Iturned back toDiam, “Itseems it would be prudent to take the advice of the people who have actually lived and worked in the forest you are looking to decimate.”
LordDiamturned a very satisfying shade of red, but before he could respond, my father surprised me, “Thatis enough,PrincessTori.”Hespoke more forcefully thanIhad heard him in quite some time, his anger seeping through.Myfather always prided himself on the stoic control of his emotions, so my head spun to see the ugliness of rage mar his expression. “Theremust be a harvest and a tithe paid toLordDiam.Ayame, you will harvest the lumber to repay your debt, andIwill hear no more of it.”
“ThankHadeonfor that,”IheardDiammumble.
Myfather stood, and bothLordDiamandAyamebowed, butIjumped to my feet. “Father, you cannot–”
“Isaid that isenough!”Icould not remember the last time my father had shouted at me, at least not in front of the nobility.Isaw my mother shift in her seat, but she remained silent at my father’s side, as she always did.Sherose, her long elegant robes dancing over the marble floor of the throne room, as she came to my father’s side.Shelooped her arm through his, and guided him out, leaving me with one last glance that seemed to say,Nottoday,Tori.
Iturned and stormed past bothLordDiamandAyame, my bodyguard,Lyle, rushing to keep up with me.Ipushed out of the throne room, but not beforeIsaw a grin pasted acrossLyle’sface.Iwas pissed, and he knew what always came next whenIwas in a mood like this.
* * *
Wehad hardly reachedmy room beforeIwas ripping atLyle’strousers.Hedidn’t even try to hide that masculine smile asIpushed him down onto my bed, not even bothering to pull off my formal robe before straddling him.Hishands came up, sliding underneath the top of my robe, pinching my nipples through the fabric of my underslip.Ihissed at the harsh sensation but relished in the pain as it drove my thoughts of the throne room away.Ihad just about unlaced his pants, my hand reaching inside whenIheard a great crash in the distance.Ifroze, andLylelet out a disappointed groan asIwithdrew my hand, butIslapped it across his mouth, “Quiet.”
Iheld him there for a moment and heard nothing.Hestarted to push his hips into me, no longer willing to wait.Iwas just about to resume when my whole tower shook, and we were both thrown from the bed. “Whatthe hell was that?”Lylescrambled up, grabbing his sword and tossing me the daggerIalways kept at my bedside.Itwas the only weaponIwas allowed to keep inside the palace.Ipulled my robe back into place afterIstrapped it to my thigh, and ran towards my window, yanking back the long curtains.
Iwas greeted with the view of theCeruleanSeathatIhad risen to every morning for the last two centuries.Buttoday the normally placid and calm ocean was filled with ships.Notjust any ships—warships, an armada’s worth.AsIstood at my window stunned, a great trebuchet on the closest vessel hurled a purple flaming projectile straight at me.Istrained every muscle in my body to throw myself away from the window, just before the outer wall collapsed.
Myhead buzzed, andIfelt a tug at my arm that seemed far away.Lylewas shouting my name, pulling me out of the rubble, asItried to orient myself.Dustand debris littered my entire room, andLylewas still hauling me across the floor.Isnapped back to the present, and we ran.
Everyfew seconds a deafening crash would pound into my head as the floor beneath me swayed like the deck of a ship.Dustflew from the cracks between the white rocks of the palace as more and more pieces of the ceiling fell as we dashed down the hallway.
“Lyle, we have to getJunout.Ifwe can–”Anotherdeafening crash overhead, and the hallway around us collapsed.Lylegave me a great shove, andIflung forward as rubble came crashing down over him. “Lyle?Lyle!”Igrabbed at the bricks and beams that had covered him, but a great, empty pit opened in my stomach, andIknew the truth.Lylewas dead, not even a fae like me could have survived that.Butstill,Iclawed at the rubble, hoping to reach him, when another great crash sounded, and more of the ceiling collapsed.No,Ihad to keep going,Ihad to get out.
Iran.Ikept running and running, my lungs burning like the ceiling above me.Thedagger strapped to my thigh feeling useless against an enemy too large for me to fight.Iran past the bank of doors that opened into our main courtyard at the center of the palace grounds.Theywere beautiful, fragile things made of light wood and paper that had been hand-painted to show a mural of our kingdom, taking artisans hundreds of hours to complete.Allof the doors either lay destroyed or burned now, my view to the courtyard unobstructed.
