AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rushed down the wide palace steps, vaulting over broken and scattered remains of slagpaw and guards, and more human bodies than I’d have liked, each face burning in my vision like a ghostly specter, until it felt like I was being chased by an army of vengeful spirits.
I rushed into Damien’s arms, squeezing him so tight he winced. His skin was warm to the touch, his cheeks flushed. He looked so vulnerable. I brushed the hair away from his cheek, searching his eyes. I didn’t know what I was looking for. Forgiveness? Anger? Would he want my life in exchange for the immortality I’d taken from him?
He looked like he’d resurrected from the grave, which he basically had. Torn clothes, covered in blood and grime, lightly singed by burning flame. But he was alive. My sister was still squeezing his hand tightly, reluctant to let go. A dirty blindfold covered the top half of her face, shielding her against the harsh light of dawn.
I touched her shoulder and whispered her name, and she clung to me, holding me around my neck so I could lift her up. I looked worse than Damien, I was sure. A bride of death. He stood a few paces away, just out of reach. The gulf between us felt impenetrable.
“Nigel?” he asked, his body tense, his face cautious.
“It’s done,” I said.
“I wish I could have been there for you.”
“It might not have helped.”
I took his hand, and when he didn’t pull away, I felt a warmth like melting honey-butter, rising through my body. The three of us made our way back towards the palace. Some of the citizens were putting out fires with buckets of water, but most of the streets were still empty. The few guards we saw were slumped in corners, their uniforms disheveled. There were still far more of them in the city than the rebels, but without a chain of command, they weren’t eager to attack, and were no doubt nursing hangovers from the intoxication of elixir.
Damien wasn’t the only elite who’d been turned. A few others were standing in stunned reflection, their faces turned up to the sun, like wildflowers after a spring thaw. I wondered how many we’d managed to poison, or whether a few had done so willingly.
The others were waiting on the steps of the palace.
Luke, April, Trevor, Camina. Everyone I cared about.
Almost everyone.
Trevor was human again, his clothes in tatters. He was favoring one leg and the one that had been caught in the trap was bent and warped, like the bone had set wrong. He looked sick with fever but he grinned at me as we approached.
“The others, Penelope and Tobias?” I asked.
“They got somewhere safe before sunrise,” Camina said. “Small room, dark curtains. But Emily…”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Your brother was too weak,” April said. “He’d already lost too much blood.”
I steeled myself for confirmation that Jamie was dead, another casualty in my brutal war, but something in their faces led me to the truth.
“You gave him elixir,” I guessed. “And he turned.”
“He’s safe for now,” Trevor said. “You can see him tonight with the others.”
Damien was seeing the sunrise for the first time in a century, and my brother would never see its light again.
“And the queen?” I asked. It felt wrong to use that word, but I wasn’t sure how many people knew Damien’s mother’s real name, and it was too early to have that conversation.
“Locked up, restrained. Tobias is keeping an eye on her. As long as she doesn’t feed, she’s not a threat. But a decision will have to be made—”
“It will be,” I said. “But let’s discuss it later.”
“There’s something else,” Luke said, his eyes dark. “There’s another bomb. I found out earlier from Jacob’s people. His plan was to destroy the palace, if you can’t… if you weren’t successful.”
“But I was,” I said.
“Still,” Luke said. “I have a feeling this isn’t quite over.”
I nodded. I’d let a bunch of rebels into the citadel, and now there was nobody left to stop them. They were my responsibility. I glanced up at the palace, feeling a shiver run down my spine. Was there another bomb hidden inside, with my brother and elite allies? They were trusting me to protect them, and I’d smashed open the door to their sanctuary. The thought made a rush of anxiety flood through me, but I couldn’t see how the rebels would have made it inside, when I’d barely been able to get in myself.
Curate Marcus came down the steps from inside, supporting a small figure with curly dark hair. Rivka was alive, and still human, but had a nasty scar across her neck. I left Damien and went to meet them in the threshold.
