yes?"

Scarlet turned to see the queen kneeling beside the king, reaching out to help him sit up. He held his head, eyes glassy and dazed. One eye was already swelling shut and blood dripped from his nose.

The king jerked back with a hiss. "Get off me, hag."

The queen gasped and scrambled to her feet, following the king as he stumbled to the door of the ballroom. Ashur and Will still struggled with their boots melted into the tile, but Scarlet followed the royals on silent feet.

"Scarlet, no, wait for us," Ashur whispered.

Her heart raced with adrenaline, her eyes on the couple as they went through the ballroom. Seeing no response at the whisper, she motioned for them to stand down.

Will was unlacing his shoes while Ashur still struggled. Scarlet stayed in the ballroom shadows, waiting for the couple to leave. Then she sprinted along the wall to see which way they were going.

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The queen hovered a step behind Gastone, her hands raised just in case she needed to catch him. He swayed on the stairs, and her stomach twisted. "Gastone, please, let me help. There's a healing potion in–"

"No," he yelled, turning to her on the stairs and stumbling like a drunkard. "You can't help. There's only one thing that can help me now."

"What? How can I fix it?" Bella cried. The sconces on the stairwell flickered in between each of his mounted trophies, light shifting with magic as she walked by. The cries of cowering servants below were ignored.

She paid no heed, her only focus on Gastone.

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