Page 90 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

His words shook Caiden to his core.

Power radiated from him.

“We will die before we bow to you, sylph scum,” Brutus said in his graveled voice.

“Have it your way.” Tharan signaled to the Hunt.

Arrows flew, striking their targets. Gideon’s men fell in waves. The Hunt moved in, killing any Highlander in their path. The screams burst Caiden’s eardrums.

Tharan sent a wave of energy blasting through the legions, knocking men to the ground, their bodies enveloped by feral roots.

“Retreat!” Brutus said, pulling his remaining men back.

Tharan fell to his knees. His eyes fluttered, no longer lit from within.

“Help him,” Caiden commanded.

Lucius and Roderick ran to his aid.

The Wild Hunt chased after Gideon’s men, tearing apart any they could catch.

The forest continued to burn, and Caiden dispatched any of his men who still possessed the power of rain to help put out the fires.

Roderick and Lucius pulled Tharan into one of their remaining tents. He clung to life, his breaths faint.

“His powers are new. They require a lot of life.” Lucius searched the tent for any healing potions.

“Watch over him. I need to find Aelia,” Caiden said, donning a thick wool cloak.

“I’m coming with you. Amolie is out there, too,” Roderick said, grabbing his whip.

As if sent by the Trinity, Arion waited for them outside the tent.

Fires still smoldered, but many had died down by the time they reached the great hall.

“Aelia! Amolie! We’re here!” The men ran through hallways and corridors, searching for any signs that the women were still alive. The once magnificent palace, now a tomb. Dead sylphs lay scattered about. Gideon’s Blood Riders stalked the hallways, looking for anyone still alive.

“Fuck,” Caiden muttered under his breath. “Let them still be alive.”

Keeping to the shadows, they desperately searched for any signs of life. A small scream came from behind. Caiden turned around to see Roderick with his dagger in a Blood Rider’s neck.

“Sleep now,” he said, laying the man on the polished floor as blood pooled around their feet.

“Thanks,” Caiden said, nodding to Roderick.

In the study, another Blood Rider lay dead on the floor. From his body, a trail of petite bloody footprints led to a grate under a bookcase. “Look at this.” Roderick pulled the grate from the wall, revealing a hidden passageway. “This is how they escaped.”

Caiden let out a sigh of relief. “Can you fit?”

They both knew Roderick couldn’t.

“Go back to camp. Help Lucius and Tharan. I will find them and bring them back.”

Roderick nodded, replacing the grate after Caiden crawled into the dark tunnel.

34AELIA

The jewelson my dress scraped against the hardwood of the tunnel as we crawled toward freedom, dragging Baylis’s sleeping body as we went.

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