“Brother?” I ask, reaching for Evander, not sure why he’s so quiet.
As soon as my hand closes around his arm, he shakes himself as if he’s waking up, triggering the same movement among the others.
He draws himself upright, taking deep, waking breaths. “Let’s keep moving.”
Mia clears her throat, remaining where she is. “I’ll stay and stand guard over these women. Talsa, will you join me? We can keep watch while we use our power to keep the thunderbirds calm. They need to be ready to fly when Aura returns.”
Talsa quickly agrees. I admire the way she gives Evander a firm nod even when he casts her a questioning glance. She doesn’t need him to protect her.
We exit the platform through the stone door and proceed down the stairs. At a steady walk, it normally takes ten minutes, but we make it in five before we prowl through the quiet hallways toward the Inner Sanctuary. The halls are a little too quiet, which sets my nerves on edge.
Nathaniel draws close to me along the way. “Your power is much stronger now. You need to be careful when you use it.”
I nod. He’s right. I sent my friends into a stupor when I used my power to calm the guards. If I did that at a moment when they were vulnerable, my friends might not be able to defend themselves.
We slow down before we reach the large entrance room outside the Inner Sanctuary. The corridor ahead is well lit, but there is a shadowy alcove before the final corner that we can huddle inside.
I remain behind Evander, staying well away from the corner so my glow doesn’t give us away. I reach for Nathaniel, my hand resting on his shoulder so that I can maintain contact with his body and know where he is at all times.
“Damn,” Evander whispers, drawing back into the shadows of the alcove. “The entrance is full of Night Guards. The Queen must be inside the Inner Sanctuary. We’ll have to get past her, as well as all of her guards, to get to my father.”
The Night Guard is made up of Dusk and Dawn fae. They are all trained in combat—even more skilled in battle than the Queen’s Day Guard because the Night Guard can’t use the elements as weapons.
Evander sinks to a crouch, rubbing his forehead in thought before Calida creeps up to him and taps him on the shoulder.
“Serena and I can take care of this,” she says. “We each have a small reservoir of firelight left. If we create a fire as a diversion, the guards will evacuate the Queen from the Inner Sanctuary.”
“By setting the room on fire?” Evander shakes his head. “It’s too dangerous. I don’t have enough power to extinguish the flames if it gets out of control.”
“It’s a real risk,” Serena says, her forehead creased with worry as she joins the discussion. “But so is fighting our way through the guards. Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to kill most of them. But with a fire, they will evacuate Imatra and make sure she’s safe first before they return to apprehend us.”
Evander’s forbidding frown deepens. “How do I know you won’t seek to burn the very cage where my father is being held?”
Serena jolts as if he slapped her.
“Evander of the Frost,” she says sternly. “You and I have never trusted or even liked each other, but you saved my life countless times above the crystal peaks today. My queen betrayed me. She asked me to kill for her in the name of loyalty. I will never do what she wants again. Now I ask you to trust me. My allegiance lies with you. So does Calida’s. We won’t betray you.”
Evander casts a quick glance back to me, seeking my permission. I have greater reason to distrust both Serena and Calida than he does. This could all be a ploy to betray us. But I also hear pain and truth in Serena’s voice. Imatra asked Serena to kill Nathaniel—even though Serena would die because of the Law of Champions. When Serena failed, Imatra sent her to the border to fight off glitter bulbs and die on the crystal peaks instead.
I give Evander a nod. At the back of my mind, I consider whether I could try to use my power to get us past the guards, but it would run the risk of affecting Evander, Calida, and Serena too. It would also require Nathaniel to reveal himself with me because I can’t leave his sight—he couldn’t stay hiding in the alcove where it’s safe. I won’t take that risk.
“Okay then,” Evander whispers to Serena and Calida.
As soon as they have his permission, both women draw to their feet, preparing to step out of the shadows, but a commotion beyond us makes them pause.
I reach for Serena’s hand, grabbing hold tightly before she can move. “Wait. Don’t go out there…”
Beyond us, I sense a rapidly approaching squadron of thunderbirds swooping directly toward the side of the palace.
A gust of wind suddenly billows through the corridor between us and the entrance room. At the same time, the echoes of cracking wings shrieks through the hall.
Evander leans around the corner before he darts back into the shadows.
“Imatra just opened up the south wall,” he says. “I can’t see much through the entrance room, but there’s thunderbird lightning beyond it.”
The wall on the south side of the Inner Sanctuary can be opened like it was on the night of the Ball. That side of the Sanctuary leads down to the Spinning Lake and then to the city that rests beyond the palace.
“A squadron just landed,” I whisper. “Imatra must have opened the room to let them in.”
It’s very unusual for her to do that. Normally, all thunderbirds land on the platform where we first arrived. That they’ve flown directly to her indicates that she was expecting them.
A shout rises up from within the entrance room and one of the guards cries, “All Night Guards to your thunderbirds! Wake the Day Guards. The Fell King approaches the border! We must defend Bright!”
My eyes widen with surprise. Beside me, the stern line of Nathaniel’s lips tells me he’s unsettled by this news. We left Cyrian and his hunters at the Ditch this morning. It shouldn’t surprise me that Cyrian hasn’t spent the day idly waiting for the final fight, but it seems reckless for him to approach the border so soon.
Despite that, my first fears are for Talsa and Mia. The Night Guards will head directly up to the platform to summon their thunderbirds.
I grab Evander’s arm. “Talsa and Mia are up on the platform. We need to warn them—”
“I’ll go,” Calida says, her face filling with determination. “I’m a fast runner. We can fly our thunderbirds off the platform and stay out of sight until the guards are gone.”
Evander doesn’t hesitate. “Go! Run as fast as you can!”
Calida disappears, a lithe form moving as quietly as a ghost as she vanishes back the way we came.
Moments later, the corridors flood with guards. They’re running quickly, but even so, the glow around my body will be a problem. I’m going to give us away. Nathaniel seems to sense my fear as I sink into the back corner of the alcove, his gaze flicking instantly to mine.
“Cover Aura!” he whispers as he closes the small gap between us, bundles me into his arms, drops to a kneeling position, and covers my body with his. I end up in a ball, my knees to my chest, and my head pressed beneath his chin.
A second later, the pressure around me increases as Evander and Serena pile onto me, wrapping their arms around Nathaniel and me, covering the gaps around us.