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Another rumble went through the crowd, and the scent of smoke filled the air. The expressions in the crowd had turned from open curiosity to something edged in steel. Some looked eager as Oberon’s carefully constructed mask of power cracked beneath the weight of my words. I took the moment to back up to the wall.
“He doesn’t have his power!” one of the fae called out. “He’s no better than a common fae!”
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Oberon muttered, his steel singing as he raised it before him. “You do not want me to show you my power. It’s the only thing holding back—”
The crowd parted, forming a circle around five elite fae with fire rippling wickedly in their open palms. Around them, five more fae had drawn their swords. They all stared at their king. The room crackled with tension.
I glanced at Oberon just as I hopped off the dais. “You’re done.”
“I’m afraid not,” he said grimly. “You’ve left me no choice.”
I didn’t know what that meant, and I didn’t want to stick around to find out. I edged closer to the door leading out of the hall. The elite fae lifted their hands. Oberon narrowed his eyes. He opened his arms wide just as they launched their power at the dais. A shock of light went through the room, blinding me. A boom shook the floor. The wall beside me cracked, dumping a cascade of crumbling rocks onto my back. I covered my head with my arms and stumbled to the side, trying to blink away the light. The scent of fire filled my nose, and slowly, the world came back into view around me.
Fae screamed. They ran past me, hurtling out the door as if a storm of beasts chased them down. But all I could do was stare. The entire dais was engulfed in flames, including the throne. A chasm gaped in the center of the room, a deep crack zigzagging from the dais to the far wall where Oberon’s tapestry had been shredded. Smoke filled the air, burning my lungs. And everywhere I looked, there was fire.
I glanced around, coughing. Several fae were bleeding. Others were dead, a pile of burned bodies on the floor near the dais. Nowhere could I find Oberon’s gleaming horns, or his crimson hair, or those ember eyes that had haunted my every step.
His words echoed in my ears.
I’m afraid not. You’ve left me no choice.
Had he done this? But how? And if he had, why was there no sign of him?
I didn’t have time to find out. The walls began to crumble around me. Fire snaked through the Great Hall, consuming everything. If I didn’t go now, I’d be trapped in the flames forever.
Sixteen
Tessa
Fae streamed past me. I joined the crowd as they spilled out the doors, but while they veered left to race outside, I spun off to the right and headed toward the dungeons. The roar of the flames and the screams drifted away as I took the stairs two at a time. At the bottom of the steps, I shoved open the door and ran right past Nellie, who was gripping the bars with a panicked look on her face.
“What’s happening?” she called out to me.
“Stay there. Claws and fangs, Nellie. If I’m not back in five minutes, claws and fangs.”
I shoved open the door at the end of the passageway and braced for the worst. Oberon wanted my family dead, and he was nowhere to be seen. I could be too late.
My heart nearly stopped when the next passageway opened before me. Ruari lounged against the nearest wall with a ring of keys dangling off his forefinger. In the distance, I could see Val’s face pressed up against her cell’s bars. And he stood right in my way.
He gave me a lazy smile when I stormed toward him. “What a relief. I was worried you might have lost your nerve.”
I reached for the keys. He closed his fist around them and stepped back. “Not yet. Tell me what happened up there.”
“You got your wish. Oberon’s out. But the entire court is in chaos.”
His smile widened. “He’s dead?”
“I didn’t see a body. Now can you give me the keys?”
“I shouldn’t. You’re dangerous, untethered.”
I frowned. What in the name of light did that mean? “I will make your life fucking miserable if you do not give me those keys.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He tossed them toward me, and I opened my palm to catch them. The cool steel cracked something open inside of me. Freedom was in my grasp. Freedom for Mother, for Val, for Nellie. For me. After everything that had happened, we could finally rid ourselves of this place.
“Take your family and get out of here,” he said. “And don’t come back. My father wanted to play with things he shouldn’t have, but I won’t do the same.”
“What does that have to do with—”
