Page 76 of The Throne's Undoing

And like a moth to a flame, Kallie fell into them as a scream ripped through her throat. But Kallie knew no matter how loud she screamed, no one would rescue her.

Chapter 24

GRAESON

Graeson slid around the corner,his hand scraping the wall as his feet skidded across the corridor. He slammed into several guards, handmaidens, and bystanders as he dashed along, his heart racing and sweat trickling down his back.

He would not stop until he reached Kalisandre. Not until he saved her from whatever insanity Cetia and Ellie were performing.

When Graeson realized what the Tetrians and his friends planned to do, rage overtook him and unleashed the god within. The iron bars of his cell bent within his grasp, his inhuman strength fueled by anger breaking them apart.

As his friends screamed and shouted, Graeson did not stop.

He didn't care what they did to him. Nothing would prevent him from reaching Kalisandre.

He noticed nothing. He heard nothing.

He cared aboutnothingbesides getting to her before they tore her mind out and destroyed her.

Did they even know how dangerous it was to mess with one's mind? Did they understand the consequences or the damage they could cause?

Kalisandre had never agreed to this level of invasion.Never.

But did the others care? No.

His friends, this queendom, they only cared about the greater good. But Kalisandre deserved more.

As if an invisible string connected his soul to Kalisandre's, he let his instincts guide him through the halls.

More and more guards littered the harrowing corridors the deeper he ventured.

Graeson was close, though. He knew it in his heart.

When he turned a corner and saw the queen's warriors standing guard, their hands folded behind their backs, his stomach lurched.

He sprinted forward. This was it.

One after another, the guards' attention quickly turned to him, their confused expressions turning into fear as they grabbed their weapons. But their blades would not stop him.

The god shouted at him in protest, but Graeson ignored his slur of angry words and shoved him back.

This was Graeson's task to do, and his alone.

The guards' eyes widened as they stepped before the door and shifted their stances. One of the guards held up a hand, her sword hanging low.

Graeson barreled forward, his mind consumed with thoughts of saving Kalisandre.

The shouts of the guards were brushed aside, and something within him stirred, the god's shouts becoming louder.

But Graeson's desperation clouded his judgment. He didn't notice the shadows dancing across the floor and spreading from the crack beneath the door.

As Graeson neared the door, a sudden surge of intense heat overcame him and beat against his head.

His knees buckled, and he crashed to the ground in front of the guards.

Brilliant, stark pain Graeson had never experienced before laced the back of his head, rendering him immobile. He screamed, his vocal cords ripping apart as the floor began to quake beneath him.

He called out for Kalisandre, begging for her to hear him.

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