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I wasn’t the only one with the same questions. Dyf shouted at Daeary without breaking his stride, “Did the king’s enforcer just kill the black mage?“
“It seems so. He will pay for this with his life.”
I stumbled, and Than dragged me along by the arm until I found my balance. Breathing harshly, I gasped, “Is… there nothing… we can do?”
Than stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Why in God’s name would you like to save that Fae bastard? He works for the king.”
I couldn’t answer, out of breath as I was.
Daeary growled, “Watch who you call a bastard, human. Bleddyn just saved all our lives.”
When we reached the end of the tunnel, nobody was guarding the exit. It seemed as if every available soldier had been called to the arena to stop the contestants from escaping. Daeary cracked the door open and peeked outsides. Then he flung it wide open, and we stepped into the empty square. Nobody challenged us as we crossed to the other side and disappeared into the network of alleys.
When we’d gone far enough, I stopped until the three men turned and waited for me to speak. Crossing my arms, I glared at them. “What the hell was that back there? These weren’t trials. It was wholesale slaughter. I don’t think anybody would have survived to the end.”
Than shrugged as if to say, “Who can tell with those crazy Fae?”
Dyf was the only one who attempted an answer. “I cannot tell you for sure. Maybe it was the new king flexing his muscles. Maybe the mayor is a sadistic bastard who wanted to warn his subjects to not rise against him.”
“I disagree,” Daeary responded after a moment’s silence. “This whole setup was very wrong. Did you notice how the spectators reacted? Nobody expected the trials to come to this. Something does not add up. It was as if the black mage was acting, not on behalf of the mayor, but on behalf of something more monstrous.”
“Let us get out of here.” Dyf set off, away from the square, but I didn’t budge.
“No. We’ve got to go back and save Bleddyn.”
All three males stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.
Than finally said, “Kitten. Be serious. We can’t go back. You saw how many soldiers are in the arena. If we don’t leave now, they’ll hunt us and drag us back.”
I folded my arms and dug my heels in. “I know that. But don’t you see? He put his life on the line so we could get away. But they didn’t kill him outright. Prys will want to execute him, probably in public. That means we got a chance to save him.”
Dyf rubbed his chin, his eyes unfocused as he considered my words. “He did save us. I would be loath to leave a debt unpaid, but there are only three of us”—he caught my death glare and quickly corrected himself—”four of us and hundreds of trained soldiers. How do you suggest we free him?”
He had me there. I had no clue. Looking beseechingly at Daeary, I asked, “Do you have any ideas?”
His head flew up. “Run!”
I gaped at him. What?
An arrow thudded next to my ear into the wall of the house we were leaning against. I whirled around, trying to see where the attack was coming from.
Dyf wasn’t having any of it. He broke into a sprint, not even slowing down as he picked me up and flung me over his shoulder. “You heard the demon! Run!”
Chapter thirty-six
BETH
Hisshoulderdugintomy stomach, and for once, I was glad it was empty. Because otherwise, the contents would be dripping down his back, the way he jostled me.
We raced through the backstreets of Aelwyd, dodging arrows while the Fae guards tried their best to kill us. Than and Daeary pumped their arms next to us, their labored breaths like bellows over the shouts of our pursuers.
We lost them somewhere near the market quarter where little shops made it easy for us to run in the front, through the display area, and out the back. None of the owners inside looked surprised as we sped past their wares. One even shouted, “Good luck,” after us.
The Fae of Aerwyd really didn’t like the new king and, by extension, his guards. By the time Dyf slowed down, every bone in my body hurt. The jostling and bouncing on his bony shoulder was bad enough, but hanging upside down with no way of supporting my head had done a number on me.
When Dyf put me on my feet, the world swam out of focus and the sides closed in. Then my vision went black, and I fell. Gentle hands caught me and lowered me to the ground, pushing my head between my knees until I recovered.
Than fed me some water from a skin he’d lifted from one of the shops. I drank deeply until I felt more steady. Then I looked around. We were back in a forest, but it felt different, light and airy, compared to the Vale.
