“No.”
I spent a lot of time in the palace during my years with Leo and knew it well, but I had no idea where the duke stationed his fighters or how to avoid them. We could leave the dungeon behind, only to walk into a contingent of soldiers. While I’d fry as many of them as I could, their numbers would overwhelm us, and I refused to return to that cell.
“We’re going to have to trust that dick,” Callan said.
Everything in me rebelled against that idea, but we had no choice; we had to trust the Sheriff of Nottingshire—the man who’d been hunting us for months and who had imprisoned and tortured many amsirah since acquiring his position.
He was everything we were fighting against and our only hope.
Samael stood by the other door, staring expectantly at us. I had no idea why he was doing this, but I would find out. The crying man’s toes dragged the ground as we strode toward where the sheriff stood with his hand on the knob.
When we drew closer, Samael turned away and looked through the door’s window before opening it. We followed him out of the dungeon and into a narrow hallway with a set of stairs leading to the floor above.
No guards were there, but without being able to open a portal, we remained trapped in the palace. It was only a matter of time before we ran into trouble.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ellery
I didn’t have time to register any details of the earl’s cavernous room before Luna sprinted toward the mound in the center of the enormous bed. I stretched a hand out for her, but it was already too late; she was beyond my reach.
She didn’t make a sound as she leapt onto the bed. The mound beneath the blue blankets grunted, but I still couldn’t see the earl.
“Hello, master,” Luna snarled.
“Wha…?” came a groggy reply.
Clasping her dagger in both hands, Luna raised it over her head and shrieked as she drove it down. A burst of red sprayed from the blankets as Luna tore her dagger free and slashed it down over and over again.
She moved with impossible speed as the blood spray drenched her and the blankets. The earl didn’t scream, but his legs kicked beneath the blankets, and one hand flailed at the air as he tried to knock her away; the earl screeched when Luna sliced through his palm.
Tearing myself free from my shock, I turned away as I searched the room for a guard. Luna’s attack had happened so fast that I didn’t have the time to make sure the earl hadn’t decided to have some of his men watch over him in his room.
I spun in a circle, trying to take it all in, but if there were any soldiers in the room, they would have moved to stop Luna by now. I scolded myself for not reacting faster as I strode away to examine the rest of the room.
Scarlet followed me, but I didn’t think it was because she worried someone could be hiding here; I suspected she wanted away from that bed. The earl had stopped kicking, and his hand no longer flailed, but the sickening, wet thud of the blade piercing bloody flesh continued.
I should have seen Luna’s reaction coming and been prepared to intervene so she would stay safe, but I was too focused on the mission. That was a mistake I wouldn’t make again, though I doubted Luna would attack anyone else with this kind of unthinking savagery.
The earl deserved everything she unleashed, and Luna deserved her revenge. I would gladly unleash the same wrath on the duke and anyone else who stood between Ryker and me.
I’d take down everyone who wished to harm this realm, but my stomach couldn’t handle watching Luna’s retribution. This was also something personal to her, and I was an intruder.
With my lightning leading the way, I entered the earl’s closet, which was bigger than mine and my parents’ bedrooms combined. All his clothes were either hung neatly or tucked away on perfectly organized shelves.
Row after row of shoes and boots took the entire back wall. Not one blemish marred their shiny surfaces. I couldn’t imagine how much time it took to polish these things.
“Why would anyone need so many shoes?” Scarlet whispered.
“I don’t know, but I’d love to set them all on fire.”
“Me too.”
When we left the closet, I was relieved to discover Luna’s attack had ended. She remained on the blood-drenched mattress; her shoulders hunched forward as sobs wracked her slender body. The dagger lay on the bed before her.
Slowly approaching the bed, I walked around the side and, after extinguishing my lightning, rested my hand on Luna’s shoulder. I tried to avoid the blood soaking her and the blankets, but it was impossible.
Rivulets of red dripped from her once golden-blonde hair and slid down her face. The tears falling from her blue eyes created trails of clean skin through all the blood.
