Mine to Fear (Mine #3)(65)
And maybe my fears are wrong. Maybe the Grand Chancellor is treating him better than I thought. Unlikely though it may be, maybe there is reason to hope.
We're silent after that, all lost in our own thoughts, fears, and hopes. Time passes, what seems like an infinite amount of time, but it does move. Eventually, Lukas comes for Cynthia. They are darling together. But from the look in Serena's eye, I know she's missing Zade. They should have been married by now instead of being separated by a sadistic lunatic.
“We'll see him soon,” I whisper to her.
Her mouth pinches together like she's trying to keep from crying out, but she nods. It takes several hours to form a plan of attack. One I hope will win us the day, but with backup plans in case it doesn't. With any luck, we'll be seeing Daniel and Zade in the near future.
Chapter Fifty-One
This is it. It’s finally time to take down the Grand Chancellor. We will not just meet him on his own territory, but we will smash him. And then, we'll save Zade and Daniel.
There's no hiding this time. No cowering behind bushes or running from guards. It’s just us, straight up, ready to attack. We're numbered many more than the guards and servants the Grand Chancellor keeps. With a little help from Nathaniel on the inside, the Grand Chancellor isn't going to know what hit him.
I'm in the front of the line at the Grand Chancellor's house, ready, next to Jack. To one side is Cynthia, Lukas, Chadwick, Katherine, and Charles. Those two are the only tarnished present. On the other side of me are Serena and Annabelle, the former with a gun in hand, and both with the fierce look of a determined warrior on their faces. I would not want to be the person standing between them and those they love. It will be dire.
No holding back. No waiting for an attack. It's just us, ready to charge ahead.
“Before we do this,” Jack says for my ears alone. “I want you to know something.”
“What is it?”
“I think I've fallen in love with you.”
“And I think I've fallen in love with you.”
I don't know who starts the kiss first. We both move toward each other like we're the only thing in the world, and we won't let anything stop us from being together. From kissing.
His lips are on mine, and I kiss him back with all the energy and feelings I have for him. It moves through me, filling me with peace even amidst the war. But the peace quickly turns into something more. A blaze building through me. Consuming me. It's like being in the midst of thousands of firework spells, all reaching toward a grand finale more spectacular than any before it.
When our lips finally part, it's with great hesitance. I'd much rather go on kissing him then do what needs to be done. But we are needed.
As the world comes back into focus, those around us are grinning at us. But it doesn't last. Not now. Not when blood is what's to come.
We grab hands, and I savor the final moments we may have together. Our group must have finally been noticed from the inside because the guard is spreading out on the front lawn.
“Let's go to war,” I call out.
Behind us, the world fills with war cries. The type of war cries that say they've never been to war before, but they're ready to give all they have for a freedom that's been ripped from them. A freedom we're about to take back.
I step forward, and the others follow. All six hundred of them. There's only a few who aren't here, like Phyllis who refused to come and Pernilla who's taking care of the babies. Everyone else is a group of rage at what's been done to them. The moment we've worked toward, the freedom I've wanted for Chardonia, is about to finally happen.
As we move forward, so do the guards. My spell is the first to fly, a bright yellow splattered with orange fury, like a lightning bolt across their front lines. Some of the guards block it with different types of spells. Others do not, getting zapped with the bolt of electricity.
Spells are flying all around now, a plethora of deadly colors. Someone cries out behind me, but even more cry out in front of me. The battle pricks my heart, making me ache for the guards who defend the Grand Chancellor. If only they wouldn't support him, we wouldn't have to fight them.
“On your left,” Tawny cries out.
I throw a hastily shield together on my left side just in time for a burgundy spell to smash against it. Hexes continue to fling toward our group, but not as many as we're sending out. The battlefield is an array of colors, reds blues, purples, blacks, yellows, every color I can think of, and more are stretching toward us and our enemy.
I think we're winning. Nathaniel said these would be the only guards. If we can just get past them, we'll only have the Grand Chancellor to deal with. The thought spurs me on. I flash a burgundy spell, filled with rage at how the Chardonians have been treated. The spell hits a guard who falls to the ground and doesn't get back up.
The guards are growing few and far between. We're making headway toward the house. We've got this. We're winning the battle. Soon, victory will be ours.
Quiet descends. Not a peaceful sort of silence, but one that leaves a chill in the air. The guards who have not fallen part and move to their knees. If it weren't for the parting, I would think they are surrendering. But this is no surrender. They are honoring someone. There's only one someone that could be.