Page 91 of Royal Captive
Twenty-Nine
EVE
Cautiously, we made our way out of our cells, but our wariness was for nothing. The corridor was deserted. The prisoners were all out in the yard.
“You! Get in the yard!”
I flinched as a guard appeared out of nowhere behind us, fear making his eyes wild as he prodded his amethyst staff at us. Ellis put himself between me and the guard, his hands held up. “That’s fine. We’re going.”
The last place I wanted to go was the yard, especially if Strumo was on the warpath, but it was apparent that herding us all together into one space was likely the best chance the guards had at containing us.
“MOVE!”
Ellis jerked as the guard jabbed his side like a cow being branded. Ellis nearly fell as his legs jerked wildly from the blast of magick, and I had to help him toward the yard. My worries about being seen were for naught; there was so much chaos going on in the yard that no one noticed our entrance.
There were only ten guards left, including the one who’d prodded us here, and over a hundred prisoners. Purple staffs glowed and prisoners fell by the dozens, but it was a numbers game. They couldn't take down every prisoner all at once. Twenty fae ganged up on one guard, swarming him until his gurgled screams got lost under a sea of bodies and fists. The glow of his staff faded and a human prisoner snatched it, breaking it over his knee.
The other guards quickly turned tail and ran.
“What’s happening?” I asked, voice shrill because of all the horror around us.
“It’s like your prince said, isn’t it?” Ellis remarked wryly, having to shout over the cacophony. “There was an attack on the palace and riots in the street. Most of the guards were called away to help, or perhaps they simply ran to join the rebels. Who knows?. Hence … this.” His eyes closed. “All those screams and voices I’d heard in my dreams. It’s surreal, you know? Unless I’m still dreaming.”
He looked so genuinely unsure that my anger and fear fell away. Reaching up, I grabbed his head and yanked him down to me, putting his ear against my chest. His arms went around my waist and he held me tightly. Ellis’s fingers dug into my skin, his own breathing evening out as he listened to my heartbeat.
“I am real. You are real.Thisis real. Nothing else matters,” I assured him.
BOOM.
A ball of fire erupted in the middle of the yard, drawing everyone’s attention. Hayida stepped out of the middle, his face fixed with fury. “What are you doing? Stop it! These are not the fae who deserve your scorn! Kill the human lovers!”
He threw his hands out and the walls of the prison exploded away from the yard, baring open fields and wide roads.
“Go into the city! Fight the true enemy! Kill the humans!” His eyes sparkled with triumph as he laughed and laughed. “I will rule again, and humans will be under our thumb where they belong. Then the half-breeds will be next. You will all be rightfully restored!”
He thrust a fist in the air and the prisoners cheered, rallied.
My heart sank. They didn’t care about putting Hayida back on the throne or about any grand political ideals. They just cared about themselves.
“Go now! Go!” Hayida ordered, gesturing to the crumbled walls.
The prisoners stared in shock at their own freedom, then glanced back to the last guard left. His white, terrified face reminded me of Ellis’s family before they died. The prisoners’ eyes held that same sick, burning fire for vengeance and retribution that Trenton and his people had.
And Hayida was only feeding the flames.
“This is why my way was right. Humans are vile, simple creatures. They need us to rule over them for their own good! Look at what they did to each other on their own land! They’re monsters!”
I shook my head at him. Did he not see the fae just as bloodthirsty next to him? It wasn’t a specific problem, it was just fear and pain. The violence wouldn’t fix anything. These fae guards were just doing their job. They—
“Kill the guards, then we kill him!” Strumo shouted, pointing one thick sausage-link finger at Hayida. “I don’t want no king! I don’t need no king!”
Oh my gods, fuck Strumo. How was he not dead yet?
But at the same time, go Strumo!
The crowd roared its approval and descended on the remaining guard. It was like watching Ellis’s younger brother and sister die all over again.
How many people would I watch die today?
