Page 108 of Kingdom of Today
We hobbled the remaining guards, our expert teamwork heralding the screech of an alarm. Dang it! Other soldiers would arrive any second, yet we had a final obstacle: Vyle.
With his patented almost grin, he trained his harbinger on us. “You can’t beat me,” he stated, smug.
“We don’t have to. You’re already defeated.” Domino pushed the words from my tongue. I soaked up his confidence and swagger, gulping straight from the tap. “Tsuri comes. You are soon to drink the cup of his wrath.”
I didn’t know the specifics of the threat, but what a threat it was. My skin bristled with goose bumps, as if the air itself electrified. Vyle turned ashen.
Flawlessly in sync, the librarian and I stepped forward, unafraid.
Our challenger reacted with a flurry of urgency, hammering at the gun’s trigger. Bullets zoomed our way. Perhaps I was seeing through Domino’s eyes. I watched those little missiles approach in slow motion. I could have moved aside but didn’t bother; there was no need. My body flickered in and out of intangibility, going from solid to mist and back to solid all within a heartbeat. The bullets flew through different sections of my torso, spraying the soldiers who had entered the hallway behind me. Down they fell.
Shock glittered in Vyle’s eyes. He ejected the clip, shoved in an extra, and fired anew. As Domino and I walked ... jogged ... sprinted forward, we twirled the makeshift daggers made from the bracelets and misted as necessary. Almost within striking distance ...
With one swing, we would remove the executioner’s head.
We lifted the blades.
Boom!
A new shot rang out from behind us. A white-hot pang stung my side, and I jerked as Domino was shoved out of my body. Anguish pulsed in every inch of me. Blood poured down my side. Panting, I craned my head to glance over my shoulder.
Roman held a smoking gun. He sighed with displeasure. “I told you we weren’t friends, Ardie.”
“From behind?” I spat as my knees buckled. “Coward.”
“That wasn’t a kill shot,” he told me, unabashed. “Just a little trim to ensure you stay put.”
New guards poured into the hall. They bypassed the lord-in-training and came straight to me, binding my wrists with metal cuffs and hauling me roughly to my feet. My gaze remained on Domino, my sole source of comfort.
“They won’t kill you,” he stated, panting as if he, too, experienced pain. “Briar Rose hasn’t rendered her final decision, which means you’re still in the running. Cyrus, even as Astan, won’t let anyone end you—yet. I’ll return, and we’ll get you out of here. Survive, Arden. That’s all you must do.”
He vanished before I could respond. Good thing. I only gurgled a series of incomprehensible noises. I’d lost. I’d taken a gamble, and I’d lost. Now, all of CURED knew what I was, and there was no going back.
Sickness churned in my belly as a grinning Vyle approached. “You almost had me convinced you’d chosen CURED.” He sheathed his gun. “You were a much worthier opponent than I’d expected.”
Were. Past tense. As if he no longer saw me as a threat.
As the alarm died, a new voice rang out. “Explain.”
A single-word command Mr. Vyle heeded without delay as Cyrus marched our way. “Lady Roosa attempted to sneak to the Rock. When I sought to apprehend her, she fought. This is the result of her capture. She is Soalian, Majesty. A powerful glower, judging by her movements.”
“Her affiliation isn’t your concern.” He looked between us, lingering on me several beats longer, his fury growing.
What little hope I’d retained withered to ash the second I noted the golden stars in his irises. He’d agreed to host Astan again. Or perhaps Astan never really left him.
Yes. That. Fury sparked. I’d bet my savings I’d been tricked. Now, there was no going back—for either of us.
“Why is she injured?” The fury graduated to a rage icy enough to freeze my cells.
“The lord-in-training, Roman, is responsible,” Vyle stated. “He is Mercurio’s chosen, and he prevented her from leaving.”
Behind Cyrus, the guards parted, providing a clear path to the guy I’d once admired.
“Majesty.” Roman bowed in deference. “I will serve you faithfully for—”
Cyrus palmed a gun, twirled it in his grip, and fired a shot without ever turning around, nailing Roman between the eyes. “Mercurio can select someone else.”
The trainee fell forward, already dead.
