Page 56 of Kiss of Smoke

I could stay here, and fight against the Unstained Souls.

Or I could do what the mission demanded, and not let the Ghosthand flee. I caught Robin’s eye through the riot, and could’ve sworn he nodded.

At least, I hoped he did, because I was not going to let Carabosse escape and cause more suffering.

Crawling on my belly, I slithered like a snake, tripping several humans by accident as I managed to make my way across the room. Jack took down a woman who landed on the floor in front of my face and shattered into ice and snow.

I tried not to gag as I crawled through her bloody, frozen remains, staying focused on the tunnel.

It was almost a miracle that I made it through without getting stomped on or my throat slit, because my hands were still bound, and I would’ve been helpless if Ioin had come back for me.

But they were all intent on stopping my men—not to mention Grayfog, who was whirling like a shadow of death through the room—and none of them gave a shit about a bound dryad.

As soon as I was clear of the insanity, I got to my feet, crouching low and skittering along until the chamber was out of sight.

It was pitch black, but I held out my hands as I jogged, occasionally rebounding off a wall.

On more than one occasion, I thought I’d turned around in the dark and was going in the wrong direction. I finally settled on jogging with one elbow out, running it along the left hand side of the tunnel, gritting my teeth against the pain in my hands.

Ioin had pulled the cold iron chain so tight it felt like my fingers were burning. I wouldn’t have been surprised to find them completely charred to the bone by the time someone got the damn chain off me.

I had no idea where the tunnel was leading, but I was sure there were no branching forks—this would be Carabosse’s escape tunnel.

I also knew that she would never leave Avilion. Possibly not even Aurora, either.

Once the queen discovered that she was the Ghosthand, Carabosse would be living on borrowed time—and what better way to destroy the human who had murdered your daughter than to kill her own?

Despite knowing that Carabosse had caused much of this herself, and having seen the horrible fruits of her ambition, I felt nothing but agony at the thought of her being forced to kneel in front of my father, the queen’s headsman.

I had to be the one to stop this. I was the only one who could end this with peace instead of more bloodshed.

I ran faster, gasping for breath, my boots squelching as blood pooled in the sole. One of the shards had cut my leg deeply, and the muscle of my calf was beginning to burn.

It almost seemed like a dream when I finally saw light.

I had to blink, carefully wiping sweat out of my eyes without touching my face with the chain, before I was convinced there was light at all.

It was faint, but it was just up ahead. I was limping heavily by the time the tunnel gave way to a paved stone floor, no longer running but practically dragging myself along.

I blinked again as I stepped out of the tunnel and onto the soft grass of a grove overlooking the ocean.

Sunset had come to Avilion; the sky was painted peach and lavender, and the sea glittered like spilled diamonds beyond the drop off. Trees surrounded us, and here in this grove the night was completely silent.

I looked back. The tunnel was hidden behind a veil of ivy, cleverly disguised. Glamour had likely made it impossible for any wandering Fae to find this place.

Carabosse was there, trying to urge Aurora towards the sea, where a rope ladder had been staked to the top of the cliff.

But the girl was lying in the grass, sobbing, clawing at the dirt as though she could drag herself back into the dark.

The old woman looked up at me. There was nothing but exhaustion and despair in her face. She seemed to have aged years in the expanse of minutes. “I knew you would come. You’re nothing if not persistent.”

I stepped forward, my leg shaking under my weight. I must’ve been damaged more badly than I’d realized. “Carabosse…they’re right behind us. You’re not going to be able to escape.”

I wasn’t bluffing. The fight had clearly spilled into the tunnel we’d taken, because the odd scream or shout drifted to us from the glamoured tunnel mouth.

“My father is the headsman. He will…” I bit my lip. I didn’t want to say ‘cut off your head like Brightkin’s’, not with Aurora right here. “You’ll be put to death, Carabosse. And I won’t be able to stop them.”

Carabosse tried to move Aurora, but the girl just shrieked louder, digging her nails into the earth.

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