“Climb up,” he ordered.
“I can’t.” I watched him turning into multiple people as the drugs grasped hold of me. “The drugs!”
“What fucking drugs?”
“They gave me something in a shot.” I stared at the sky, refusing to look down.
“I’m going to swing you to the next roof, and then I want you to jump down two more. You understand?”
“You’re going to throw me?” I hadn’t heard a single thing he’d said after swing.
“Yes, and you will get to the lowest level and jump into the moat, Brander is waiting down there in case shit went south; it’s way south, glitter tits. You understand, lowest level? Jump into the moat on the east side, and he will get you to the woods. We’ll meet you there. I have to go back and murder the guards who saw my face.”
“Lore!” I screamed as he sent me sailing through the air.
I landed hard, scratching my hands on the stone as I struggled to hold on to anything. I fought to hold on to the roof, but my claws refused to obey me as the drugs dug deeper, making the world spin around me. I dropped to the battlement and turned mid-air, falling on my ass before getting back onto my feet, swaying, watching as the guards who paused looked up the way I’d just come from.
Turning in the opposite direction of the men now rushing me, I started running the other direction, fighting to stay in control of my limbs and mind. I didn’t stop once I reached the end, jumping and leaping over the edge, sailing through the air as I looked down and screamed. It wasn’t a little fall; it was a big ass probably-won’t-make-it leap I’d just taken. I could make out an ant on the side of the moat, and as I got closer, I could see it was Brander with his mouth wide open in horror. At the last moment, I sucked in air and hit the water hard. My feet touched the bottom, and I pushed up to bob over to the surface before swimming toward where he stood.
“What the fuck, woman?”
“Lore threw me.”
“From the top level?” Horror filled his eyes as he peered back up from where I’d just leapt from.
“I think I was supposed to go down further, but there were guards, and shit happened. I jumped, we’re here now.” Something whizzed past my head, and I paused, staring at the castle. “Are they shooting arrows at us?”
He grabbed me and pushed my body to the ground as he lifted his shield, mere seconds before arrows peppered it. They were shooting at us! My head rested against his chest, and my eyes started to close, but an arrow shot through the shield, slicing through my arm.
“Ouch,” I muttered, and Brander looked at me.
“Your pupils are fucking blown,” he murmured, and I frowned as something hard rested against my belly.
“I’m on drugs. Is this hot for you?” I watched a smirk playing across his lips at my droll tone. “Are you like some adrenaline junkie?”
“You’re not wearing any panties, Aria, and my hand is on your naked ass. I’m a male, not a fucking saint. Lore should be making an appearance at any moment.”
I stared at the water’s reflection, watching as flames erupted from the castle in a straight line, then the sound of water splashing filled my ears.
“You two coming?” Lore asked, and when Brander moved the shield, he snorted. “I’ll take that pretty ass as a yes.”
“Grab her, she’s drugged. She also jumped from the top battlement.”
Lore snorted, but whatever he saw on Brander’s face stalled it. “No shit? Damn, I’m not even that brave.”
I was lifted by Lore as Brander got to his feet, and we started toward the woods. Guards shouted as the gate was opened and we moved faster, or they did. Brander turned, lifting me up as we moved toward the sound of rushing water. He stopped at the edge of a cliff and peered down before looking over his shoulder.
“Take a piece of her dress and go north, send those assholes on a chase with her scent. Meet us in the passes,” Brander ordered, and I watched as they removed a large section of the dress before Lore took off at a run. “We’re jumping. You will hold on to me and don’t let go. I’ll tell you when to hold your breath, okay?” He set me on my feet, never releasing his hold on me.
“Got it.” My head nodded as I swayed on my feet, staring at him.
“You have to hold your breath, Aria. There’s a whirlpool down there, and it’s going to fight to keep us in it. You can’t let go for any reason. Ready?”
“I’m ready,” I stated, wrapping my arms around him and hooking my hands together tightly as he stared down at me, kissing my forehead and saying something in a foreign language I couldn’t understand.
He jumped, and I buried my face against his chest, listening to his slow heartbeat. Mine was hammering between the drugs and the adrenaline. I would be lucky if I didn’t have a heart attack.
“Now,” he shouted, and I sucked in air, holding onto him as he hit the water hard.
The water sucked us toward the whirlpool. I saw a huge, perfect tornado beneath the water before Brander pushed us off the bottom and swam with me beneath him. He pulled me onto the shore as I gasped for air, staring as more people hit the water, jumping from the cliff above us. I looked at Brander, who didn’t move, and then back at the water as Knox slowly walked out of its depths while everyone else swam to shore in long, steady strokes to fight the whirlpool. Oceanic blue eyes slid over me, then locked on my face.
“Aria,” he smirked as he kneeled beside me, running his finger over my cheek. “You just slaughtered the Minotaur King in his own fucking court, surrounded by his guards.”
“I murdered my sister too,” I whispered past swollen lips. He frowned, letting his gaze slide down my battered body before he nodded to my words.
“So you did, little lamb. Welcome to the Nine Realms, Aria Hecate.”
Chapter 54
We walked through a dark, shadowy valley with creatures monitoring our every move. It was unreal and my first glimpse of the Nine Realms outside of the cell. It was exhilarating, but also terrifying to see where we came from. Creatures I’d only ever read about observed me as I absently scooted closer to Knox while we moved through the darkness toward a large mountain. If he noticed me getting closer, he said nothing. No one spoke, and between the chattering of my teeth and the inner turmoil I felt, I was thankful.
Occasionally, tears would burn my eyes, but I refused to allow them to fall. I didn’t need to be told that I was in shock; I felt it. Inside the cell, it felt unreal, as if it was only a nightmare, and I’d awaken from it sooner or later. Now it was settling into my soul that I’d murdered my twin, the girl who had been beside me before we’d even been born. Worse, it was sinking in that she’d hated me enough to allow me to be raped and mutilated because something she assumed I had done to her, which I’d had no more control over than her.
Amara had never once shown a darker side, and if she had, I failed to notice it or had chosen to overlook it. We all had our own problems, but in a house with sixteen females under the age of thirty, it wasn’t a big deal for someone to grow distant or need space. Especially with everyone being close in age due to Freya using her magic to speed up a few of the pregnancies with spells.