She was going to die here. Die before she could ever tell a single soul that Cyrene had spoken to her. That Cyrene’s world needed saving.
She opened her eyes, and a scream of protest escaped her. The Fae had donned masks. Red masks. They were part of the images in her head… had they been true? All she saw was the red masks beating her, kicking her, killing her. Red blood coated her white dress.
Pain overtook her body. Unconsciousness beckoned. Failure. If she left now, she would fail Cyrene, fail everyone. Still, there wasn’t anything she could do. She retreated deep, deep, deep into herself. To the dark, empty place where there was no pain, no fear, no torture. Just eternity.
And then something rocked through her…
And then something rocked through her. A wave of energy exploded from the core of her body and released outward, like a bomb detonating.
30
The Second
Kerrigan opened her eyes. Her bonds were severed. Bodies littered the ground before her. Her limbs were heavy, and her pain rushed back to her tenfold. She groaned and turned her attention to Fordham.
He was still conscious though barely. One eye was swollen shut. His shirt was torn, and there was a long cut from his left shoulder across to his right abdomen. It wasn’t deep, but it was still freshly leaking blood.
“What did you do?” he muttered. His one eye wide in shock.
She stood despite her many injuries and began to unknot his bonds. “We have to get out of here.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
It was the truth… and not the truth. She had clearly caused some kind of magical explosion despite the fact that her magic had been dampened by whatever drug Clare had given them. And… it wasn’t the first time she had done it. She had done it five years ago as well. She tamped down that thought until she had time to process it later.
She finished with the bonds on his feet. “You need to get up. We have to flee.”
“But—”
“Now,” she commanded, hard and unyielding. “Now.”
He nodded, bottling up all his questions and turning back into the military commander he so obviously had been in his previous life. “Let’s move out.”
Kerrigan toed the man who had beaten her. He didn’t move. She swallowed, uncertain if she had killed them or knocked them out, but she didn’t stop to check. Already, Fordham was to the door, holding his ribs.
“This way,” he said and then charged down the hallway.
She followed after him, peeking her head into doorways. Everyone they passed was crumpled and unconscious. They didn’t have to fight a single soul as they fled the building.
They both halted when they exited and saw the sun rising bright on the horizon.
“The tournament,” Fordham gasped.
“Shit,” Kerrigan spat.
“We’ll have to run back to the arena.”
“Can you make it?” she asked him, gesturing to his side.
“I’ll have to,” he said with fierce determination. “Where the hell are we?”
Kerrigan assessed their surroundings and then shook her head. “I’m not sure exactly. Still north valley. They must have moved us to a more secure location. But we mountain just have to follow the mountain.”
She pointed to Draco Mountain looming in the distance. Far, far in the distance.
Fordham straightened his shoulders and took off at a jog. She could hear him wheezing as she followed after him. Broken rib. If not multiple. Under no circumstances should he be running before seeing a healer, but besides the noise, he didn’t stop or slow down at all.
Kerrigan hurt everywhere, and she still couldn’t access her magic. She’d been able to have some sort of explosion when she was kidnapped, but she couldn’t touch her magic now? That made no sense. And if she couldn’t access hers, then Fordham likely couldn’t either. He was going to have to walk into the second task without magic. Scales.
“Aren’t you glad that I made you run?” he quipped.
She glared at him. “If we make it to the tournament, remind me later to kick you.”
He laughed humorlessly and then clutched his ribs. “If I make it through this task, remind me to never go on scouting missions with you again.”
“Deal,” she said with a half-quirk of her mouth.
And then they ran and ran and ran.
The sun was high on the horizon. They had so little time to get to the tournament, and there was no way they were going to hold the entire event, waiting for Fordham.
“Almost there,” she gasped out as they moved from a run to a final full-out sprint.
She couldn’t believe they still had energy left, but there was no other choice. They could hear the master of ceremonies speaking to the crowd and the stadium chanting with pleasure at the start of the second task.
“Where—”
“This way,” she told him back in her element.
And then they were in front of the competitors’ door. She yanked it open, and she and Fordham all but fell through. The other nine competitors, three administrators, and Valia turned as one to stare at them, bloody, beaten, and out of breath.
“What in the gods’ name has happened?” Bastian asked, striding forward with part anger and part concern.
“We…” Kerrigan began at the same time Fordham said, “I…”
They looked at each other, and then shrugged.
“We fell,” Fordham informed Bastian.
Kerrigan’s eyes widened. It was the truth, and somehow, also a terrible lie.
“We went hiking, and we fell.”
Bastian looked between them as if he couldn’t fathom what was wrong with them. “We will discuss this later. For now, the tournament must go on.”
“A healer for certain, Bastian,” Mistress Sinead said with wide eyes. “I can work on him.”
“There’s no time. We’ve already delayed long enough. Fordham chose to be out all night,” Bastian said evenly. “He will have to compete as he is or not at all.”
Fordham straightened, ignoring the pain in his ribs. “I will compete.”
“Good lad,” Bastian said and then ushered him toward the rest of the competitors.
Kerrigan reached out and grabbed his hand, a tingle racing up her arm at the slightest touch.
Fordham turned around in confusion. “What?”
“The raven,” she told him. “Get the raven medallion.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Trust me,” she said earnestly. “Like last time.”
He looked at her shrewdly before nodding. “All right.”
And then Sinead was tugging her away from Fordham and pushing her down into a chair. “I don’t know what you two were up to, but I need to set this nose and heal your injuries. You could have internal damage.”
“I want to watch the tournament.”
Sinead brooked no argument. She just got to work. After only a few minutes, Kerrigan was so exhausted, she thought she was going to pass out entirely.
“What is happening?” Sinead asked incredulously.
“Healing draws on a person’s energy, right?” Kerrigan muttered.