Page 115 of Kingdom of Today
Briar Rose huffed with indignation, her presence lifting from me in a rush.
Cyrus must have sensed it. “Very well,” he stated, easing the pressure. Disgust and irritation glowing in his eyes, he shoved me from him. “You’ll live only until I rid myself of this irksome desire for you.”
I stumbled, tripping and falling when the hem of my dress caught beneath my sandal. Pain reverberated in my wound, and a fresh wave of dizziness filled my head.
The clack of high heels hit my ears. Agony exploded through my body as Lolli walked over me, stabbing my hand with a shoe.
Cyrus smiled without humor and stiffly offered his arm as she approached. “Ready to decimate Soal, sweetness?”
“Beyond,” she replied with an airy little laugh. She was decked out in a gown as sheer, gauzy, and pink as mine. “I was born for this.”
A statement Cyrus had made, as well.
“Let’s get this done, then. Pour yourself into her. Glowers are advancing on the gate, and your first order of business is catching them.” A cold laugh. “They’ll fuel us for centuries.”
Interesting choice of words.
The pair forgot all about me, as if I weren’t any kind of concern. But then, Iwasn’ta concern. I could only watch, powerless, as they drew together, peering deep into each other’s eyes.
Lolli clutched at his shirt and gritted out, “Briar Rose is afraid you won’t want her in my body.”
He cupped her cheeks as he’d so often done to mine. “She is my sweetness. I want her, whichever body she inhabits.” He traced his fingertips over her face, so tender, and I imagined he mesmerized her with those starry eyes. “It’s time. You are our opening act in the new war. We’ve waited long enough.”
Lolli smiled, pausing to savor the moment. “Yes, Briar Rose, I accept. I am yours, always.”
A moment passed, but nothing happened. Not outwardly.
From somewhere in the castle, a crash sounded. Vibrations shook the floor, lights flickered, and dread licked up my spine.
Something big had just toppled.
The pair weren’t surprised or upset by whatever had happened. The opposite, in fact. He grinned, and she twittered. Their delight amplified as a cold wind swept through the room, carrying whispers so loud they were a scream. A horde of shadows swooped in next, glommed onto Lolli, and absorbed into her skin.
Appalled, I scrambled backward.
An invisible force lifted her off the floor, and she screamed without making a sound. Her head fell back, her arms spread, and her body arched. Vines coiled from the ends of her fingertips, around each of her limbs, and budded with flowers.
Cyrus’s admission reverberated in my head, rallying a new strength I hadn’t known I possessed. My teammates were currently headed for a trap. Maybe they’d read their books and knew it. Maybe they hadn’t and didn’t. Either way, I must warn them. I’d overstayed my welcome in this palace.
I couldn’t help Cyrus, Victors, or Soal here, as I’d already proven. If I didn’t act now, I might not have another chance. I scanned the room, weighing my options. Armed guards at the door. But the balcony remained unguarded ... and a moat waited beneath.
It was dangerous. I’d get hurt. But allow fear to stop me? No. Never again. I wasn’t hopeless, and I wasn’t helpless.
Unnoticed, I clambered to my feet. Before the ritual or whatever finished, I should be gone.
Ready. . .
Set . . . I braced.
Go!I sprinted for the balcony. Faster, faster, ignoring every pang of pain.
A shout of denial behind me. “Arden!” Fast, pounding footsteps drowned mine.
I pumped my arms with more force, passed the entryway, and clutched a fistful of both curtains. Up the ledge. Leap!
As I fell, I spun myself, still clutching the cloth. Cyrus stopped at the rail. Fury glinted in his eyes.
The material jerked taut, swinging me into the side of the castle. Stone met bone, and I was certain the bones lost and cracked.
