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She'd studied the castle well enough to know that she could zig-zag her way to the right hall. As the halls rounded, giving way to more halls, and rooms with their doors firmly shut, her unease only grew as she'd yet to see a single soul. Not a servant. Nor a guard. Nor a warlock.
That's when the panic started to settle in. What if this was a trap? Or something far worse? She couldn't imagine what the ‘far worse’ could be exactly but she knew it was always a possibility.
The gods in her head were quiet. If she stretched her soul, she could still recognize their connection, even if for once it was distant. Something was happening. Something bad was brewing.
Ace knew it seconds before the firstboomshook the castle. Her boots slid against the floor as she took a corner too fast and slid into the trembling walls.
There was a single shout. A call for help followed by a fear-stricken scream. And it came from the exact area Ace was heading straight for.
She clung to the wall, frozen to the spot as she listened. The knot in her stomach slid up to her chest, making each heartbeat feel as though it was her last.
The stone walls groaned as some sort of thunder pounded against them. Ace had to will herself to keep moving, force her feet to carry her forward. If the queen was distracted it would only make her job easier. The job she just wanted to get done so she could put this all behind her.
"Come on, Ace," she said to herself, "you can do this. Don't be a baby. In then out. Shelby's waiting for you." Oh, gods.Shelby.
He was in the middle of this too. Somewhere. Ace sent a little prayer up to the gods for his safety. Would they listen? Did they care?
Ace swallowed down her fear and made herself move. There was a clatter of metal on metal that began to grow louder as she neared the throne room where the queen was supposed to be choosing her king.
Slinking against the wall, Ace took a deep breath. The shouts were louder, the clashing metal becoming clearer, sounds of grinding armor and swords meeting swords. One turn and she'd be in the middle of it. She'd have to make it through the thick of the fighting to get into the throne room, if the queen was still there. Or maybe her job had been done for her.
A body slammed into the wall opposite of her, thrown from the action. A guard slid down into nothing but a heap of skin and bones, the light in his eyes already fading, and a gaping hole in his chest oozing blood. Had…had his heart been ripped out??
Oh gods. Oh gods. Ace couldn’t breathe. Air could hardly make it to Ace's lungs as fear finally took its hold. She couldn't swallow the lumps down her now constricting throat. Her feet wheeled her backward, eyes locked on the man who was already passing on. She only stopped when she hit something firm. Something that felt too recognizably human.
Arms seized her chest, pulling her against wet armor. A shout of surprise tore from Ace's raw throat. Her hands slipped off the vambrace that cut into her. Crimson coated her fingertips. Blood dripped from the person that held her.
"I thought all the servant girls had left the building." A rough voice growled before they spun her around.
Ace pushed off of them the moment their arms loosened and spun to face her attacker. Her hand was already reaching for the spell book in her pocket.
"This is quite a surprise." The man locked eyes with her, then slid his gaze down to her throat. "I know someone who is going to want to meet you."
Ace held the book in her trembling fingers, taking a step back with every movement he made toward her. He was pushing her into the fight.
The blood that covered him, streaked his face even, felt significantly less important with each passing second. This was no ordinary man. This wasn't a guardsman she was dealing with at all.
With sharp pointed ears, and a grin that reached all the way across his face, Ace knew who she faced now was not human at all.
"Fae," she gasped.
"That's right, princess," he snarled, launching himself at her.
Ace
Fae must be more dense than humans. Ace was certain of that as she turned to sprint down the hall, the corridor full of guards fighting off Fae, and toward the queen's throne room. The entrance was propped open with slumped bodies. She wouldn't even have to open the door.
She'd almost made it there, her boots sliding through a puddle of blood and the spell book opened in her hands when her attacker rammed into her back. The wind was knocked clear from her lungs as his body weight pressed down on her.
Gods, he was so heavy.
The unfinished grimoire slipped from her fingertips and skittered into the room. Her nails dug at the stone floor, scratching for any sort of purchase she could get as she tried to wiggle away.
Arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. Her scream burned up her throat. This was it. Either she would find herself being Impelled against her will or death had returned for her.
The Fae grabbed her shoulders and twisted her under him so she faced him once more. Sharpened fangs stuck out from his upper lips. Instantly she was a little girl again. She was a child watching as the Fae laughed before they fed on her parents and forced them to entertain them.
He tried to grab her wrists as she attempted to buck him off, throwing punch after punch at him. What little strength she had was nothing against the Fae. She was nothing against him. Not unless she got ahold of that damn spell book!
