I scanned our surroundings, keeping a constant eye out for enemy soldiers. Where did they all go? Beats me. They certainly had not retreated, but we’d only encountered one since Kohen found me. He took care of the Draemornian before I had even noticed the threat.
“What's in the courtyard?”
“The statues,” I said.
“Oh really? I had no idea.”
When I did not respond to his sarcasm, Kohen picked up his pace to walk by my side. “And why does that matter? Fancy doing a little tourism while we are in the middle of a war?”
I rolled my eyes. “That was such a Sawyer thing to say. Speaking of Sawyer, have you seen him?” I hoped he had caught up with the others.
Kohen shook his head. “No. Pia and I were guarding the wards at the main gate. I haven't seen him for a few hours.”
“I hope he's okay.” Worry fueled my voice cracks.
“I'm sure he is. Sawyer is one of the most powerful soldiers we have. You could argue he is the same, if not stronger than Seb.”
He wasn't wrong. Sawyer showed me that side of him plenty of times in combat training. Stronger than Sebastian, though?
“It's quiet,” I said, pausing in my tracks. “Weirdly quiet for a battle. Isn’t it?”
Kohen nodded, his head darting side to side.
As if on cue, a horrendous crash came from somewhere near the main gate—where Pia and Sebastian were, according to Kohen.
Eyes rising towards the sound, we stood silent viewers as a portion of the castle crumbled in on itself, pieces of the tower and the entryway collapsing. The whole area blew up in smoke as flame encapsulated it.
As I watched the destruction, my pulse quickened to a speed that threatened to make my veins burst.They made it out. They made it out.They have to have made it out.
A good portion of the Draemornian army ran along the other side of the castle, making for the back entrance.
“They're trying to destroy the castle,” Kohen said under his breath.
“They're going to leave us without a kingdom to even rule,” I replied under mine, and picked up my speed.
I knew it killed Kohen not to turn back for Pia, but he stayed with me. If he was anything, Kohen was loyal.
We trudged along through the grass, wet with dew and blood. The haze was still heavy, but cleared up the closer we inched to the courtyard. We were almost there, just a few more yards.
I stepped onto the cobblestone patio and took a quick inventory of my surroundings, making sure there was no onewaiting for us. There were plenty of bodies around, but the dead were not a threat.
“Come to me.”
I marched straight for the statue of Blythe, stopping in front of her and taking my rucksack off, tossing it to the side. The blue and opalescent hues of her statue glistened despite the smoke dancing around it. I took in the beauty of her figure one last time before Kohen and I broke her into smithereens.
I sucked in a few deep breaths—very well the last few I’d ever take. Once we did this, there was no going back. But by the scene we just witnessed at the castle, it seemed that Caelestis was losing this battle. It was my life or theirs, and I chose them…I chosehim.
Finalizing my decision, I accepted my fate and turned to Kohen. “We need to break this statue.”
He raised an eyebrow, crossing his steel-coated arms as he glared at me. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“You're joking, right? People are dying, Maeve.”
“Yeah, and more will die if we don’t break the statue of Blythe.”
He scoffed. “Alright. I’ve always thought you were a little crazy, but now I'm sure of it.”
