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“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
He nodded, and we turned our attention back to the door he’d discovered.
“It’s so small.” Nica leaned in, getting his face as close to the door as he could without touching it. “Hey, it looks like there’s a keyhole here.” He turned to me with wide eyes. “There were keys in the building. Kasper had everyone pile them by the door.”
“Let’s go get them.” We headed back to the building, telling the others we saw along the way that we’d found something. In Nica’s impatience, he loaded the keys up in a sack, tied it to my belt, and demanded that I fly us back to the door. It was a tight fit, but I managed to drop Nica between two trees and then lower myself to the ground as well without damaging my wings.
Kasper landed in the same spot as soon as I moved out of the way, and we made our way back to the door. He frowned when he saw it.
“How is that concealing armor?”
Nica took the sack of keys from me and began sorting through them. There weren’t too many—ten in total—and only two iron ones that looked like they might belong to a door like this. Kasper looked them over and reached for the one in Nica’s left hand.
“I found this one hidden behind one of the stones in the fireplace. If we hadn’t dismantled it, we never would have found it.”
“Seems a good place to start.”
Nica nodded his agreement and reached out to take back the key.
“Let me,” Kasper said, going to the door. As he stood before it, his skin began to harden, stone plates expanding out to cover his whole body. Protection, in case there was a spell on the door. I willed my own plates to harden and stepped in front of Nica. I could take a stone form again, but mine was immobile—a hibernation. Kasper was much older than I and able to cover his entire body in stone while still being able to move as easily as if it were skin. He crouched down and inserted the key. It turned with a click.
A blast of power blew us backward.
And the volcano erupted.
17
Braz
Aroar came from deep in my chest as I watched blood soak the floor around Florin, soaking his clothes and the elder fae’s—the man whose head I wanted.
There were ten fae around me, holding me back. In my panic, I’d allowed them to grab hold of me. I knew I needed to calm down, gain control, take these fae out, and save my friend. I could do this. I just needed to be smart about it.
After taking a few deep breaths, I gathered my strength and pushed my arm out, knocking the three fae holding it off balance. Using their own momentum, I quickly pulled my arm back farther, then yanked it forward. I managed to get out of their grip, and that was all I needed.
With a roar loud enough to shake the walls, I knocked the other seven fae off me in quick succession. I didn’t kill them—although I wanted to, something in the back of my brain knew that’d be a bad idea—but I did knock most of them out or at least bloodied them. Before stepping away from the pile of bodies, I grabbed two swords from one of the unconscious fae.
I turned and charged the elder. Romulus. I wanted his head.
Before I could reach him, Jedrek leapt over Florin and Romulus and raised his sword to block me. My blades met his, and he parried my attack, making me roar in frustration again. I went after him, but the fae was good, too good, with the sword, nothing like the others I’d taken out so easily.
I saw his lips moving but didn’t hear any words. I couldn’t hear anything except the roar of my own panicked heartbeat and the cries of pain from my sweet and kind friend.
“Braz!” Jedrek yelled, finally breaking through. “He’s helping him!”
“He’s hurting him!” I all but growled out, swinging my swords again.
Jedrek said something under his breath, and then I felt an unfamiliar magic whip around me before I was lifted in the air and pushed back. Nothing was holding me, only the air itself, and I roared my anger when I realized Jedrek used his magic on me.
How dare he keep me from my friend. I needed to protect Florin. I needed to save him and Theon from this wretched place.
Bright purple light blinded me for a second, making me squint and hold up my arm as the wind magic finally placed me on my feet. Squinting, I found the source of the light and gasped.
Florin.
He was glowing.
