Page 93 of A Kingdom of Destruction

A burst of sound filtered into the ballroom past the music, a distinctive clash of steel against steel. Muffled shouts grew in volume until they became impossible to ignore even for her.

Cillian froze, his hands still on her waist and his eyes sharpening. Aven stopped spinning, although the room continued to do so for the longest time. Where were the noises coming from?

“What’s going on?” she asked Cillian.

“I don’t know.” He swept her behind him, his arm straight out to keep her from storming ahead. “Stay here.”

He didn’t understand her at all if he thought she was going to sit back.

Where he went, she did too, dogging his steps as they approached the door. She growled at the dress, bunching the skirt in one hand without a care for how it wrinkled the fabric.

Outside, the guards were engaged with a group of humans. Their dirtied tunics and pants hardly covered their skin. More like rags than actual clothing. None of them wore armor, and yet they lifted their weapons high. The various blades and rakes were rusted in places but still sharp, obviously used in their fields.

She pulled up short with the rest of her struggling to keep up.What was she seeing here?Once again, a band of humans had somehow managed to get across the territory line and into the palace.

“Increased security, my foot,” Cillian barked out.

“What are they doing here?” Aven muttered, her heart constricting in her chest and her throat going tight. Had the humans come for justice against the man and his son who’d been burned to death?

Cillian’s sensitive hearing made out her every word even with the yells from the group.

“Protestors. They don’t want this wedding to happen.”

What in the world?

One of the men, a clear leader of the band from the sword he carried, caught sight of her and broke out in a yell. The sound drew the attention of the other humans who did not pause in their skirmish with the fae.

“There she is! The traitor to our kind,” the man called out.

Before Aven managed to get another word out, the palace went on lockdown. The way it had the first time the humansmanaged to get past the defenses. How did this keep happening, and what would she have to implement to make sure they remained safe?

Cillian jostled the worries right out of her head as he scooped her up, flinging her over his shoulder and bolting rather than engage.

Even with his endless grace, the movements jolted her to the point where speech became impossible. It wasn’t in her nature to run and hide. Not when fighting had become second nature.

Did Cillian thinkthesehumans were so dangerous they had to run to avoid an attack?

Aven never got the chance to ask. Not when Cillian, Roran, and the King, along with a handful of nobles, all made their way from the ballroom like rats abandoning a sinking ship. Taking her with them against her will.

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Aven fumed, beating her hands against Cillian’s immovable back. “Let me down right now! Cillian!”

He followed the king and several guards deep into the heart of the palace. He didn’t stop—none of them did—until they came to a massive iron door set into a seamless block of stone. The guards stepped forward and pulled open the door by the single gigantic handle.

She caught a glimpse of a darkened space inside before everyone hustled forward and the door closed behind them, sealing them in with a clack of a turning lock and a burst of magic.

After a few moments when she forgot how to breathe, sconces lit. Fire slowly crackled to life and provided warmth to fight against the chill of the room.

She shivered as Cillian slowly set her on her feet and ran his hands along her face, down her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

Aven glared at him, wanting him to stop touching her. “Why would I not be okay? The only problem was you grabbing me and bringing me here against my will. A small scuffle.” She gritted her teeth and set him with a scowl he had no choice but topay attention to. “Nothing but a small scuffle with a handful of protesters.”

She worked her expression into neutral territory because she was well aware of their audience. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of King Donal.

“A small scuffle might turn into a large one if we do not keep our guard high,” Cillian frowned back at her.

Roran let out a sharp exhalation in disgust and said, “There’s no fighting against it once the alarm goes off. Surely you remember what happened the last time you tried.”

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