Chaosand destruction lay in all directions.Myfeet stopped moving, asIwas overcome by the sight.Thebodies of warriors and servants lay strewn across the courtyard.Somewere burned beyond recognition, others bleeding slowly from wounds caused by the falling debris.Ourcastle had been beautiful, the base built on the large boulders moved up from the coast, the white marble and stone above reaching up into peaked gold tile roofs.Themain hall had stood five stories tall, with the golden spires reaching straight up to the sky.Nowthose spires lay smoldering as one whole wall had collapsed.Thewound on the building lay charred with ash, but a thrumming power pulsed like a heartbeat through the flames.Purplelightning flashed and spread like a spider’s web, poison to fuel the flames.
Anotherprojectile flew over the outer wall andIsaw it, that purple lightning lacing throughout the flames of that meteor, burning up my home with its unnatural magic.Butif this truly was magic—oh gods.Wehad to get out.Ineeded to findJun,Ihad to protect him.
Anotherfireball slammed into the courtyard, too close for me to stay.Iran again before my mind caught up.
Sweatbeaded on my forehead, plastering my short black hair to my face.Idashed for the tower that heldJun’squarters.Servantsfled as the outside wall collapsed.Iran intoJun’sbedroom.
“Jun?Jun!”Iscreamed for him, but no answer came.Iturned over his bed and wardrobe, in case he had been trapped, but nothing.Mylungs heaved, butIwilled myself to calm.Itook several deep breaths and stilled my quaking mind.Ilistened, and through the shouting and crashing of walls, it was as ifIcould hearJun’svoice.Thetunnel.
Yes, the tunnel hidden in the kitchen.JunandIhad used it to sneak out as younglings.That’swhere he would have gone.WhereIhad to go.
* * *
Ifinally reachedthe building containing the kitchen whenIheard the stomping of hundreds of boots in unison, the clashing metal plate armor as they moved.Anarmy was coming, butIhad a feeling it wasn’t my father’s.Iclimbed through the wreckage of the splintered and burned front door, careful not to touch any of the magic that lingered.Iheard fighting inside, the clashing of swords and the moans of the wounded.
Irounded a corner to see the backs of one of my father’s cohorts in their pale silver mail fighting a horde of soldiers in black plate armor, their huge swords and maces pounding against the shields of our guards.Theyheld the line, butIcould see their shields splintering and their knees giving out over the repeated blows.Ilonged to join them, to take my place among the ranks and defend our home.ButIhad no weapon and knewIwould only be a liability.
Thena tall warrior in dark armor stepped forward.Hewas like a starless night, the metal of his armor absorbing all the light that touched it.Hemoved with an unnatural speed and slammed his way through the front of their phalanx, his great sword cleaving through everyone who crossed his path.Icouldn’t help but watch as he moved, his motions so controlled and swift, almost like a dancer’s.Buthis was a dance of death as soldier after soldier fell before him.Hehad cleared an opening when his head snapped up.Hishelmet had been forged to resemble the head of a dragon, its gaping maw obscuring his face with fangs.Icouldn’t see them, butIknew that his eyes were locked on mine.Beforehe could clear his way,Isprinted in the opposite direction.
Aroundthe cornerIpulled up a panel on the wall that concealed a servant’s path, knowing it would put me out near the kitchen, butIwas surprised to find several sets of small eyes staring at me.
“PrincessTori, what are you—”
“Hush!”Thespeaker wasTom, a young human boy of about ten, there with his motherBrianna, who was shushing him.Asmy eyes adjusted to the dark passage,IsawBrianna’stwo other young children, as well as several of the other kitchen servants.Ilooked at the faces around me—human faces.Fearclung to them like a stench.Thetwo younger children had tracks on their faces where tears had cleaned away dust.Theirmother held them tight, andIraised my fingers to my lips to silence them.
Imotioned for the group to follow me and pushed past to head down the passage.Brianna, whoIknew best due to her delicious cream tarts and adorable youngsters, had lingered near the back, soIgrabbed the shoulder of the gentleman closest to me.Closerinspection revealed him to beBlaine, a middle-aged man who worked our gardens. “I'mtaking you all to the tunnel in the kitchen,"Iexplained. "Itwill lead us out to the beach, where we can regroup.Ifanyone gets separated, just keep moving down the tunnel.It'sstraightforward, you can't get lost."
Adeafening crash from overhead shook the roof of our passage, but the walls held.Thelittlest babe started to cry again, andBriannadid her best to soothe her.Iturned toTom, who looked only moments away from tears. "Tom,Ineed your help,"Isaid, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Weneed to be quick and quiet.Canyou hold your little brother like that?”Iasked, gesturing to his mother and he nodded. “Good.You'regoing to lead us down the tunnel, okay?It'llbe dark, butIknow you can be brave."
Tom'seyes shone with tears, and confusion flashed across his face. "You'rescared?" he whispered.
