Page 4 of Forged By Heart and Claws
“Rhielle! Girls!” I shouted as Vad continued dragging me toward the door. “Follow my voice!” There was no way I was leaving any of them behind. Other than Rhielle, who was Shadow Fae, none of them could see in the darkness.
Another guard charged and swung his spear toward my chest, with another following hot behind him. I grabbed the spear and shoved it to the side as hard as I could, causing him to stagger forward and jam the point into the bench to the left of me.
Vad drove his palm into the guard's face with a sickening crunch that made my stomach roil. Pain shot through our connection, and I moved closer to his side as blood poured from the guard’s nose. When Vad removed his hand, I saw a deep gash from where the man’s helmet had cut deep into his palm.
Vad didn’t pause; he plunged his claws through the guard’s eye sockets. “Do not touch her!”
The second guard raced toward Vad, club raised. I jumped and jammed the dagger into the guard’s armpit as he swung for Vad’s shoulders.
The guard groaned and missed Vad by inches. Vad spun around, his eyes darker than a stormy night. He caught the club, just as a blur of dark purple to my left caught my eye.
I spun around as a tall Shadow Fae in an ornate purple surcoat leapt at me, teeth bared and hands reaching for my throat. Several scars seared his left cheek, and a long scar cut across one eyebrow, ugly and red. "Filthy beast!" he spat. "You've destroyed everything!"
I shifted my weight to my back foot, pretended to move to the left, and positioned the dagger at my chest, ready to strike. His eyes widened, and he tried to shift back as he lifted his arm, butI’d already jabbed toward his neck. I clipped his right hand and forearm, cutting into silk and flesh.
He lunged again, screaming like a wild animal, eyes blazing.
I dodged out of his way, spun, and kicked him in the backside. He crashed into the floor and sprawled out, and a sickening thwap rang in my ears as blood spilled from his head.
A sour taste filled my mouth. The scent of blood sat heavy on my tongue.
We weren’t even close to being safe.
I scanned the room and found more guards running toward us from the back of the chamber as the pounding on the splintered door got louder and the twisted wood started to fracture as people fought to break it in. I suspected they weren’t going to be on Vad’s side.
Vad snapped the neck of another guard and used the man’s corpse as a shield. Another winged guard attacked, his sword striking the corpse’s armor and sliding off. But Vad’s gaze snapped to me and the noble who’d come at me.
His steel gray bloodshot eyes glittered with rage as he bared his teeth, fangs fully revealed. The dark purple marks beneath his eyes indicated he hadn’t slept in days. Growling, he slammed the corpse into the next guard, knocking his sword aside, then grabbed the guard’s helmet at the neck and twisted.
For now, we were safe. But for how long?
I can’t leave without my friends,I linked as I searched for them again.
I located Rhielle as she was grabbing her lover Veralt’s arm and saying something. He gave a curt nod and jumped up on the nearest bench, then leaped into the middle of the aisle closest to the doors and charged forward.
“I can’t see anything, and my magic won’t work even a little!” Velessa called out. Still cradling her wounded arm in the sling,she bumped into Yuki as she tried to find her way along the benches. Yuki steadied her and said something I couldn’t catch.
Rhielle shoved past Many-Greats, grabbed Velessa by her good arm, and dragged her through the narrow space. As she passed Yuki, Rhielle grabbed her with her other hand.
Vad whistled two high notes, three lower notes, and one high note. Silus lifted his head, his expression grim. Vad’s other—and in my opinion, better—trusted friend Thalen jerked toward us. He had one hand gripped tight around Myantha’s wrists, and she was pleading with him, tears streaking her cheeks. He then adjusted his grip, knelt, fumbled around, and snatched up the green-dipped blade that had fallen out of Myantha’s dress. He tugged her forward, shaking his head and saying something I couldn’t catch. She pulled back and dug her heels into the rumpled red carpet.
A flash of concern cut through me at the sight of that dagger. It looked like the ones the assassins had used on the blades in the third trial. Why did Myantha have one?
Quen shrieked as she tried again and again to make fire. Only two small sparks and a bit of smoke trickled from her palms. “Whatever happened, I’m blaming Kaylen!”
Holding her hands out, Thalira tried to make her way forward in the darkness toward my voice. Her long blue skirt trailed along the floor, and she stumbled over a bump in the red rug that ran down the center. “Briar!” she called out. “Briar, what happened?" She froze, lifting her hands defensively as Veralt charged forward with heavy steps. Quen spun in their direction as well, grasping at Thalira but missing.
Scowling, Thalira held out her arms at Veralt and commanded, "Whoa! Stand back, whoever you are, or I will cut you!”
Veralt caught hold of Thalira’s arm and replied, “If you cut me, you’ll die. I’d prefer you just follow. This way, ladies.” He grabbed Quen, too, and pulled both forward.
Rhielle forced her way past two fleeing guests, her wings brushing the walls as she dragged Yuki and Velessa with her. Their stumbling steps scraped on stone, their bodies colliding as they tried to keep up.
Two guards pushed through a gap in the door, the wood splintering around them. They carried torches that cast eerie light into the hall. “The magic is gone! All of the magic is gone! The portals have died.”
Thalen broke into a run as soon as the weak torchlight filled the room, his grip still locked around Myantha’s wrist. She stumbled after him, heels dragging over the carpet. His other hand clutched the green-dipped blade, his expression like carved stone.
“Treason!” someone shouted from farther away. More screams echoed off the cracked stone walls.
