Page 19 of Forged By Heart and Claws
I tore my gaze from Velessa and lunged forward, legs threatening to buckle and lungs squeezing tight. Smoke burned my nostrils, and tears blurred my vision.
Thalen and Myantha ran under the archway. Thalen glanced over his shoulder, white wings twitching against his spine. “Briar!”
“Move your butt, Briar! We aren’t leaving you behind,” Quen shouted, hands full of lamps. The golden lamplight surrounded her, bouncing with each step as oil sloshed inside the glass bases.
"Briar," Many-Greats shouted as he started toward me. "Hurry!"
I bared my teeth at Many-Greats and forced myself forward, stumbling, shaking, but building momentum.
As soon as I cleared the arch and made it a few feet down the hall, Vad stomped down on the chandelier. It went down with a screeching groan. More glass exploded, and acrid oil splashed. He shot through the archway, and Quen darted forward, hurling one of her remaining lamps. It hit with a sharp crack and exploded, and another wall of fire and smoke rose behind us.
Surging to the front of the group, Vad linked,If you need me to carry you, I will.
I’m fine.The stinging aches and burns lanced along my body, but I didn’t slow.
Almost to safety. Just a little farther,I told myself.
Then we’d get Yuki, Thalira, and Elara what they needed.
Down the eastern hall we ran. Tears blurred my vision as I remembered Velessa’s face—the shocked tension in her expression and the life draining from her eyes. Leaving her body behind felt like its own betrayal. The knowledge that shewouldn’t have wanted us to stay behind offered little comfort. The senselessness of her death hit deep, and if we didn’t move fast, Yuki and Thalira would share her fate.
If Fate were kind, they wouldn’t. But Fate could be such a bitch.
Vad gestured toward the left archway ahead. Vyraetos and Many-Greats kept pace in the center, holding two lamps by their handles. I ran behind Veralt and alongside Thalen and Myantha.
If Myantha wanted to kill me, this would be the perfect time. Unease twisted in my gut. I couldn’t believe she would, but how many things had happened that I never would have believed could?
The scent of fresh blood thickened in the smoke. I scanned the hallways...and my blood turned to ice.
CHAPTER 5
Briar
Ajolt of fear slammed through me.
Yuki’s wounded hand flopped limply behind Veralt’s neck. Blood trailed from it in thick, steady rivulets, soaking into his tunic and splattering the marble floor.
The bandage had come loose. Crimson streamed from her palm, each drop a warning.
Vad, how close are we? Yuki’s bandages have slipped. She’s bleeding bad.
I chased the others around the corner, panic pounding in my ears. We couldn’t stop, and I couldn’t even signal Thalira to help. I stayed close, heart galloping as we poured into a narrower hall. The smoke thinned, but my vision swam. Breathless gasps and frantic footfalls echoed off the stone around us.
We had to move faster.
The corridor narrowed again, funneling us through a hall lined with towering columns like the northern hallway. My paws hit the marble hard, claws scraping with each stride. My lungs burned, every breath tinged with the metallic tang of blood and soot.
Then—there—I spotted our goal. The entry to the royal family chambers.
Vad surged ahead, silver eyes locked on the heavy black doors at the end of the hall. His wings flapped once, sending a gust of stale air past us as he tore into the folds of his tattered surcoat. Keys jingled as he yanked them free.
He jammed one into the lock.
Metal scraped, and the tumblers groaned.
Shnkt!
Vad staggered. His jaw clenched in pain as he reeled back with a hoarse cry. Pain flared across the bond like a hot blade.
