“Your errand for Rata,” she explains as she gestures for me to lift my wrists. “Balin stayed in his office until thirty minutes ago. The squirrel got what you wanted and came as quickly as he could.”
“And he got it?” My voice is tighter than I want it to be. I don’t like anyone knowing how important this is to me, even my skjaldmær.
“He did,” she murmurs as she unlocks the cuffs, lifting both in front of us as if she thinks I want to keep them as souvenirs.
But I can’t focus on anything except the rush of magic that fills me, Wrath rising fully from his hole to stretch for the first time in days. I slow my breaths, letting myself enjoy this moment. And then I look down to see her still holding those fucking cuffs.
“Carry them with you until we leave the building,” she explains. “You’ll need to put them back on if anyone catches us.”
“The fuck I will,” I scoff.
“Yes, you sure as fuck will,” she counters. “It’ll let us try again if we miss our chance now.”
I glare but comply, shoving them into my pockets and stepping back inside the room to gather the few things I’m taking with me. Balin and the other pricks were kind enough to provide us clothes, and we all managed to steal a few weapons and store food that will travel well. We’ll take everything we can get from them.
“Where are the others?” I ask as she leads the way through the halls.
“Waiting for us outside. They’re already on Ruxi, who’s hiding nearby.”
We’re at the door within a few minutes, and I gleefully drop the cuffs on the ground as I follow her into the dark night.
We’re not alone, though. Before we’ve traveled a dragon’s-length, a unicorn steps in front of us, Balin on his back. He’s quickly joined by a dozen more, all of them aiming their gods-damned arrows at us.
“When will you realize, brother, that I’m always a step ahead of you?” he hurls. “You don’t leave here unless I release you. And mark my words, Wregen. I will never let you go.”
Fuck me. I should have killed him centuries ago.
Chapter twenty
Finaan
So Fucking Brutal
“TellRuxitocomeget us,” I hiss at Wregen, hopefully quietly enough to evade the ears of the dozen elves nearby.
His head spins and he glares at me, narrow eyes and thin lips telling me exactly what he thinks about that idea. “Fuck, no,” he mutters. “We already established this. I don’t speak with the turnip beast.”
“What we established, dick, is that you will talk to them if we need it. We need it now.”
“I don’t know what you two are chatting about over there,” Balin bellows, “but you both will shut the fuck up.”
Wregen steps forward, placing himself between me and the others, as the archers pull back the strings on their bows. He throws his shoulders back the way he does when he wants to make himself larger. “Back off, brother. I won’t let you keep us here.”
“Do you think you have a choice?” Balin scoffs. “They won’t hesitate,” he adds, looking around him at the waiting elves. “If I see any hint that Wrath is rising or that you’re hoping to fight your way through us, they’ll fill you with more holes than theydid last time.” His voice lowers, a sneer twisting his lips. “Even Wrath must have a limit,” he adds. “I’m not ready to kill you yet, but I will if I must.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Wregen snarls. “You’re too much of a coward.”
“Try me,” Balin says, his tone almost conversational.
“Fuck,” Wregen mutters under his breath, his jaw shifting as one of his legs bounces. He stands even taller, and then casts the words I’ve been waiting for. “Be ready,” he whispers in my ear.
When he lifts his head, I sense him reaching out to Ruxi. It’s not a sound. More like a vibration that dances across my mind, as if his words pass through me on their way to his dragon.
“What do you want, Balin?” I ask, stepping closer to Wregen to make it easier for whatever Ruxi will do. “You’ve never explained why you want us here,” I continue as the headstrong male shifts to stand in front, again placing himself between me and the arrows as he obstructs my view of the waiting elves.
Before I can respond, though, Ruxi shoots into the middle of the unicorns, choosing a path that lets the dragon throw them all off-balance. My stomach catapults into my throat as I watch the beasts scramble to right themselves, many of their riders reaching for bows that fell to the ground with the unexpected assault. As quick as they came, they pivot and streak in our direction. Wrapping a claw around each of us, they yank us toward their gut and spear into the sky.
Two arrows fly as we ascend, one scraping their claw, while the other nearly impales Wregen’s skull. The remnants of my last meal gurgle in my stomach—as if it would have bubbled up and out if I hadn’t clamped my throat shut—when I realize that if Ruxi had been a split-second slower, it would have been a death blow. The bastard I deplore, who I’m desperate to escape after he helps free my dragon, wouldn’t have survived.
