Page 17 of The Crownless King
Shaking off the thought, she slid her arms into the hoodie and braced herself.
Tonight, she was going to escape.
Amaya had walked the perimeter yesterday and scoped out the best chance she had to escape. There was shielding over the whole of the compound, but because the vampires within were arrogant, they hadn’t given her any thought as she hung out along the southern wall. It had taken some finessing to keep her power under wraps, but she’d managed to open a small spot for her mother and her to escape. She had already called Tracy and sent her the location where she could meet them.
She could possibly be signing her and her mother’s death warrant, but sitting around and not trying didn’t sit well with Amaya. Her whole life had been her and her mother surviving the best way they knew how. There were lean days and there were days they feasted, but through it all, it had been the two of them together. This would be no different. Luckily for her, Anita was having a lucid night and if she could time it correctly, they should be off the compound before that changed. In the few daysthat they’d been here, her mother’s lucid states lasted longer than when they were at home.
When she’d approached her mother earlier in the day about the plan, Anita had agreed, though somewhat reluctantly. Anita had been having a grand old time in the King’s compound. True to Levi’s words, her mother had round-the-clock care, the servants catering to Anita’s every need and whim. Amaya imagined it was what it would feel like if she could afford a nursing staff to care for her mother.
Anita was probably going along with the plan more so in solidarity with her daughter than a want to escape the mad king.
For the last couple of days, Amaya had been creeping around the mansion, and nightly she heard proof of what the Akachi did to one’s mind as the king paced the floors of his compound, his anger and confusion blanketing the atmosphere. How did his men live here with him? Though, in their defense, Amaya’s tie to chaos magic was what made her so sensitive to Levi’s moods and aura.
She outright avoided him, refusing to eat dinner with them and keeping him locked out of her room.
It was risky pissing off someone with Levi’s power, but…she had a feeling it wasn’t just her life she would be risking being anywhere alone with that man. The taste of his power she’d experienced when he’d forced her to feed from him was still in her mind. It was imprinted on her body, just the thought of it brought a flush of heat.
She needed to get the fuck out of here.
So, while her mother was in a healthy place, they carefully tweaked the escape plan Amaya had come up with. She couldonly pray that they would pull it off and her mother was still on board with the plan.
Levi and his main goons were gone for the evening, so Amaya didn’t anticipate any one caring enough to stop her. Originally, she’d thought to escape during the day when the vampires in residence were sleeping, but Anita, who seemingly knew every-damn-body in this house, had informed her daughter that shifters roamed the property during the day. With that, evening was their better option.
Knocking on her mother’s door softly, she crept in. Anita was sitting in a chair at the small table in front of the window.
“Mama,” she whispered.
Anita turned. “Is tonight the night?”
“I think so,” she told her softly, creeping closer to the window in the dark. “Are you sure this part will work?”
Anita sighed. “Amaya, I’ve taught you how to create objects using your power, you just have to trust yourself. Or you can just let me do it and it will be done faster.”
Amaya shook her head. “We can’t afford for you to keep using your chaos magic, you know that.”
Anita smiled sadly. “Let’s get to it, then.”
Amaya went to the window and prodded it with her magic. Not finding any spells to keep them in, she released a breath of relief. Lifting the glass, she bit her bottom lip as she determined how to make the stairs.
Anita placed her hand on her back. “You can do this, May.”
Nodding, Amaya focused her magic, building the stairs one at a time, keeping them translucent in case someone walked by. The second story wasn’t as high as some mansions, so it didn’t take too much effort.
“I’ll go first just in case,” Amaya told her mother.
Anita nodded and Amaya lifted the window fully, stepping her leg out. Standing, she found the stairs sturdy. Giddy excitement filled her, both at her accomplishment and the fact that her plan could work. She and Anita crept softly down the stairs and Amaya dissipated the magic when both of their feet touched the ground. Leading her mother towards the east side of the property, they slipped through the shadows of the small cabins scattered around. A vampire stepped out of the darkness and her heart knocked against her chest.
“Why are you skulking?” he asked with a curious tilt of his head.
Before she could answer, he slumped down. She turned and looked at her mother for an explanation.
“We don’t have all night,” Anita whispered in explanation.
They reached the south wall of the property and Amaya was relieved that no guard manned it. She just prayed that she could duplicate the stairs. First, she needed to get through the shielding. Waving her hands, she used magic to make the spell visible. She’d started work on it yesterday, leaving just a small bit of the power intact to allay suspicions. Painstakingly, she took apart the last of the magic, keeping it confined to one section so as not to raise an alarm.
It took her five minutes longer than she’d planned and she hoped no one noticed that she and her mother weren’t intheir rooms. Another vampire came out and like before, Anita put him to sleep.
“Mom, you can’t keep using your magic,” she admonished.
