My heart twisting at everything my king’s been through, I reach out and hold her hand. “What happened?”
She looks down at the grip I have on her, then back up to my face. “Aurelia died.”
A sadness washes over her, a flicker of emotion over her normal mask of indifference. And I realise that just like my king, she’s learned to distance herself from her pain.
“Aurelia and I were betrothed by our mothers before we were born. Our engagement ceremony was interrupted with a call to war, but I would have married her. Despite our many differences, I did love her.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“When Richard told me she died, I wanted to bring her back so badly…” Trailing off, she shakes her head. A small smile graces her lips as she looks around, her mask back in place. “You should head to the room now. I know it’s around here somewhere, but if you don’t have the key, you can’t find it.”
I keep hold of her hand, torn between helping her and helping my king. But of course, he wins out. “Just stay here for a second, please. We can talk after I get these hostages?” I offer as I walk backwards.
“Of course.” She inclines her head, and despite wanting to comfort her, I turn on my heels and disappear down the hall.
Looking over my shoulder, I check no one’s there. Then I dig the key out of my pocket and open the door. “Great news, everyone. You’re now free to –”
A gasp leaves me frozen in the doorway. My eyes sweep around the horror of the room. Blood and bits have been flung everywhere – the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Body parts are in too many pieces to count.
In the middle of it all is the yondu, ripping apart Isabel, Coo’s second, like a chew toy with a squeaker inside.
“Yondie, no!” I hiss as I step into the room and quickly lock the door behind me. I’m not sold on that name at all, but I need something to yell. “Bad, Yondie! Yondie! Yondie, come here! Drop the arm, girl. Yondie!”
Rushing towards the yondu, I grab the arm of the woman it has in its mouth and start tugging. “Let go!” Digging her claws into the floor, Yondie growls at me. “No! No, we don’t have time to play. We have to get you out of here before someone sees.”
Worried Deirdre might hear our commotion, I use my sternest voice. “Drop it.Drop. Drooop.”
The yondu yanks really hard. With a wetslurch, Isabel’s arm tears free, and I fall back onto another body. I hold up the severed arm with a look of horror. Flinging it away from me, I try to ignore the wet pool I’m sitting in.
Dropping Isabel’s body, which now only consists of a torso and one leg, the yondu chases after the flying arm. It snatches it out of the air and gives it a goodhearted shake.
“No! Bad, girl. Drop it!” I scramble to my feet. “Dro– Okay,” I say suddenly, trying a different tactic as my eyes skirt around the room. “I guess you can keeponearm. I don’t think anyone’s going to notice that missing. But we still need to get you out of here.”
Heading for the door, I wave to the yondu. “Come on, girl. Come here.”
Ignoring me, she turns her head to the left, looking at the large wardrobe. Trotting over to it, she paws at the double doors, and one of them swings open. She pushes her nose in the gap to widen it further, then crawls inside. Dropping the arm, she circles tightly in the relatively small space for a creature her size, then curls up into a ball. Her bloody tongue lolling out, she closes her beautiful eyes.
I stare at her for a second, wondering how I’m going to possibly get her out of there. What if she’s as bad as Fabiawhen she gets woken up? My skin crawling from the state of my surroundings, I slowly ease back. I mean… if she’s going to sleep, I’m certain it’ll be okay if she stays there.
Standing, I slowly tiptoe away, then turn to face the mess around me.Fuck.
Without the yondu to distract me, the whole situation crashes down on my shoulders. I start to shake. I feel sick. I agreed to release the twelve in exchange for my king. How am I possibly going to –
Deirdre!
Running for the door, I yank it open and race into the hall. “Deirdre!” I shout, not caring that I gave Evangeline my word that I wouldn’t reveal the room to anyone. If I have to choose between her or Richard, he’ll win every time.
Skidding around the bend, I slam into the necromancer, and we both crash to the ground with me on top.
“What the – Why are you covered in blood!” Her eyes track my face, then look down my body. Scrambling off her, I reach down and grab her hand.
“No time. I’ll explain in a bit.” Yanking her to her feet, I start to turn back down the hall.
“Arienna!”
My eyes widen at the sound of Fabia’s voice.
“Come on!” I hiss at Deirdre, pulling her as fast as I can.
