Page 51 of Dark Prince's Captive

My pulse spikes.I’ve had plenty of near-death experiences but none of them due to being attacked—at least not by threatening forces other than diseases or my own body.And I have to say, when danger comes in the form of a weapon, it’s fucking scary.If Gaia hadn’t warned us, whoever is ambushing Aruan’s people would’ve cut the two of us off before we reached the palace.We would’ve been trapped and exposed like sitting ducks.Unless Aruan can create a portal?

“What’s going on?”I ask with my heart beating in my throat.

“Phaelix,” Aruan says through gritted teeth, clasping my hand in an iron grip.

He’s positioned himself in front of me like a massive boulder of muscles and is scouting our surroundings with fierce silver eyes.I catch sight of those steely pools, now narrowed to angry slits, as he turns his head from one side of the hall to the other.

I follow his gaze.All I see are stone walls and statues on both sides.The big arched window is at the front.“What are you looking at?”

“The Phaelix who are stupid enough to think they can creep up on us.”

“But they’re outside.”

“I can see through the walls.”

He makes the statement matter-of-factly, but it takes the wind out of my sails.Not that anything about Aruan should surprise me.

He’s focused and collected, the quietness overtaking him the dangerous kind.This is the Aruan who’s ready to kill.It’s his single-minded goal, his only objective.It’s an awesome and terrifying sight.

The king faces the waterfall, his palms stretched out as if he’s holding the liquid particles together.Kian stands next to him with a sword in one hand and a stoic expression on his face.Vitai flanks his mother in the center of the hall.

The sickly queen is creating portal after portal with a flick of her wrist.The purple circles that light up the ground below are visible through the window.She’s leaning on Vitai for support, who has his sword poised in the air.The pose says he’s ready to cut down anyone who dares come near his mother.

Guards armed with daggers and swords sprint through the portals on the ground.The moment their feet touch the grass, they take up defensive positions.Gaia is working just as fast as her mother in opening portals, but hers are smaller and only letting in two or three men at a time whereas the queen is pushing through groups of up to ten.

“They waited until most of our guards had left to escort the caravan of trading supplies,” the king says tensely.“Someone must’ve leaked the information.Can our men get back here any faster?”

“Not on their own,” Aruan says.“They’ve covered too much distance.We need Mother to get them here now.”

“Blasted reptiles,” the king spits out.

“They’re going to storm the bridge,” Kian shouts above the noise.“They’ve surrounded the palace as well as the village!”

“Portal guards to the village to protect the people,” the king calls out without turning his attention away from the waterfall.Contempt is thick in his voice that carries across the space.“I can hold the water, but those creatures aren’t afraid of it.They might’ve mutated from their finned ancestors, but they haven’t lost their affinity for swimming.They’ll break through.”He adds darkly, “Even if it means losing a few who’d be washed away and crushed on the rocks.”

“And they’re going to do so in exactly five beats,” Kian announces evenly.

Everything happens so fast I don’t have time to process it.The thumping of my heart is a mere afterthought, a natural response I barely register in the danger we face as the hooting on the other side of the water turns louder and the seconds tick on to three, four?—

“They’re on the bridge,” Aruan shouts.

The king and Kian fall back just as a horde of Phaelix, clutching axe-sized knives with half-moon shaped blades, jump through the water.Some of them are swept away by the force of the foaming cascade, their screams piercing the air.I imagine their bodies flying over the sides of the bridge and bouncing off the sharp rocks at the bottom.But others make it through.They land on their clawed feet, their eyes narrowed menacingly and their lips peeled back over their shark-like teeth.

Aruan tightens his hold on my hand, squeezing my fingers to the point of pain as he addresses Gaia in a strained voice.“Portal Elsie out of here.She’ll be safe in my quarters.”

Gaia, who’s got her hands full with pulling up portals to bring in more guards, doesn’t have a chance to do as her brother commands.The reason for ignoring him is obvious.The queen can’t keep up the work.It looks as if she may collapse at any moment.Sweat drips from her pallid face.If the concerned glances the king steals at her are anything to go by, she’s not going to last much longer.

Kian says something in the guttural language of the Phaelix.From the hand gestures he’s using, waving at the space behind them and pulling a line with his finger across his throat, he’s telling them to either retreat or to be prepared for the consequences.

“Let the idiots get closer,” Aruan says.“Let them see what happens if they try.”

The Phaelix measure our small group.Drops of water roll off their shiny scales and splatter on the bridge.They hesitate, appearing to be waiting for something.

Fuck.

In my wildest dreams, I never thought I’d be caught in a fight, at least not the kind that involves swords, daggers, and lizards.

“Go, Nia,” the king yells, not breaking eye contact with the tallest of the Phaelix at the head of the party.“Enough!”

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