Draevyn’s attention moved back to the doorway where his eyes locked on his first mate among the guards. “Sam, don’t!” he begged. “The velsinyte will kill her!”
Something like pity flashed across Samwell’s eyes.
Esmyra looked in Draevyn’s direction then, the pain of betrayal still exuding from her haunting stare.
“Wildfire…” The word was a whisper, a plea on his lips. “Run.”
The guards hesitated for only a moment before Atlas roared, “Fire!”
“No!” The command erupted from Draevyn, but it was too late.
BANG. BANG. BANG.The first shots rang out, echoing from all sides of the throne room.
Water surged up from the marble floor in a violent spray, forming a barrier between her and the line of armed guards. The bullets struck the rushing tide and slowed, sinking uselessly into the liquid wall, but still, they forced their way through the magic.
Draevyn moved without thinking, reaching toward her, but panic seized him as Atlas reacted. His shadows snapped toward her in twisting tendrils, reaching to ensnare her ankles from behind.
Esmyra sensed it instantly and turned her hand toward his brother.
Fuck.
A stream of crackling lightning shot out, aiming for his chest. Atlas barely had time to lift his shield from the floor before her magic slammed into it, sending him flying back into a column with a sickening crack.
The sound made Draevyn’s stomach lurch, but Atlas was pushing himself off the ground almost instantly with Elowynne’s aide.
Esmyra’s gaze met Draevyn’s, her eyes flashing like the depths of a storming sea.
And then a single sharp crack split through the air—BANG.
She jerked back, a choked sound leaving her lips, and Draevyn’s entire world went still.
The air seized in his lungs as the bullet struck. His stomach turned to stone. Blood bloomed across Esmyra’s side, dark against her skin as its glow sputtered out. In the blink of an eye, Kaelypso no longer appeared before them but the image of his Wildfire. It was as if she’d lost her power from the attack, now appearing mortal before them all.
Esmyra let out a gut-wrenching scream, and a group of guards charged.
Another shot rang out. She ducked, spinning low, but the bullet met its mark, tearing through her thigh.
Atlas leveled the smoking gun again, his expression cold. “Not so invincible now, are you?”
Rage snapped through Draevyn like wildfire. Before his brother could fire again, he moved. “Fuck!”
Esmyra was getting closer to the doors now, but she was limping.
She had to get out. He had to get her out before they found a way to kill her.
Draevyn ran for her as flames burst from his palms, sending heat lashing through the air to force the guards back.
Esmyra wavered on her feet as her hands pressed against the wounds. The moment her knees buckled, he dove for her, catching her before she could crumble to the ground. Her skin was hot beneath his touch, but he instantly knew it wasn’t from her usual power. It felt different. Fevered and unstable.
Esmyra looked up at him, her eyes dazed, her breath ragged. “What are you?—”
“Helping you,” he cut her off, tightening his grip around her waist as he lifted herinto his arms.
She stiffened, her pride warring with the obvious agony tearing through her body. “Put medown!”
Draevyn turned toward the doors, cradling her as she tried to shove out of his hold. “Over my dead fucking body.”
“That can be arranged,” she snapped, and he didn’t even bother hiding his grin.
