“While the idea is truly enjoyable,” I said, “he’d never allow anyone he didn’t trust one thousand percent to get anywhere near him. He probably doesn’t have servants attending him in his rooms; I imagine it’s only guards now.”
“And you’d be right,” Samael said as the corridor ended and he stopped in front of a door. “I’ll go out and make sure it’s clear before returning to you.”
I doused most of my lightning as he pushed a rock to open the door. It swung open silently on well-oiled hinges.
Samael stepped out and looked back at us before closing the door behind him. Only the dim light shimmering along my hands gave any source of illumination while we waited.
Standing there, I couldn’t help but think our fate lay in the hands of a man who would have, at one time, gladly handed me over to Ivan if it meant he’d rise further in power. I did believe he wanted revenge for his father, but how far he was willing to take that vengeance remained to be seen.
At another time in your life, he was your closest friend.
It was difficult to reconcile the two different Samaels in my mind… the one I grew up with and apart from, and the one I’d considered an enemy who’d become an ally.
He could just as easily transform into the enemy again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ellery
Kneeling, I placed my palms flat against the frozen ground. I didn’t have to do this to call on my fog, but I craved a connection with the earth.
Indon’s eyes burned into me, but I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t explain what I sought from the dirt, whether it was energy or solace.
I suspected it was both, and the earth was kind enough to offer them to me. The life pulsing through it soothed the ragged pieces of my tattered soul while also granting me some of its strength, and I desperately needed strength for this.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled the rich aroma of the trees, dirt, and all those standing by me. The sharp, tangy scent of their fear filled the air, but beneath it, I sensed their determination to see this through to the end.
Just whose end would be determined tonight.
Opening my eyes, I discovered silvery tendrils of fog creeping across the land. I wasn’t the only one creating that fog, but I was the only one kneeling to do it. The other amsirah, the ones who could control this element, were scattered throughout the crowd.
The fog thickened as it rolled across the fields surrounding the palace. Some of the guards shifted uneasily and murmured to each other, but most remained unfazed by the approaching mist as we kept it low to make it seem like a natural phenomenon.
On the parapets, a few of the soldiers pointed but didn’t sound an alarm. They were probably more terrified of waking the duke for a false alarm than fighting a battle.
The duke had yet to realize his kind of rule had severe consequences, but he was about to face them. The low fog settled over the field, engulfing the guards’ ankles before spreading out toward the forest.
For at least twenty minutes, we didn’t maneuver the fog at all. Instead, we let it stay there until some of the soldiers’ tension eased. Then, I gave the signal to start raising it.
Gradually, it moved up to the combatants’ calves and then their knees. With casual ease, it rose higher until one of the fighters waved his hand, creating a wind to blow it away. Tendrils of fog cascaded outward, breaking apart before reforming.
More guards attempted to blow the fog away, but it was already rising to their chests. Some of the fog flowed outward, and I concentrated on keeping those areas clear for now while the others moved the mist higher.
The cry of warning would come soon, but by then, the fog would be so thick that, while they could all scream, none of them could stop what was coming.
“Fucking pigs for the slaughter,” Farley sneered. “I hope they come into the woods.”
“Yeah,” another poltergeist growled.
“Let’s gut them.”
I shuddered at their enthusiasm but welcomed it.
“Some of them will run for the woods either to attack or flee,” Ianto whispered.
Between the muffling properties of the fog, our distance from the field, and the faint tone of their voices, the soldiers on the field wouldn’t hear their conversation.
“Yay,” Farley said in a childlike voice that sent chills down my spine.
