Page 50 of #Resort Love
Arbus coughed, blood flowing out of his mouth and down his chin. “He is going to be back any moment.”
“Then I will?—”
Voices cut off my words before I could even finish my thought. Two guards grumbled about the heaviness of the table they carried, the sound of metal scraping across the stone floor bouncing off the walls. I swore, working faster to break the chains before they could get to the cell. I could fight them off, then carry Arbus out of here.
“Leave,” Arbus begged, his voice a raspy whisper. “Leave before he catches you.”
“I almost have it,” I whispered. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“Kieran, tell her,” Arbus paused, taking a gravelly breath, “Please tell her that I love her and that I’m sorry.”
“I’mnot?—”
“Hey,” a guard roared, the sound of the table dropping cutting me off.
I whirled toward them, drawing my dagger. With this confined space, my sword would be useless. The guards charged me, and I braced myself, letting one of them barrel into me, shoving me against the stone wall. Grunting, I lifted my arm, crashing my elbow against his back. The guard cried out, his arms loosening as he fell to his knees. Catching his face, I rammed my knee straight into his nose. The crunch of bone breaking sent a thrill up my spine when Arbus yelled out my name.
Looking up, more guards ran into the cell. I released a sharp breath and moved, sending my fists toward the closest guard. My hand connected with his jaw, his head snapping back from my blow. Another guard lunged toward me, and I caught him, sending my knee into his gut. He coughed, the breath leaving his lungs as I hurled him into the guard behind me.
The rest of the guards surrounded me, blindly throwing hits in my direction as footsteps echoed down the hall. If I waited any longer, I would be overrun by them and I would end up sitting next to Arbus awaiting my own interrogation.
Blocking their throws, I glanced to Arbus, his wide eyes frozen in fear. His eyes whipped to the entrance before meeting mine again. “Go!” he cried out. “You need to go now!”
My heart broke at the sound of his voice, begging me to leave. He was a friend and loyal soldier, a guide when I needed someone to talk to. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a sharp breath. My magic was useless in closed spaces. It needed the open air to be effective.
I opened my eyes, resolve settling deep in my bones. I threw Arbus one last glance before bellowing, attacking any guard close enough for me to strike. Chaos circled me as I fought myway through the horde of soldiers until I made it out of the cell and ran like hell. Reaching the hidden passage door, I wrenched it open, throwing myself in and swiftly closing the door behind me. I held my breath, watching the guards pass me by through a small gap in the door, yelling out commands, searching for any hint of my presence.
Once I caught my breath, I ran down the dark hall, passing a grated window that looked out to the courtyard of the palace. A monstrous black horse galloped at high speed, sliding to a stop in front of the palace. I swallowed my curse when I saw Sybil covered in dirt and blood, her eyes distant and unseeing. General Darktree’s movements were frantic as he pulled her off his horse, carrying her inside the palace. My soul screamed for me to follow, but guards filled the courtyard, and it was time for me to go.
I pushed down that siren’s call, tugging me to Sybil and followed the passage out of the palace. I didn’t stop until I was safely in the forest, fearing that if I paused, I would lose the fight to return to Sybil.
I made it halfway into the forest when the trees to my right groaned, their branches snapping, falling to the ground with heavy thuds. I stilled, holding my breath, careful not to make any sudden movements. Sliding my gaze to the noise, my heart stopped.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings as I should have, and now I was about to pay the price.
I called my magic to me, letting the wind shift my scent to the opposite direction. The beithir jerked, its nose raised in the air. Its massive head turned away from me and I moved, sprinting to the largest tree I could find. I climbed as high as I could go and pressed my back into the rough bark.
The beithir hissed, its enormous body bounding in my direction, searching for me as I hid along the branches, still using the wind to mask my scent. Its forked tongue flicked in the air, still searching for my location. Calmly pulling my dagger out of its sheath, I listened as the leaves crunched beneath the beithir’s body as it moved closer to the tree.
The air around me grew heavy with my magic and I pushed it to a tree in the distance, creating a tunnel of wind sharp enough to cut a branch in two. The beithir’s head whipped at the thump of the limb hitting the forest floor, hesitating before finally slithering away.
Chapter 28
Sybil
Iscreamed until my voice was hoarse. I stayed hunched on the ground as light and pain ripped through me, and I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t keep it contained. I tried so hard to push it down, to keep it locked up. But in my panic, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t think. I couldn’t do anything to save myself from him. It was like my magic had a mind of its own, bursting forth to protect me—protect us. But at what cost? How many this time? How many people did I hurt?
The light faded, and I felt something wet and warm run down over my lips. I brought my hand to my nose and pulled it back, finding blood smeared across my fingers. I panted, zeroing in on the crimson coating my skin when a cry turned into a mournful wail, snapping me out of the daze I was in. I looked up, my eyes locking onto Arianna. She was covered in blood, pressing her hands against the stomach of the man that had been trying to get to the girl. Arianna faced the villagers, that stood to the side, too stunned to move, calling foranyone’s help. My ears began to ring, and my breathing slowed. Time felt like it had stopped as I watched her call out for help.
I felt someone grabbing me then, tugging me up, and time snapped back into place. I gasped, fighting against their hold while I tried to crawl away. Hands grabbed both sides of my face, forcing my head up. Ezra kneeled beside me; his face covered in dirt and grime. He was yelling at me, but I could only hear the ringing in my ears.
When he finally pulled me off the ground, the ringing faded enough for me to catch him frantically repeat, “We need to get you out of here. We need to go, now.”
He pulled me after him, but my legs buckled, and I stumbled back to the ground, exhaustion threatening to pull me under. Cursing, Ezra put his arm around me and dragged me to his horse. I moved, but I felt listless, like I didn’t wholly belong to my body. I felt numb, paralyzed to any feeling.
I glanced behind me to find the villagers’ faces were pale and stiff. A woman ran to the man that still lay on the ground. Her screams echoed past us as she sobbed into his now-still chest.
