“Let me help you,” he pleaded, attempting to flee with her. “You don’t have to die today.”
“He’ll help you,” I shouted, but no one heard.
“Piven! Piven!” Her struggles grew more pronounced until Domino released her. She raced back to the emperor, swallowed up in the circle of protection.
Domino ducked, avoiding Summit’s swinging sword, and met my gaze, able to see my spirit despite being in his physical body. He radiated resignation and sadness.
Oops. Cyrus tripped over Mr. Vyle, who had stumbled over debris in the road. He went down, but he did it with grace, swiftly rolling to his feet and coming face-to-face with Domino.
They didn’t hesitate to attack the other without a shred of mercy.
“This is your last chance,” Domino snarled at him. A sudden burst of desperation arced across the connection between us. “What you’re considering doing won’t end well for you. Or her!”
“You seek only my misery,” Cyrus shouted, deflecting a strike.
“That is a lie fed to you from the spoon of Astan.”
What did Cyrus consider doing? Accepting the god?
“Leave,” my fiancé commanded. “You and your kind aren’t wanted here.”
Just as suddenly as the battle started, it ended. The glowers leaped into the air and whizzed across the sky, disappearing.
The royals didn’t relax but tightened the circle around the emperor and a sobbing Giselle, all panting, bleeding, and on alert.
“You were awfully chummy with that glower, Cy,” Lolli said, ready to stab anyone who approached.
“He’s being courted,” Felix growled. “Same as the rest of us.”
No one denied it.
“None of this matters right now,” the emperor snarled, and the royals went quiet.
Rather than stick around, I whooshed to the force field. The shimmery dome pulsed with electrical power. Dead glowers and feeders circled the perimeter, in various stages of decomposition.
The sight turned my stomach, and I was glad I couldn’t smell their stench. What would happen if I attempted to bypass the wall of energy without a key?
Let’s find out.I reached out, stretching out my arm ...
“Do not!” Domino’s voice rang out, an intractable command.
I glanced over my shoulder, finding him mere inches away, no longer in bodily form but spirit. My chest tightened with relief. “You work fast.”
“Those who come into contact with the wall die without exception, even as spirits.”
Cringing, I drew my arm away. “Why did you go after Giselle? She’s an innocent.”
“We wished to save her from what’s to come.” Anguish contorted his features. “I warned her. Thrice, I warned her. She made her choice.”
So many questions, no time to ask. The emperor marched his entourage our way. Everyone exuded anger, including Cyrus.
“This,” the emperor said with an unmistakable growl brewing inside the word, waving to the dome, “is a defense like no other. There is only one key to enter. For Soalians, and for us.” He raised his chin and squared his shoulders, then held out his hand. “This key creates a ten-minute doorway.”
Winslet slapped the hilt of a dagger in his palm. With a crook of a finger, he motioned Giselle over.
She obeyed, hesitant, wiping her tears along the way. Tremors rocked her on her feet. “I ... I know I said I wished to do this. I know it’s an honor. I just ... maybe we shouldn’t...”
“Shh, shh, my darling.” Emperor Piven gently stroked the side of her cheek. “It will be okay.”
