She dropped to her knees, gasping for deeper breaths. She subtly slipped that bracelet back where it belonged.
He noticed. For a second she thought that demon was coming for her again as he took a step toward her.
What was she thinking, revealing her magic like that?
A voice from across the cavernous room stopped the captain in his second pursuit.
“We brought you here because we need you.” The leanest man glared at the grotesque monster, as if warning him to keep his hands off. The captain snarled back, deep breaths sounding through his nares like a bull ready to charge.
We need you.
She looked to the leanest man again, waiting for more explanation. He resembled what she thought angels might look like, the beautiful servants of the gods who welcomed dead souls into the ether.
“We are the Divine Allura, an army chosen by the gods to protect the mortal realm.”
Helaina tried to listen, but she couldn’t shake the sight of that demon morphing back into his human form. How could someone that impressively handsome house something so cruel within? The mental picture she had of that monster would not be easily erased.
He was a true nightmare.
The angelic man approached her, his light-golden hair that flowed past his ears reflecting the turquoise glow. He kneeled down to her level as her chest heaved.
“An army of what? Are you even mortal?” The question was foolish considering the power she continued to witness in their company. She immediately corrected herself. “...Are yougods?”
He cocked his head to the side.
“Not gods... but we are most certainlynotmortal men.”
The captain joined him. She flinched at his movement, then marveled at the sight of him performing the same eerie trick he had before, his eyes succumbing to voids of black.
“And you,” the angelic man continued, “are just like us.”
Her eyes darted between her captors and the multiple tunnels throughout the chamber. She could think of only two things.
One, that he was lying, and two...
Escape.
“Don’t be a fool,” the brutish captain warned, his low tenor reverberating along every wall.
She didn’t listen.
She let the panic flood in her core and spread to every limb of her body, willing her to move.
She ran.
CHAPTERTWENTY
BEFORE
After Krysta’s encounter with Dolion, Helaina felt like she would never forgive her. She had even told Adriel—actually told on her like they were children again.
Adriel reacted just as Krysta did, even going as far as to summon Dolion before the king.
Dolion had been nothing but respectful. Why was her family doing this?
“You snuck onto castle grounds for weeks without my knowledge,” Oren said to Dolion. Helaina could do nothing. She could only stand by and watch the scene unfold from the dais.
“Your Majesty, my father was gravely injured. I only came here to maintain his position. I committed no crimes.”
