AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Two men came out with faintly puzzled expressions and followed Wren who walked backward down the hall. Behind them, Aspen spotted a pair of glass doors that led out onto a little balcony. Wren only paused to throw them open, and the men seemed to snap out of their spell for a moment, but Wren picked the music back up and led them out.
When Wren came in again, they locked the glass doors, let the notes keep coming, and hauled ass for the open room.
What the fuck?
Aspen crept forward while the men seemed to come to their senses. With the distance and the glass between them, they probably couldn’t hear if Wren had continued playing. Aspen peeked in and saw a guy on the floor who had been bound and gagged.
“Keep them away if they bust the glass!” Wren pulled away the gag and started undoing the ropes.
“What’s going on?” the guy asked. “Did they kill her?”
“No, but we have to go.”
“What the fuck?!” yelled Aspen. “I’m not doing anything you say! You made everyone go all funny downstairs.”
“I didn’t kill the army like Asara wanted,” shouted Wren. “You owe me.”
Wren managed to loosen the ropes while the two guards tugged and yanked on the locked doors. One drew his boot back. Aspen didn’t know if he could trust the two in the room, and the silver-haired fairy was pretty powerful with that flute.
Glass shattered. The other guy, free at last, let his spouse take him on their back, and Aspen suddenly noticed his trouser leg was half-empty on one side and pinned up.
“Go downstairs, and keep your damn flute to yourself!” snarled Aspen.
“Gladly.” Wren hurried by.
“Thanks,” said the other guy.
The guards were using the hilts of their weapons to clear away more glass so they could climb through without hurting themselves. Aspen turned to run as they came through, and he channeled fire into the crossbow to warm it.
Wren wasn’t going nearly as fast as Aspen wanted, but then again, they were carrying someone.
“How about if you move a little bit fucking faster!” shouted Aspen. “This thing’s not loaded.”
Footsteps pounded down the hall. They had barely reached the landing when a man roared, and Aspen saw one of the men lunge from the corner of his eyes. His heart pounded as he swung the blazing stock to parry the flaming sword. The collision made his arms ache, and the man started to draw back his weapon again.
A fireball hit him in the face. He roared and stepped back to instinctively grab it. His buddy came up behind him and raised a hand, but lightning hit him a second later.
“Aspen! Go!”
Oriel and Roth had come looking for him. Aspen hurried down the stairs after Wren and their husband, but Wren paused near the bottom. Half of the army was glaring daggers at them, and Aspen also shot the fairy a pissed look.
“If you reach for that flute, I’ll slug you!” His arms ached from carrying the crossbow and hitting with it. He certainly wasn’t fit for serious fighting in that regard.
“I betrayed her, not you!” exclaimed Wren. “I know it looked bad, but I needed everyone to relax. I left you out.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t control you because you were closer and had a crossbow. I was hoping you’d hit the Queen and not shoot it at me!”
Aspen’s face burned. “You were the one controlling everyone and seemed like the most dangerous person in the Hall at that point.”
Oriel and Roth came down the stairs, so those two guards must have been dead. Kalen ordered several men to go up and make sure the place was clear.
“You have some explaining to do,” said Oriel. “But first…”
Asara was still alive, but she didn’t look too good. Parts of her face and scalp were burned, and Aspen wrinkled his nose at the smell of scorched hair. Blood ran down her face and neck.
Oriel looked down at her. “Good Elira, Aspen.”
