Page 94 of To Save a Kingdom

A second magestone, one that seemed to be made of darkness incarnate, appeared in Brooks’ forehead.

A rippling explosion blasted from him hard enough to throw Aliya backward and extinguish all the flames in the room. She slammed into the wall, the chair she was still bound to pinning her beneath its weight.

“Ugh.” Groaning, she blinked, willing her eyes to adjust to the sudden blackness as her heart thudded, pushing a constant pulse of white noise past her eardrums.

Where was Brooks? Everything was pitch black.

With a crackle of snapping logs that reminded her of the nights she’d spent beside a fire with Elessan, the blaze rekindled in the hearth and surrounding sconces. Aliya squinted against the too-bright light.

The nobles were gone, but Brooks still loomed over her. He wiped his trembling hand down his face, brushing the leaking shadows away from his nose and mouth as one would with blood. His magestone was dim, it hardly reflected the firelight at all.

Whatever he’d done had drained his power.

Good.

They’d need every advantage they could get to counter the spell.

To Aliya’s right, the doors to the library burst open.

Wrapping her fist around the broken manacle for extra support, she sat up and punched Brooks in the forehead using all the strength and technique Zadé had taught her on the road all those weeks ago.

The gem shattered with a blast of darkness.

Her face burned as tiny fragments sliced through her skin from the force of the explosion. Her blood dribbled down her shirt, mixing with his that still spurted from his mangled nose.

Brooks howled, stumbling away.

“Aliya!”

Elessan. That had been Elessan’s voice!

She blinked, trying to clear the gore from her vision.

A silver canister flew through the air, landing between her and Brooks.

Her heart skipped a beat. No! She wasn’t wearing her earplugs!

Blood rushing past her ears, she struggled against her bonds, even knowing it was fruitless. She’d never escape before the mage-cursed thing detonated, much less get out of range.

She was dead, along with every single person in here who didn’t have ear protection. Her aunt didn’t have the plugs, either. “Shadow, run!” she screamed.

A pulse she felt more than heard ripped through her sternum as the canister quit spinning and rolled to a stop. Its cap clicked into place with a snap.

Aliya froze. She hadn’t sensed the weapon deploy when Malkov’s assassins had kidnapped her from Filathas. Was that it? She glanced down at herself. Her arms still moved, and based on how much the chair was hurting as it dug into her legs and shoulder, she was still alive. But she wasn’t wearing her ear plugs.

Was the Whisperer a dud? Was that possible?

Elessan burst into view, both of his swords drawn, followed by Zadé and—Aliya blinked—Jalius!

Elessan charged into the closest guard. “I thought you said it would knock them all out!” he yelled.

“I said I thought it would,” Jalius called. “I also told you we didn’t have the chance to test it!”

Elessan muttered something under his breath as he slid one blade across his opponent’s neck and moved toward Brooks. “Aliya, you okay?”

Swallowing past the thickness in her throat, she nodded. Realizing he couldn’t see her, she added, “Yeah.”

Brooks spun, drawing a sword and blocking Elessan’s attack at the last moment, redirecting its momentum to the side.