His men wiped their blades, casting sharp looks back over their shoulders, already on edge for whatever came next. The bodies of the fallen guards were sprawled around them as crimson streaked the floor.
Jak finally set Esmyra down and cupped her face with one hand, forcing her tear-glossed eyes to meet his. “I’m real.Thisis real. You’re not seeing things. We’ve got you,” he said, and her shoulders visibly relaxed. “But we need to move. Maerinys warriors are here, and they’re tearing this place apart.”
Esmyra’s eyes widened, panic flickering behind them. “No, no, they can’t be here.” She shook her head violently, taking a half-step back as if the thought burned her.
He grabbed her shoulders, steadying her, and gestured back down the hall from which they came. “Do you know why they’re here, Esmi? Are they here to help you?”
She shook her head, her eyes going distant. “They’re here for me too. But not for the reason you are.”
Jak’s lips pressed in a hard line. Of course they were here for her. But the way she said it, the way her body tensed at only thementionof them, should’ve made him realize they weren’t on the same side at all.
“Then we run and fight our way back through.” He winked. “Draevyn’s here with us. No idea where at this point, but he?—”
“He was in the throne room,” she cut him off. “I saw him.”
“Aye, then it appears we know where we’re headed.”
Esmyra sucked in a sharp breath and held up her shackled wrists. “I have no magic.” The words came out almost as a whisper, brittle and ashamed. “The cuffs drained me. I can’t use anything.”
Without hesitation, all three of the men moved. Ren stripped the daggers from his belt and shoved them into her hands. Riven pulled free a short sword and offered it hilt-first. And Jak duginto his coat and handed her his second pistol, pressing it into her palm with a grim nod.
“Take whatever you need,” he said. “We’ll cover you.”
Esmyra smirked as the weapons settled into her grasp before giving them a subtle nod.
Without another word, all four of them bolted back down the corridor.
CHAPTER 43
Draevyn
Draevyn stood rigid in the throne room, every muscle in his body coiled with tension. He forced his jaw to remain set, his expression neutral as the kings conversed just a few steps away. But his mind was anything but calm.
Where the fuck are they taking her?
The question gnawed at him, louder than the voices around him, louder than the soft crackle of torches in their sconces. He had only caught the briefest glimpse of her being dragged away, a blur of bloodied clothing and defiant eyes, before the doors closed and she was gone. The image replayed in his mind in endless loops, fueling the fire clawing at his chest.
He shifted slightly, scanning the room with subtle glances. The guards now lined the walls, stiff and alert, their hands close to the hilts of their blades. King Keryth watched him with an expression that danced between suspicion and intrigue. Atlas’s arms were folded as shadows pulsed faintly at his wrists as if feeding off his own anger—likely wondering how and why Draevyn was there.
Then shouts echoed faintly through the vaulted hall, distant but growing louder. Metal clashing against metal sounded next; a rising chorus of chaos carried through the throne room, coming from justbeyond its doors. All three of their heads snapped toward the sound, and every nerve in Draevyn’s body sharpened.
King Keryth’s expression twisted into a snarl as his glare bounced back and forth between Draevyn and Atlas. “Do I sense treachery at my gates?”
The two guards posted at the doors shifted uneasily, hands on weapons, waiting for orders.
Atlas’s shadows thickened at his feet, exuding like a dark cloud as his eyes snapped to Draevyn. “What the fuck is happening out there, Drae?” he demanded, his voice low and accusing. His grey eyes burned into him like he could rip the truth straight from his soul.
Is he fucking serious?He had been playing along and now the second there was a sign of a dispute, his own brother turned against him.
Draevyn stepped forward, fists tightening at his sides as heat rippled faintly in the air. “As I stated before. I was down at the docks.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Keryth boomed. “You expect me to believe that Elowynne is missing, and you two monsters show up at my home with lies of a dangerous woman as you dragged her to my feet in chains? The only danger I see here is the two ofyou.”
Another crash sounded, followed by terror-filled screams.
Keryth took a step back, eyes beginning to glow. “This is all some godsdamntrick.”
“You think I’d storm your castle with my own men while standing in your damned throne room?” Atlas spat out.
