“Yes!” I cried when I made it, and wrapped my arms along the curve of the tower’s structure, nearly kissing its stone in thanks.
Not daring to turn around, I moved my feet along the new ledge until I reached the library’s window and climbed through.
My body hit the marble floor of the seemingly abandoned section of the castle, and a wicked cackle forced its way out of me from pride.
“Gods, I can’t believe I just did that,” I whispered to myself as I lay there, staring up at the arched ceilings and towering, ancient bookshelves.
Pushing myself to my feet, my eyes roamed over the dark chamber, where clearly the only thing that had accompanied the books since my departure had been dust.
On silent feet, I rushed toward the door, but then realized that while I had freed myself, I was without any means of protection.
My eyes flashed back to the abyss of books, roaming over anything that could be used as a weapon when my stare landed on two mounted, curved daggers that were hung above the fireplace.
Those would have to do.
I raced across the room, dragging one of the table’s chairs with me to the fireplace and climbed on it. My hands wrapped around each of the daggers’ hilts, and I was thankful they easily slid out from their mount. I carefully climbed down from the chair and admired the blades in the light that shone in from the window before tucking one beneath the belt of my dress as I kept the other in hand.
The next moment, I was racing through the library’s door and down the halls, carefully peering around each corner before thrusting myself forward.
I had no idea where to go, or how I would even get outside without finding a tunnel I could navigate—and that was even if they hadn’t all been boarded up like the one in my chambers.
All I knew was that I had to find Lia. I had to help all of them, even if it was the last thing I did.
Chapter sixty-nine
Veli
The healer's tent stoodat the edge of the violent battleground. What would normally be a haven amidst chaos had turned into absolute madness itself. Sounds of the injured and dying erupted through the air, coming from all directions.
Horror and pure anguish clogged my throat as the scene of Madalae bursting into ash replayed in my mind, along with the sounds of devastation from her twin—who had abandoned us a moment later after blasting everyone near her into nothing.
Anger originally fueled me as I watched her flee, but I couldn’t blame her. Empri fled before she mistakenly erupted her entire rage on Elianna’s supporters, so it may have been better off this way. Even though we now had significantly less magic on our side, with only me and my already injured body to wield the sorcery.
I burst through the flaps of the tent, the scent of medicinal herbs and the tang of spilled blood stuffing my nostrils. A low table stood at its center, various vials, jars, and instruments sprawled out in disorder as the healersfrantically grabbed items needed to save any of the lives they could.
Wounded soldiers lay on crimson-stained cots, their armor removed to expose injuries ranging from third-degree burns to severe stab wounds and missing limbs. The healers moved desperately from patient to patient, some stitching lacerations while others lathered salve atop raw, charred skin.
My breathing quickened as my eyes shot around in every direction, absorbing the overwhelming energy the others exuded as they flashed by me on all sides.
My eyes locked with Finnian from across the tent as he worked to stitch a soldier, and I raced toward him.
His stare held nothing but panic and sorrow.
“What can I do?” I asked.
“Go back out there, Veli!” he snapped, and my eyes flared, never hearing the boy lose his temper before. “We have this handled.”
“I was sent here, boy. Use me while you can!” I ordered. “I am here to help while I heal myself.” I raised my palm before him, the hole from the arrow slowly stitching itself closed before our eyes.
His eyes flared as they landed on mine while he worked to stitch up a gaping wound in a soldier’s side, his needle holding firm in his grasp. Something resembling pride flared in me at the sight of the boy finding his mark.
I knelt next to the cot beside him, where another man was taking what seemed to be some of his last breaths as blood poured from his wounds and trickled from his lips. My focus narrowed in on the soldier's injuries,and my eyes cast their glow as I willed the injuries to heal from the inside out.
“Veli, should you be doing that as your body tries to heal itself?” Finnian asked warily.
“Hush, boy,” I quieted him. “There is much to do, but if I am to leave here and go back out there and fight, I need to leave you all here in a good place as well.”
He gave me a curt nod in response.
