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“That way,” he said, cocking his thumb over his shoulder. “That’s our way out.”
“That’s a sheer ledge.”
“There’s a rooftop on the other side of it, about seven feet across and four feet down.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I know this building like the back of my hand, and I was the one who planned this escape route to begin with.”
“If you know about it, then Rolan knows about it, which means the soldiers know about it.”
“All we need to do is stay out of sight and keep moving.”
“And go where?”
“We get Colbolt, then we get out of the city.”
“Valerian, you aren’t thinking right. If the Queen’s soldiers came for us here, and they have us surrounded, then they've closed the gates and blocked every possible way out of Lysa.”
“Trust me, I have an idea, but first we need to get to Colbolt. We can’t leave him here.”
“I definitely agree with that,” said Gullie. “Amara, it doesn’t look like we have many options, here.”
I shook my head. “Alright, fine. We’ll do it your way.”
“Good,” Valerian said. “How are your magic reserves?”
“My… what? Good, I think. I haven’t had to use any magic since we got here.”
He nodded. “Keep it that way. We’ll need it.”
“What?Why?!”
“Just trust me!” he yelled, and he tugged me along with him as he rushed toward the ledge of the building. Already I could hear arrows go whizzing past my ears—he had been right, there were archers waiting for us to make our move. He was also right about the distance to the other rooftop, which at first glance I wasn’t sure I could clear.
I didn’t hesitate, though. Instead, I launched myself through the air after him. Valerian landed on his shoulder and tucked into a roll, while I landed on my feet, momentum still pushing me forward. I could hear the guards around us yelling at each other, announcing our positions, our directions. We didn’t stop moving. Instead, we continued forging ahead, leaping from rooftop to rooftop following Valerian’s path.
It was a rush.Exhilarating. The wind in my hair, the arrows going past us, the adrenaline surging through me. I hated how alive I felt when I was in the midst of this kind of activity, but I needed that anger because it gave me focus. It helped me clear my head and maintain my concentration on what I was doing, where I was going, and what my body needed to do to make sure I achieved that goal.
Time slowed to a complete stop the moment we reached ground level, though, and found ourselves face to face with three of the Queen’s soldiers all clad in steel, and one tall, slender looking man draped in a violet cloak. I couldn’t recognize him, his face was pale, and his hair was dark and long, but he had no antlers on his head.
He stepped ahead of the soldiers and raised his hand toward us. “I’m afraid this is where the road ends for you,” he said with a soft, floaty voice. “Surrender now, and you will not be harmed.”
“If you want us to surrender, you should’ve brought more soldiers with you,” said Valerian.
“Soldiers were never going to keep you two contained,” said the strange Fae in the violet cloak. “Which is precisely why I’m here.” He turned his hand upside down, and in his palm erupted a small, blue flame which quickly grew in intensity.
Valerian drew his sword, but I didn’t wait for this Fae to strike us with magic. “Hold on tight!” I said to Gullie, and I threw myself to the ground, shrugging into my wolf form and snarling at the magic user.
“Cute,” he said, “But that won’t help you.”
He pulled his hand back like he was about to launch a ball of fire at me, and I surged toward him, ignoring the three soldiers behind him and aiming to knock him off his feet. My jaws widened, I turned my head to the side, and went to clamp my teeth around his midsection, but the Fae in the violet cloak burst into a cloud of smoke and disappeared.
My jaws slammed shut on nothing but air.
“What the hell?!” Gullie shrieked.
“Over here,” came that soft, almost melodious voice. By the time I turned my head to the side, I was struck with something that felt like a sledge-hammer made of ice and cold fire. It knocked the wind out of me and threw me to the ground, dazed and entirely spun around.
