Three minutes passed and then—
Arcane flew overhead. I saw him carrying two people beneath his wings, but I couldn’t make out who the second person was yet. I didn’t care. All I could focus on was her as he landed on the grassy patch before us.
She was here, right in front of me. It felt like my soul was being put back together, like I could finally breathe for the first time in weeks. It took everything in me not to rush to her. Until I sawhim, saw who was holding her. Everything clicked. Her fear, her emotions…
“I thought you agreed to come alone.” My voice was a lethal calm, but inside I was fuming. I knew he wouldn’t. I knew my brother would have backup, but seeingwhohe brought woke something feral in me. Maybe it was the bond. Maybe it was from being away from her for too long or that I knew she was hurting and I couldn’t do anything about it.
“I know my limits, Tez. In battle, you beat me every time. I needed a way to talk to you, and a means of getting out of here too.”
“And you thinkhe’dstop me?” I glared at the compulsion user who was holding Scottie hostage. She was in the same gown from the broadcast. I remembered every single detail of her from the screen. I kept replaying the image over and over again in my mind. Her blue eyes met mine as I scanned her from head to toe, checking for any injuries even though Arcane told me she was okay.
She was shaking, her chest moving rapidly sucking in air, but I couldn’t hear her breathe. I couldn’t hear anything.
“No, I don’t think he’d stop you. I brought Kole here because if you do anything stupid, he has orders you won’t like, things he’ll do to Scotlind.” On command, his grip tightened around her. Her mouth flew open like she was screaming, but no sounds were coming out.
“What did you do to her?” It took every ounce of self control I had to not go running toward her and rip her from his hands. But if I wanted to get her back, I had to let Rainer and Sie do the work. I just had to keep distracting him, keep him talking. It was the only reason I let Wells and Arcane go so long in the beginning. Rainer had to get ready, and by how much I was fuming, I didn’t even register that it started—
Kole and Arcane revolted, lightning twisted under their skin, leaving cauterizing marks. Scottie’s agony hit me a second later, the electricity consuming her. I could feel it inside me, running through my own veins, shocking me to my core, and even though I was left unharmed, her pain was destroying me.
The next second, Scottie was gone. I felt Rainer’s power fade as she was ripped from Kole, leaving him writhing in agony alone on the snow-covered grass.
It would be harder with Kole here, but the thought of holding him captive at the end of this had me fleeing intoaction. The lingering effects of Rainer’s power felt more electric now, jolting me awake. Sie reappeared without Dove’s invisibility, and I sighed in relief as he nodded. The single gesture let me know she was safe. The first half of our plan worked. The half that mattered most to me, and I was really going to enjoy the second half.
Sie tossed me a set of Alluse shackles, the metal felt wrong in my hands, and I thanked the Goddess Kallon thought of bringing an extra pair. Sie lunged toward my brother, while I went for Kole, neither of us saying a word. Rainer kept his ability focused on both of them, leaving them defenseless on the ground.
I knew it was taxing for him. Rainer struggled with maintaining his power, and the fact that this entire clearing wasn’t crashing with lightning was enough to tell me he’d been practicing and getting better at his control. Rainer didn’t stop until Sie and I had Arcane and Kole locked under the Alluse chains.
We both grinned madly at each other, probably looking half-crazed as Rainer’s powers started to subside.
And it might have been the first genuine smile I ever shared with the Dark Prince.
FORTY-THREE
SCOTLIND
Panic filled me.I was back in Brighta, but the camp was different than before. It looked smaller, and I realized they had moved locations because of me. Peter was holding me down as Kallon left to go back through the portal. I didn’t know what was happening, why Arcane brought me here, or the reason he involved Kole.
Excruciating pain was still rippling through my body. It was a paralyzing shock that rendered me useless. I couldn’t move. I could barely think. All I could focus on was the lightning flickering through me. It was agony and death wrapped in one long torturous, unending moment. Like time stilled, and I was left dying over and over again with no one to save me.
Peter was speaking, but I couldn’t hear him. He was holding me on the ground, his arms wrapped around me, and I realized I was shaking. My entire body was covered in pale streaks that looked like white lightning had stained and burned onto my skin. All I could do was stare and watch and feel—
Black and purple mist reappeared, and Kallon portaled Savannah and Wells through. She was gone before I could askher what happened. Savannah was staring at me, but I couldn’t process her emotion, my mind was still whirling in pain.
Kallon was back, dumping Dovelyn and Rainer onto the grass next to us. The latter avoided looking at me. I thought I heard a mumbled “I’m sorry”before the portal opened again and Sie and Arcane came through.
Sie had the same white streaks from where he had grabbed me, but his were only on his hands and forearms. Arcane was covered head to toe, and I knew Kole would be too. Did I look that bad? The eldest prince didn’t fight back against his chains. He was static, unable to hold himself up. Foam was pouring from his mouth and tears were streaming down his face, matching my own.
Then Kole and Tezya appeared, and everything stopped. Kole was dumped on the grass next to Arcane, but Tezya’s eyes found mine, and I lost it. I pushed up from Peter’s grip with everything I had, my legs still shaking, as we both met each other halfway. I leapt into his arms, not caring about who was watching as his hand cupped the back of my head and he held me to him.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Rumor.” He kept repeating over and over again, and it wasn’t until I tried to respond that I remembered I still couldn’t speak. Tezya stilled as he noticed. My feet hit the soft grass as he gently set me back down, but his arms never left mine, and I was grateful because I would have fallen over without it. I wrapped my hands around my throat, trying to get the words out to explain, but they didn’t come.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” Tezya snarled at his brother.
“The antidote… is… in my front pocket,” Arcane grunted against the pain, his body still convulsing as he laid on the ground. The metal in his shackles flared and ricocheted with lightning as it gathered around his hands where the scarring was the worst.
Sie stepped forward, grabbing Arcane by his shirt, avoiding the damning chains, and pulled a green vial out of his pocket. He turned it over, inspecting it. “Where’s the needle?”
Savannah grabbed the tube from his hands, frowning at it. “It’s not an injection. She needs to drink it.”
