Page 11 of The Curse of a Kingdom
“In the name of His Majesty, stop at once or face the consequences!”
The sky darkened above them. Nava stood paralyzed at the sight of angels coming down from the sky, their large wings flapping in the air, contrasting against the copper shades of their shiny armor.
She turned at the sound of retreating steps. Devon had clearly decided he was not sticking around and was already eight feet away from her. A spike of panic ran through her as her instincts took over, and soon her legs were moving, chasing after the Crow.
Both Devon and she ran down the aisle of the maze, the hedges closing in. The sound of flapping wings wasn’t far away. Bees came down around her body, circling her as her steps became lighter over grass; even though this bush wasn’t helping her, her bees were.
“This way,” she panted, and Devon turned and followed her blindly. His face morphed into a determined scowl.
She wasn’t sure if he was annoyed at the soldiers chasing after them or at her. It was probably both. Air burned her lungs as the ground beneath transitioned from short grass to loose gravel, and the hedges were no longer covered in white flowers but were spires of cedar.
The sky darkened, and the air crackled with spices and magic, becoming humid out of nowhere. Thunder rolled, and mist appeared around them. It became difficult to see. Devon’s magic was making an appearance, hiding them in plain sight.
They wouldn’t make it; there were too many following them, even with both their powers combined.
“Shit!” Devon’s voice echoed in the empty garden when a fae landed in front of him. The angel-like man assumed an attack pose, holding a two-bladed sword in one hand. His face was covered by a helmet of orange-and-pink copper, aged in greens and whites.
Wisps of ink bloomed around the fae’s body, similar to what Arkimedes’s magic did when he was amid battle—except not as impressive of a sight. Floating leaves and the shape of a dead tree embossed the center of his chest plate.
“Stop at once! This is your last warning.” The fae’s voice boomed in the clearing, and her steps faltered as she lost her footing over the loose ground.
“Fuck!” the Crow cursed louder, but he lifted his hands in a sign of surrender. His onyx gaze flashed to her.
Nava wasn’t so ready to give up. She turned and faced the approaching shapes of the Copper Kingdom’s army, their wings large and mostly black. The reminder of her soulmate made this moment that much more painful to bear.
She had gotten so close.
“We aren’t looking for trouble,” Devon said, though his eyes shone with murderous intent.
She dropped her arms to her sides, and the swarming of bees became larger, almost fully covering her body as the steps of the soldiers slowed around her.
“Stop that, witch,” one barked, and indignation flared inside her stomach. Her skin glow intensified.
“Nava,” Devon started.
“I’m not a witch,” she said in a clipped voice, unsure why she was choosing to pick this battle. It certainly didn’t help that winged shadows had kidnapped Arkimedes the night before. The portal bringing them to a place where winged fae lived was not a coincidence.
These were her enemies, and she would make them pay.
The soldier who’d spoken took a step closer to her, his shoulders wide and tense with anger. “I will kill you right now. You are trespassing, and the use of portal magic inside the palace is a grave offense.”
Well, splendid news all around.
“Boys, boys—a simple miscalculation. We didn’t intend to transport to the castle, clearly. Just show us the way out, and we’ll be on our merry way,” Devon said.
They all fixed their eyes on her, their weapons tilted toward her body. She felt the ground tremble beneath her feet as fear settled in with her anger. She wouldn’t get captured, not without a fight.
“You will get to claim your innocence to the king. However, His Majesty does not easily dismiss the use of dark magic in his kingdom,” said the one with the tarnished helmet. His wings were brighter than the rest, a light gray speckled with black spots.
The one by her took another step closer, and the bees started flying faster. The soldier swatted and hissed as some landed on his armor and quickly crawled to any open skin. “Stop that or we will kill you!”
“Don’t come near me or I will—”
“Nava!” Devon snapped from his spot, his eyes wide. She stared at him as he shook his head almost imperceptibly.
“Kill them both now,” one gravelly voice said from the background.
“I wouldn’t if I were you.” Devon’s polite mask melted, his features twisting into the scary, confident face she’d seen the year before. “Unless you want this place to be swarming with the Society by midnight.”
