Page 11 of Forged By Heart and Claws
My chest tightened, and dread pooled within me. A small cap sat on the tip of this blade, likely to keep it from cutting through the fabric easily. My blood heated, and I turned to Vyraetos, who didn’t have a weapon.
I held it out to him. “Be careful not to nick yourself with this. It has the green poison on it.”
I kept my attention on Thalira and Yuki. “Put pressure on those cuts, and whatever you do, don’t let up. We’re going to need bandages.” I ripped off strips of my gown and bound Yuki’s hand fast. She winced at the tightness, and blood darkened the fabric almost at once. Vyraetos wrapped Thalira’s with a strip he tore from his own robe.
“There they are! The traitor king is this way! Sound the alarm!” a deep voice yelled. More shouts followed as the cry rippled through the halls like poisoned water.
Their voices were like knives in my chest. Fuck them all! I squeezed Yuki’s hand and cast a look around our position. It wasn’t a great spot for a fight. We were in the middle of a series of hallways, which gave our pursuers multiple potential points of attack. But it also meant more avenues for escape. I linked toVad,Are we fighting here, or is there a more defensible place nearby?
Vad growled.We need to go somewhere more defensible.His wings snapped out. “This way,” he said in a low, sharp tone, and charged ahead toward what must be the northwestern hallway.We’ll set up our own ambush for them. Top of the staircase under the chandelier. Fewer access points.
I gripped Yuki’s hand tight in mine and grabbed Thalira’s too, then bolted after Vad. My lungs filled as I searched the air for any trace of our attackers and anything we could use against them. One more glance over my shoulder, and I counted eleven chasing after us.
We ducked into the northwestern hall and ran as fast as we could. Our steps thundered now, echoing off the marble walls. Behind us, the sounds of pursuit grew louder. The guards' heavy boots pounded against stone as they gained on us. Alarms rippled out, heavy bells sounding down faraway halls and echoing back to us. If the whole palace hadn’t known we were here, they knew now.
“Halt in the name of the true Shadow Kingdom!” one shouted.
“Surrender now, traitor king!” another called out.
The passage broadened, its walls lined with ancient oil paintings depicting Shadow Fae victories. A steep staircase with a curving banister loomed ahead, and the passage tightened as we climbed it, Vad taking the stairs two at a time.
I kept my grip firm on Yuki and Thalira, feeling their slick blood between our fingers as it soaked through the cloth. That wretched poison. Fate help us, I needed to get that antidote into their systems before they bled out. My own healing powers had been so muted that I’d scarcely survived the third test after the assassins stabbed and shot me.
On the landing, we faced four peaked archways that led into new halls, with two smaller doors set in the nearest wall and shut tight. Small sitting areas had been set up near the southern and northern halls, complete with rugs, velvet couches, and velvet chairs. Huge oil lamp chandeliers with dangling glass prisms hung in the area, and additional oil lamps adorned the walls.
Vad pointed at the small door on the right. “That’s a storeroom. In there, we’ll find flint and steel in black metal boxes with the fire symbol. We’ll take a stand here to clear the path.”
I nodded. Turning to Vyraetos, I pressed Yuki’s and Thalira’s wounded hands into his. Yuki had gone deathly pale, her jaw clenched. Thalira kept her posture rigid and one hand clasped tight over the other’s small bleeding wound, her lips pressed in a tight line.
Arching a brow, I said, “Don’t let up on the pressure. Girls, I’ll be back.” I bolted across the chamber to the storeroom, my Shadow Queen tennis shoes squeaking on the marble.
Our pursuers were getting closer, their heavy steps and loud grunts echoing up the staircase from nearby halls. How much longer before others heard and came running?
Vad’s voice rose into the air. “If anyone is afraid of the fight to come and wants to leave, the best exit is the southern door. There will be guards in place to keep anyone from leaving, if they follow standard protocol, so you’ll have to hope they don’t decide you’re a threat and kill you or take you prisoner.”
“Feck you, Shadow King,” Veralt growled. “I run from no fight my woman desires.”
"We're setting the stairs on fire. I'll crash a chandelier and spill the lamp oil when the guards are on the staircase. Gather furniture so we can throw pieces at the guards and block the landing after the fire starts," Vad said. "The wounded can rest in one of the sitting areas. Make a barricade for them."
I flung the hall closet open and stepped inside. The bins and boxes were organized on shelves with symbols and smelled like lavender, lamp oil, and cotton. I seized a cool metal box and tucked it under one arm, then tipped several bins forward until I found folded white cloth and grabbed that too.
Back on the landing, Silus had taken Elara to one of the dark velvet couches and was holding her while Vyraetos bowed his head and furrowed his brow, tending to Yuki’s and Thalira’s hands. Quen knelt beside them, her fists knotted in her crimson dress as she whispered something, and Velessa nodded, stroking Thalira’s arm.
Many-Greats and Myantha stood a few feet away near a red-faced, quivering Thalen, who was more agitated than I’d ever seen him. Veralt carried the rug from the sitting area to the staircase while Rhielle grabbed all the paintings in reach and stacked them haphazardly in a pile a few feet from the stairs. Vad had flown up to a chandelier and was working on the fixtures with his wings spread wide for balance. The oil lamps and prisms clattered, and the oil sloshed as his weight rocked the twelve-foot frame.
A savage grin tugged at my lips. This plan could actually work.
I ran to the sitting area and set the bin of cloth next to Vyraetos. “Here. Bandages.” I turned to Quen and set down the metal box.
Even without magic, the Shadow Fae were able to see in the dark, so maybe that meant, as a Fire Fae, Quen had some latent fire ability. “Quen, can you use flint and stone even without magic?”
Her dark eyes blazed. “Yes!” She held out her hands, fingers twitching. “Give it here now!”
I opened the black box and removed one set of flint and steel, then pressed it into her hands. There were small cardboard-likepackets inside as well, perhaps to serve as fire starters. I knelt on the marble and pressed open the packet to reveal dry fibers as Quen positioned herself next to me.
“The tinder is here.” I pressed it to her hand.
She nodded, muscles taut as she struck the flint against the steel.Tchk! Bright orange sparks flared, briefly illuminating the space in sharp relief. Quen turned her head back and forth as if taking in the entirety of our situation and what was available.Tchk! Tchk!
