Page 159 of A Palace of Smoke & Mirrors
They were too slow for the men who didn’t have to share words or thoughts to understand each other, even in the trenches of a devastating betrayal. Lucais turned back, a flare of his light magic buying us time as Wrenlock lunged out of the reach of a nearby guard, tackling me over the edge of the platform.
I screamed as we fell into the heart of the volcano, headfirst into bubbling lava that growled at us like a hungry beast, and rose up as if to break our fall—
We landed back in the kindling forest on the outskirts of the Court of Fire, and the last thing I felt through my bond with Lucais was the sensation of his body collapsing on the platform in relief before the string around my rib cage went slack.
fifty-eight
It’s Not Forever
Ibarely had time to gather my thoughts before I heard the sound of Elera screaming.
Whipping my head around frantically, I searched for her, only to find that she was being accosted by a group of men wearing plain clothing and carrying an array of weapons and ropes.
“No!” I screamed, the pitch so loud I felt my eyes reverberating inside my skull like porcelain ornaments. I struggled to get to my feet, fighting dizziness as the sky became the ground, and Wrenlock appeared in my peripheral vision, looming above me. “No! Let her go! Give her back! She’s not yours! She’snotyours!”
Elera bucked wildly, and the sound of her squeals cut through the forest like sirens, like needles aimed straight for my heart. She pulled against the ropes with all of her might, her large, dark eyes reaching for me hopelessly as I struggled against Wrenlock’s arms, and she ducked her head, trying to hit her assailants with the ends of her horns as they secured the ropes around her neck andyankedon them.
“We’re not hurting her,” Wrenlock swore, grunting as he heaved me onto my feet. “She’s all yours, I promise. If you come with us peacefully right now, I’ll tell them to let her go, but you cannot go near her until we know you will stay with us.”
“You bastard!” I yelled, the words searing my throat. “Youfuckingbastard! How could you? Who’sfuckingside are you on?”
His answer was immediate. “The rebellion.”
I was too disoriented to ask which flavour of rebellion he was flaunting, considering there were two opposing sides between Lucais and Owain, and the men stealing my unicorn seemed to have betrayed both of them in the same breath.
The rebels stumbled from one side to the next as they worked in a group of seven or eight to lead Elera away from me. She snorted furiously, ears flattened against her head, hooves digging into the dirt as she resisted. Three additional men came jogging out of the shadows, and one of them was carrying a whip.
My eyes widened in horror. “No!” I screamed. “Wrenlock, no!”
“Fuck.” He dropped me, leaving me to crumble onto the dirt like a sheet ripped from a washing line. I couldn’t see straight, let alone stand upright. “Stay here—”
The sound of the whip cracking split the air, followed by Elera’s enraged screaming, and I rolled over and wretched onto the ground, though nothing came up except for saliva and the misery leaking out of my nose. I dug my fingers into the ground, desperate to haul my body closer to her even if I couldn’t stand up, coughing and spluttering as dust filled my mouth and lungs.
“Abello! Stop!” Wrenlock roared, and his voice was already a fair distance away from me. There was a scuffle of shoes and incoherent shouts from all around, but the crack of the whip didn’t sound again, and when I peered up through tear-filled eyes, I saw that Elera had stopped fighting them so hard.
Abello.
I took the name from the air and seared it into my brain.
Abello.
I’d make sure that Abello died first. After he suffered.
“It’s not forever.” Wrenlock’s tone was a cruel taunt when he returned to me, though I knew he was trying to be gentle and sincere. It simply didn’t matter; I’d never be able to stomach his voice again. “As soon as you’re ready, the dagger will guide you to me wherever I am, and I will make sure you are safe.”
My head tilted up, hatred overtaking the water in my eyes, burning through me like a fever at the height of illness. In my delirium, the spinning of the universe ceased to mean anything, and a counterfeit strength returned to my limbs. “Like you kepthersafe?” I snapped.
Wrenlock’s eyes were depthless, but his mouth turned down at the corners, and his shoulders lowered ever so slightly. “I am so sorry about that. Abello didn’t realise she was for you, and she was trying to stab his friends with her horns—”
“Because they werekidnappingher!” I scrambled to get to my feet and pulled the blade out from where it was tucked into the side of my belt. “This stupid blade is going to show me to you?” I demanded, shaking it in the air between us.
He nodded warily.
“Then I don’twantit!” I whirled, breathless and dizzy and furious, and stabbed the dagger into the trunk of the nearest tree. To my absolute shock, the entire tree went up in flames a second later. A raging fire devoured every last inch of bark and leaves, but left the dagger untouched.
I watched on in awe and horror, panting heavily.
I wish I could’ve stabbed him instead.
