AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They’re coming,” I whisper, mostly to myself, but the Nymphs nearest us had stopped talking, their conversation put to a halt as they listened intently. It didn’t matter if we were ready to face a Fae army or not, we would have to.
“Well, we can’t very well stay here anyway, the castle is bound to collapse and I, for one, do not want to be inside when it does,” I started, turning toward the crowd. “We should flee the Heathern Court. We’ve outstayed our welcome in this crumbling hellhole.” I tried to make my voice loud to catch the attention of many.
Varied expressions turned toward me. The sun behind me lit up their features well enough that I could see every parted, pouting mouth and every narrowed gaze clouded by furrowed brows. I hoped in the shadows they wouldn’t see my worry or the way my confidence wavered.
We had come this far, there was no turning back now. This is what I had asked for, wasn’t it? This was it. I wanted the bloodshed. I wanted revenge. It was love that had made me soft. Not only soft but neglectful. I was better when I wasn’t distracted. Even if it meant that I was alone.
“We can’t give up this land,” a voice rose with frustration.
“An uninhabitable castle will do us no good. If we can make it to another court, we could unite with their Nymphs and army.” I couldn’t let anyone else die here.
Shavarra’s hand skimmed my arm stopping to grip my bicep in silent agreement before she spoke. “We could go to the Twinity Court, our newest alliance.” Those who had fled from that court only weeks ago looked both thrilled and appalled.
With a sigh, I pulled away from Shavarra’s touch and avoided her knowing gaze.
“No,” Slyke interrupted. “Their projected travel indicates that we will be more likely to get cut off or met by them in our travels. If you wish to avoid bloodshed, the Twinity Court is out of the question.”
“Fine, we will go to the Acture Court, then.”
The crowd didn’t respond to this, not in spoken words. Yet, their feet shuffled uneasily in the dirt and many found their hands fidgeting at their sides. Despite what good I had spoken of King Windre, to them he was the king that stole from the courts and broke Nymphs.
“It’s safe there, I promise,” I tried. Shavarra’s head bobbed in my periphery. We all knew the Nymphs that followed her here took her word as gospel. I could only hope one day someone would trust me like that too. Even if right now it was still debatable if I trusted myself.
The murmurs that flowed through the crowd broke up the cliques that hadn’t turned our way yet. Confirmation of the decision traveled between them as they turned their attention to us. The weight of their gazes covered my skin.
“Here,” Shavarra said, twisting to grab something, “a bag with some essentials. Just water and food we were able to snatch from the kitchen.”
She lifted a bag I hadn’t noticed from the ground and dropped one strap into my palm. My hand didn’t lower with the weight like I thought it would, meaning there were fewer supplies for us to take. A new worry to add to my growing list. With a thankful smile, I pulled the crystal from my pocket and tossed it into the bag.
“Slyke, can you get a message to Dace? Just let him know where we are going.” Before Shavarra could even finish, Slyke was already disappearing.
I took the last few steps from the castle, fighting the urge to look back at it with longing. This would fall apart just like the kingdoms of King Ganglin and Ottack would.
“Everyone is out of the building?” I asked.
“Yes.” A chorus of validation chirped from those around me.
“They better be, because I’m going to watch this building burn.”
“Head toward the old trade route,” Shavarra called loudly, shooing the crowd back with her hands. Members of what was once our guard helped to corral everyone away from the building.
The pounding of all our steps on the grass pulled at the memory of being gathered on the Day of Ruin. Only today there wasn’t the same sting of loss. I wasn’t being ripped from Hattie’s arms and shoved into a wagon full of weeping Nymphs. Today it felt different. It felt empowering. We shifted together as an army rising up against our oppressors.
Slinging the bag over my shoulders, I trudged forward at the back of the group, counting my steps until we were out of harms way. At some point Daethian would show back up, Dace would send help, and we would be safe in the Acture Court. Every step we took away from this castle would solidify those things in our future.
As we reached the valley nearing the trade route, I turned to look back at the building that had housed the worst years of my life. We took back what it had stolen from us and now it would be completely gone. It was a pleasant thought to think that if something was rebuilt here that it would be a totally new building without stones drenched in Nymph blood.
Magic seeped through my feet. My power traveled through the ground, sparking against roots, rocks, and twigs as it made its way to the vines. Their intended purpose had been fulfilled, so I pulled them away. Like cracking bones, I felt the wood snap. The ground rumbled with the shift as the building began to shake. Dust clouded the air, pluming up toward the sky.
And the walls came falling down.
Chapter4
Milo
It was true that I had never really spent much time in a cell myself. I had always been the person putting people behind bars and chaining them up—not the one tossed in the damn hole. Yet, here I was counting the dots of blood on the wall and trying to breathe through my mouth so I didn’t have to think about the stench coming from the small bucket meant to be my latrine.
It wasn’tsobad. In this cell, there wasn’t anyone to talk to. Something I particularly enjoyed. Silence was golden. If it hadn’t been for the uneven stone under the bed of hay it would have been the best night of sleep I’d ever gotten.
