Page 143 of The Shadowed Oracle
“It was me.” The maiden’s lips thinned shyly. “I had to. No one should be able to get away with what you’ve done. How you treated your?—”
“Kill her.” Enitha’s interruption was a deathly quiet whisper.
The guards registered the command, marching forward.
With quick strides, Lucilla scampered away and took a place at Ingrid’s side. Raidinn and Tyla moved to stand in front of her, but Lucilla held up a hand to them, waved them off, standing tall and proud as she continued, “After how you treated your fellow wielders, after what you did to our King Horace. And after all you’ve done since. You, Enitha, usurper of the Isles, my Isles, my home… You will pay.”
With a tap of Lucilla’s foot, the world shook.
The stone cracked beneath, and a deep sliver of emptiness curved around them in an imperfect circle, protecting them with a cavernous blockade—like Lucilla had done for them in the arena to ward off Haxus. She brought down her foot in another mighty stomp, widening the fractures. Soldiers fell screaming into the core of Ealis. The stone pillars of the gate began to crumble, the iron door wobbling as the structure holding it upward gave out.
It was pandemonium, even more sickening and bloody than what they’d endured in the arena grandstands. Bodies were pinned and crushed to the sharp edges of the shattered cobblestone. Half-conscious and dirt-covered soldiers staggered blindly through the soot created by the gate’s slow but destructive crash. Others vanished into the depths of darkness below with such force they seemed like Shades flickering in and out of sight.
“Now!” Ingrid shouted, pointing at the opening the mayhem had created. “Grab him!”
Enitha and Arryn were trapped on a small island all to themselves, too distracted by the control slipping from their grasp to realize what the world-walkers were up to.
“On it!”
In seconds, Raidinn had his toe just over the edge of the divide, using his massive wingspan to grab Arryn and pull him over by his arm. The spellbound King did what little he could to fight back, thrashing in a deranged whip of his limbs, but Tyla pounced on him, jammed the hilt of her sword into his head, and knocked him unconscious for Raidinn to throw over his shoulder with ease.
“The way is clear,” Veston shouted. He was pointing with his blade at the path that had been created by the tremors. The cloud of dirt and debris was fading, and the docks just beyond came into view. No soldiers were in sight. Not eventhe fishermen or dock workers could be seen. All who’d been remotely near the earthquake had fled.
All but their crew, waiting to take them back to Maradenn.
With one final clomp of her foot, Lucilla opened the fissure so wide not a soul would dare try to leap across it.
The air cleared, the path widened, revealing the open sea glistening in welcome.
They’d made it.
The twins laughed and cried and howled in manic spurts as they boarded the ship. Tyla stood on her toes to kiss Raidin’s forehead. He lowered Arryn down, grimaced in pain at the cuts on his hands while tying up the former prince to the foremast, then returned his sister’s affection tenfold.
“I knew it!” he bellowed. “I knew I’d save us all!”
“You arrogant oaf!” Tyla grunted, wind escaping her from the squeeze he’d wrapped her up in. “Put me down!”
Ingrid let out a small giggle that nearly cracked into a whimper at the sight of them. They were alive. She was alive. Callinora, Arryn, they were safe. And Dean… Dean. She twirled, looking for him, but found he was already at her side. He’d come limping up from behind to rest Callinora on a bed of netting next to her husband.
Straightening, he grabbed at his hip, winced—but he held nothing back as he threw his arms around Ingrid’s waist.
They didn’t exchange words, only held each other tightly.
“Raise anchor,” Veston shouted to his men.
“And let’s get the fuck outta here!” Tyla saluted.
Lucilla agreed. “I’ve been meaning to take a holiday.”
Raidinn grabbed the powerful maiden and kissed her on the cheeks wildly. “You’re an absolute saint!” he shouted. “That was brilliant.”
Tyla came up from behind, extending a far more respectful greeting to Lucilla in the form of a handshake. “Thank you,”she said. “Thank you. Thank you!” The look in her eyes was so ripe with instant care for her new companion that it recalled memories of Ingrid’s first meeting with Tyla. When the two of them were still hiding in a dank bunker on Earth. When Ealis was just a story. When her life was something else entirely.
Ingrid’s throat tightened as she considered that, and she nestled her face deeper into Dean’s shoulder, holding back tears.
“It’s not over.”
The ghostly whisper crept in like a vision.
