Page 45 of Of Nightmares & Fire
“Kyros,” she whispers once again. The sound is like a caress to the exposed organ.
“Consider this your warning of what will happen if you so much as breathe a disloyal breath toward her. If you think you’ve had nightmares before—you’re wrong.”The guard turns and spits on the ground before wiping his mouth and looking back at me with a look of disdain. I don’t care enough to apologize. Something about the bastard just pisses me off.
“Thank you.” Astraea stops me as I turn to walk away, and I look down to where her fingers curl along the curve of my bicep. “For not killing him, and for wanting to defend me. I haven’t had many people willing to do that in my lifetime.” I stare at her for a long moment, more time than we honestly have to spare. The bluein her eyes is like the clearest spring day. Not yet bleached by the summer sun. Crisp and clear, gleaming with a bright radiance.
“Defending you was easy. It was holding myself back when you asked me to spare him; that was the hardest. I am not known for my restraint, Shula.” I watch as her fingers tighten on my arm and as an ocean of unshed tears builds in her blue eyes. I stand here planted as though her touch is what roots me in place, and the tears that well in her eyes could very well drown me.
“Get me out of here, Kyros.” She whispers, and I nod.
“If he is coming with us, get him up. We don’t have much time. We have to make this quick.” My chin juts out in the direction of Kellan, where he is pinning me with a sneer and rubbing at his neck where my shadows had him strung up. Before I act on impulse and lift the princess into my arms and claim her fully here and now, I tug out of her grip and stride to the far stall where Khol is being kept. I make quick work of saddling him and Eidola before guiding them through the dark stables.
The mayhem of everything outside the clay walls and wooden doors has the war-trained horses tense and ready for battle, but it's not a fight they will see today. Today we will have to choose stealth. Getting away while the chaos is at its peak. The deafening cry of the Thunderbird echoes through the air as I crack open the back stable door. The Thunderbirds have brought the darkness of cloud cover with them, which will only aid us further.
“There.” Kellan points from beside me, and I follow to where his finger aims.
“That’s inside the palace walls. We need to get away from the castle.” I say while looking for other options.
“The king has been growing more paranoid recently and had more underground passages dug out that are big enough for even carriages to travel through. It's been an ongoing, hushed project for nearly the last year.” Kellan says as he adjusts his asinine armor that the king requires his guards to wear. “The only problem is that it leads to the Dead Sea… and it's said that the soldiers that were in charge of locking the gates at the end of the passage were killed by the Scylia.”
“Lose the metal. You are dead with it.” I say, then turn to the princess. “Do you trust what he is saying?”
“Scylia? Like the pirates of the Dead Sea?” She questions Kellan.
“The passage, Shula. Do you trust that it is what he says? That it will lead us out?” I cut in before Kellan can answer. “I'm not worried about Scylia. I need to know if this passage that you say is there can get us away from the palace and closer to the dunes before Creshian.”
“You plan to take her back to Diemos through the Dead Sea, the dunes, and Creshian? This is a death mission.” Kellan balks, and my head whips in his direction.
“You are welcome to stay here. The only one with the possibility of death is you. The princess and I will make it Diemos one way or another…” I lean in closer to him and whisper menacingly. “Even if we have to feed you to the manticore that roam the dunes and the eolian caves.” He scoffs, and I can’t help but smirk when Astraea gives me a pointed look.
“I trust him.” She finally says.
“Up on Khol then.” I shrug toward my horse, and I see the way she swallows, and fear takes prominence over her features. “Please tell me you know how to ride a horse.”
“I… Well, no. I haven’t a reas—” Her words are cut off by a shriek as I pick her up by the waist, but she quickly slaps a hand over her mouth as I place her on Khol’s back. We don’t have time for this.
“We will rectify that. You ride Eidola.” I point at Kellan. “If you treat her with anything other than the utmost respect, Mavros will take your balls, feed them to you, and then use your own entrails to string you up as an offering to the Cerkin when we reach the Creshian Forest.”
“Kyros! Great divine! Would you stop threatening Kellan? I told you he was helping, and I trust him. He is a friend.” Astraea’s brows gather between her eyes, and the annoyed look in her eyes causes my lip to tug up at the corner. I've never felt the urge to call someone adorable, but the look on her face right now is just that. It makes me want to frustrate her more… and in better ways.
“No.” I respond flatly.
“You’re insufferable.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“So I’ve been told,” I laugh under my breath as I move to pull myself up behind her.
“What are you doing?” Her hands frantically look for anywhere to hold onto as my weight shifts the saddle.
“I’m riding my horse.”
“But I’m riding this one. Choose another one.” She argues.
“No.” I whisper in her face, and she gapes at me. “Hold on, Shula. You are about to be free of the chains he keeps you in.” I don’t wait for her to listen, and I don’t warn Kellan when I lean down and throw open the wooden stable door. Astraea gasps as the momentum of Khol’s takeoff thrusts her back into my lap, and I wrap one arm around her waist, securing her to my body. If Kellan is lying and leading us to a slaughter, it will be his head that rolls first.
The sand under Khol’s hooves slows him only the briefest, but after just a few strides he is quickly adapting to the terrain, as is Eidola. Soon after, a branching crack of lightning followed by the deafening call of the Thunderbird breaks overhead. The sounds of battle and terror fade in the distance as we hastily make our way toward our escape. After what feels like too long, we have made it to the passage entrance Kellan said was our exit.
“The guards that are usually stationed here must be trying to calm the people about the Thunderbirds.” He calls from behind me, and I gesture for him to lead the way.
“Must be,” I say as he passes, still not trusting the bastard guard, my hands reflexively tightening on Astraea’s waist. The movement pulls her even closer to my body, and I feel the way she relaxes into me. I clear my throat, take a deep breath, and apologize. “Sorry, I'm just trying to keep you seated.” I lie, relishing in the way she feels pressed against me.Wanting more.
