The dead guards lay in scattered locations; some of them had come to a smoking stop near the feet of Gaius and my father.Gaius and the duke stared at the remains before hastily stepping away.
“KILL HIM!”Gaius bellowed.
As the new head of the king’s guard, Gaius had catastrophically failed at his position, considering he was only five feet away when I killed Ivan, but the guards would listen to him.
“No!”my father shouted.
I had no idea why he was trying to keep me alive, but if he had his way, it would be a fate worse than death; I was certain of it.Turning, I sprinted toward the edge of the platform.
“Stop him!”my father commanded.
At the ledge, I leapt into the open air and twisted to unleash more lightning directed at the duke and Gaius.My father threw himself to the ground as Gaius ducked behind Ivan’s throne.
The rest of the nobles screamed as they either fell over or trampled each other to get off the stage.I had only a second to see them scatter before gravity pulled me beneath the platform.Their shouts followed me as I fell toward the crowd of women and the thousands of guards among them.
“Kill him!”my father bellowed as my feet hit the ground.
The realization I’d kill him too had changed my father’s mind about trying to keep me alive.I had no doubt I’d destroy him and all those on the stage with him as soon as I could, but right now, I had to get to Ellery.
CHAPTERTHREE
Ryker
The prisoners closestto me cried out as they tried to scamper away, but the crowd was so thick and pressed so closely together, they had difficulty avoiding me.I didn’t blame them for being afraid as the guards in the crowd moved in on me.
The twang of arrows releasing filled the air a second before they whistled toward me.Amsirah screamed as they strained to get out of the way of the descending, lethal projectiles.
Their cries rebounded in my ears as they pushed against me.Unwilling to be deterred from finding Ellery, I shoved forward.
They were all innocent and would suffer because of me, but I couldn’t do anything about that.I couldn’t save everyone here, and Ellery’s life was far more important than theirs.
Throwing myself to the ground, I rolled through the legs and feet scampering to get out of my way.Thuds pounded into the earth all around me as arrows struck the dirt, but none of them hit me.
Many women weren’t so fortunate as they screamed, and some fell to their knees when arrows struck them.I rolled again and bounded back to my feet when the thuds ended.
Much of the crowd surged away from me and the target I represented, but to my surprise, others came toward me.At first, I didn’t understand why they were closing around me until one of them hissed at me, “Duck down!You’re a lot taller than us and a far bigger target.”
“There’s a guard to your left,” another woman said.
“Get down,” I told her.
She ducked a second before more lightning erupted from my fingers and hit the guard.Lifted off his feet, he flew only a few inches backward before crashing into some of the women near him.
Twisting in the crowd, I raised my hands and unleashed more lightning toward the archers on the parapets.Some were preparing to fire again, but many were still reloading when I brought lightning down from the heavens to set my wrath loose on them.
The dozens of lightning rods lining the parapets drew most of my lightning, shooting sparks into the air.Upon impact, lightning fizzled in all directions as it was funneled away from those I sought to destroy.While only one of my bolts succeeded in hitting a guard, the others shouted as they scurried away.
Turning in the crowd, I brought more lightning down on the stage and the archers lining its edge.They screamed as they dodged my bolts, but like what happened on the parapets, the numerous lightning rods diverted my efforts.
It flashed so brightly around them that it engulfed the stage in a white glow that made it impossible to look at.I turned my head away until its blinding intensity faded.
When I turned back, my father was standing near the stairs.The thunderous expression on his face told me he’d gladly carve out my heart and stomp it into the ground, but that would make my death way too fast for him.
If he got his hands on me, he’d make me suffer far worse than he ever had when I was a child.And once he learned Ellery was the female lightning bearer, he’d probably rupture more than a few blood vessels in his fit.
That possibility made me smile as I waved at him before turning and sprinting into the crowd.Everyone remained jammed together but did their best to part before closing around me again.
“Stay down,” another woman hissed at me, but it was nearly impossible to stay hidden while trying to get to Ellery.
