The Shadowglass (The Bone Witch, #3)(40)
Kalen’s aim was true. The sword cut cleanly through the beast’s neck, sending small jets of blood into the air. The headless creature fell but continued to thrash on the floor. A glint of silver caught my eye. There was the spark of a heartsglass embedded in the deceased Deathseeker’s stomach. Kalen spotted it at my cry and swung his sword again, digging the stone out of the creature’s abdomen. The monster groaned and finally laid still.
“Kalen,” I sobbed. “How—how—”
A rune flickered to life before me, the only real light in the cell as Kalen forced through the lock that barred me from leaving. “We have to get you out of here.”
“What?”
“Empress Alyx wants to speed up your trial, but Mykaela scried on the elders. They intend to drag you out tomorrow and have you executed without the queen’s knowledge.”
“Did they… Levi—?”
“I don’t know. If they’re responsible for this too, I…” His voice broke. “Now’s not the time.”
Without waiting for a reply, he lifted me up and swung me on his shoulder. I made no protest, still in a daze. I remembered the last time I fled in this manner, under threat of death. It was in Odalia. I was imprisoned by Kalen’s own father, the Duke of Holsrath, and made to flee with the others like thieves with consciences, desperate to return to Kion and ensure both Princess Inessa’s and Prince Kance’s safety. It felt like I was in a series of cyclic chapters that only foretold the same endings, no matter what forks in the road I faced.
The guards who were watching over my prison were dead, no doubt at the Levi creature’s hand. I recalled their bodies as Kalen ran down the corridor and out of the palace. Likh and Khalad stood by the entrance, horses saddled and ready. Mykaela and Inessa were there too, as was Fox. My heart twisted.
“Likh and Khalad will come with us.” Kalen settled me atop Chief. “The others must stay behind.”
“Where are we going?” I choked out through my emotion.
“The city-states of Yadosha,” Mykaela said. “Seek out First Minister Stefan. He will give you sanctuary in my name. Now, hurry. You must leave before any outcry. Shadi and Althy are running interference to hide your escape from the others for as long as possible.”
“They took Levi, Mykkie,” Kalen said hoarsely. “They blighted him. He slaughtered the guards.”
Mykaela closed her eyes. “The poor man. The gods rest his soul. He’s our problem now. Yours is to take Tea safely to Yadosha.”
Inessa stepped forward, reaching up to hug me tight. “I bring nothing of importance to this conversation,” she said softly, “beyond shielding Mykaela from suspicion. But I wish you all the best, and I hope we can bring you back here, absolved of all guilt.” She turned to my brother. “Fox?”
My brother said nothing, his head lowered. I reached out to him. The Veiling still stood between us, but I could sense faint stirrings of emotions—betrayal, anguish, mourning. Anger. So much anger. I trembled. He was not yet ready to forgive me. “It’s all right, Inessa.”
Kalen settled himself behind me; Likh and Khalad mounted their own horses.
I love you, I said softly. Something shifted on Fox’s end, but he made no reply. I let Kalen wrap his cloak around me, hiding my face from view, and watched as he took the reins. Soon, all three horses were racing down the road at breakneck speed.
“We might need assistance with the guards,” Khalad told me. “Are you up for it?”
I nodded and focused. I reached out with Scrying, letting it drift toward the city gates. I found a soldier’s mind. Ignore us, I ordered, weaving Compulsion into the mix, and felt it settle. I spread out farther afield, calming the thoughts of every soldier I could find. Without anyone chasing us or sounding the alarm, it was easier to escape this time.
Open the gates, I told the last guard, and the heavy doors creaked before us. I held my breath, expecting someone to let out a warning, for the army to mobilize and surround us, for all this to be a trap, but all I could see as we headed out of the city were the gate tower fires and blinking lights of wayward lampposts as we left home for the last time.
“You let her get away!” Lady Altaecia is a different person when she’s angry. Her bobbed hair rises up like the inflamed comb of a rooster, and her round proportions suddenly become oddly angular. “Why didn’t you call for us? What possessed you to rush to the graveyard—not with a handful of soldiers or Deathseekers, but with a bard you endangered! You knew you could not take her on your own. Any elder with enough malice could claim aiding and abetting!”
The older asha had reason for her ire, but Fox was implacable, emotions disguised to prevent scrutiny. He had been reading part of the Dark asha’s letter when the older woman barged in, and he’d smoothed the papers on the table, fingers lingering on the final words of one page, before focusing his attention on her.
“You were busy elsewhere, as you recall.” By contrast, he sounded almost meditative. “I had nothing to go by beyond gut instinct. Tea set up a Veiling barrier on leaving Daanoris. I have no access to her thoughts, only assumptions. But even with all the asha in the Willows standing behind me, I doubt they could bring in Tea. She’s different now, Althy. She would sacrifice more in an instant if she had to.”