Page 105 of The Curse of a Kingdom
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX
NAVA
It was not the first time Nava had tracked Arkimedes after he had been taken. Back in the forest when Devon attacked the Northern Village, she had been new to their bond and magic as a whole. Now, as they ran down the wide hallways of this castle, she could sense his presence. It called to her like a beacon.
The halls were empty, dark, and quiet. As if everyone around them had left to battle. Had the royal guard left to keep the demons at bay? Was Aristaeus on his own? Or had the king just kept a few guards here to take care of them?
Nava peered around the corner to check that it was empty. The area where Arkimedes’s quarters were was beautiful, decorated, clean, and elegant. But this place was on another level. The runner that covered the ground was plush and muted their hurried steps. There were marble statues or urns placed on pedestals on each side of large windows. Nava could guess this was the king’s wing.
Her lungs burned, and she gasped for air with the exertion of running nonstop. If she survived the night, she had to start exercising more often.
Out of nowhere, her heart faltered from a building pressure inside her, a constricting sensation that came through the bond, followed by a wave of searing pain. Nava stumbled, and one of her knives slipped out of her fingers as she gasped, bringing both hands over her stomach.
“Are you all right?” Devon took a step toward her, and Nava took long breaths to calm the ache.
“Arkimedes is in trouble.” Her voice went cold, a whisper. “We aren’t far.”
“Then we shouldn’t be running there and alerting them of the fact that we were able to fight the guards they sent,” Devon whispered back, reaching for her but stopping short of touching her before pulling his hand back.
Her closeness to Arkimedes made the ache through the bond more real, and now that both she and Devon held still and quiet, voices traveled the distance.
Nava raised her eyes to the Crow. “I will transfer there. We aren’t that far from where he is.” She pointed in the direction, though she wasn’t sure he would follow. “It will give me a better shot of a surprise.”
“Transfer? What the hell are you talking about?”
Nava straightened, ignoring the throbbing pain deep in her gut. She didn’t have time, nor did she want to explain to Devon what she could do and why she could do it. Nava closed her eyes and focused on Arkimedes. She had done it before, coming to him when he needed her that day in the library.
She could do it again now that she was able to control her skills. Peering around the corner again, she spotted a large statue nearby. If she transferred there, she would have a better vantage point to assess the surroundings and come up with another plan if needed.It wouldn’t be smart if she accidentally appeared in a spot that would put her life in further danger.
Nava’s body became light and transparent as it floated through the air. Devon’s gasp was the last thing she heard before she moved across the hall toward the statue, but before she made it all the way there, Arkimedes’s clear cry of pain came from inside the room with the open door.
Her speed increased as she crossed the threshold of the room. Inside, the image was clear. Arkimedes kneeled on the ground, with his wings spread out across the floor,his arms barely holding him up.
There were six women still dressed in armor nearby, and Nava didn’t have to understand the Dark Ones’ power to know they were all attacking her soulmate at the same time.
She had no body, but the emotion still swelled within her, bright and bitter anger. She swirled around the room like a cyclone, sending their long hair flying over their confused faces.
The king stood a foot or so away, his hand outstretched as his aura billowed. The cool air of his mist had the same cayenne notes she always sensed on Arkimedes, but there was something old in there too, like aged leather and parchment
Nava’s body began to gain substance as her emotions became stronger, blurring the lines of her transferring phase with her corporeal one. She had promised weeks ago when these people took Arkimedes that they would pay. For weeks she had been frozen from making the wrong move, for fear of the what-ifs.
It all happened fast. She became flesh and blood behind the king, still holding a long knife. Quicker than she could think, she grasped the king’s shoulder with the other hand. With a swift, steady move, she brought her blade against her enemy’s throat, and the whole room went quiet.
“Release him, or I will make sure this is the last thing you do,” she said, ice in her words. There was no lie behind the meaning. Nava wasn’t bluffing.
The king gasped, his back going rigid as he realized who was behind him. She couldn’t see Arkimedes, not with the tall mass of the king’s body in front of her.
Her soulmate groaned on the ground, and a sharp pain extended past their bond, indicating no one was listening to her—yet.
Nava lifted up on her tiptoes, holding the knife tighter against the king’s porcelain skin. A drop of blood trailed down the silver blade that didn’t shake or waver. “Call off your bitches from the prince.Now.”
“Do as she says.” The king’s words came out choppy as Nava brought her body closer to him, making sure she didn’t lose her grip and not caring one bit if she cut him in the process.
Warmth swirled inside her gut. Relief mixed with a tinge of panic that was solely his. He regained his breath once all their spells lifted from him.
“If you hurt our king,” one of the women started, her voice aiming to sound menacing but coming out panicked instead. The way Nava would have sounded if their roles were reversed.
“Be quiet,” Nava snapped. “Now give Arkimedes the keys to the bracelets.”
