Page 148 of Of Shadows and Blood

My feet catch and I look back at Sawyer, who is crawling towards the swords dropped by the guards. A blade hangs out of his side and blood trails in his wake.

Indecision captures me.

I snarl and run to melt his shackles off. He jumps at my approach but allows me to work. As soon as the last drop hits the floor, I get up to leave but he grabs my ankle.

“Wait, wait,” he seethes as he points to his back. The blade refuses his natural healing powers and needs to be removed. “Do it.”

I bite back the urge to vomit and grab the hilt. “Okay, one, two—” and I yank.

“Three!” he screams, falling forward, narrowly missing the ash of the dead guards. “What about three!?”

“You never handled pain well,” I say, reaching for his wrists. Once I touch him, my skin lights on fire. “Your allegiance, Prince?”

Sawyer crawls to his feet as the cess yells at us to leave again.

“Now!” I scream.

“Lux, it has always been Lux,” he growls. No time for debating, I swallow my distrust and run to the servants’ entrance.

Chapter 43

Attachment is the never bane of one’s existence. It is that which beckons for a homecoming.

My life flashes before me in splintered shards as we sprint down the halls of Juris. The east wing matches the rest of its gilded halls. The trade of humans has certainly been a great profit to Duresden. The history of this kingdom was always one of squalor, no wonder Rolan was so easily corrupted.

“His father, the old king,” I begin. “Dead? At his hands?” I ask, remembering the funeral we never attended.

“Yes, a power grab. It happens in monarchies.”

“It’s connected. His father, me, all of it,” I wheeze, trying to avoid the whiplash of images playing through my mind.

Dots begin connecting just as quickly as dead ends are reached.

We turn a corner and enter a stairwell that has been otherwise abandoned. The entire castle has been easily accessible, nearly empty. There are no guards here and dread fills me. What else happened while we were here?

Sawyer vanishes and appears at the bottom steps, falling into a wall as his body tries to heal. I sprint down and he turns left, opening a wooden door.

“Where are we—” I pause my sentence, taking in the hundreds of short, metal cages laid out in this large room.

All empty save for the two in the corner. He rushes over to them, and pauses, looking to me.

“Cess metal,” he nods. I understand and place my hands on the bars, willing my power to heat them slightly. The metal, imbued correctly, responds immediately to me. The bars bend large enough for the young human to crawl out. He looks to be no older than sixteen. I make quick work of the second, a slightly older boy jumping through. Fear fills the air.

“Can you two get out of here?” Sawyer questions. The boys cower into each other, brothers, and nod quickly.

“Go, through those doors.” He points to one at the other end. “Take a sharp left and run like hell. Once you make it to the coast, I hope you know where you’re going.”

They both nod again, understanding. The younger one clasps his hands and bows in thanks before they take off down the aisle. My soul prays they make it out of here.

We exit back through the doors and turn right, continuing out of a tunnel leading to the outer grounds. There’s no gate at the end and the ground gives way to a sea cove.

More memories flush back and I pause next to a plant, vomiting the muddy contents of my stomach, which was little considering my captivity. In a snap, I clean the mess up and fertilize the plant before picking up the pace. We are afoot because I don’t trust myself to portal yet. My power may be back, but some things are not easily found.

Wheel tracks, large enough for a royal carriage, pave a path through the seaside woods.

We’re too late.

“No,” I say, still catching my breath.