Page 104 of Wings of Lies
“He’s fine. It’s all for show. They can’t kill each other, or they’d start a war.”
Another dagger sliced into Aspen from behind, sinking into his leg.
I glared at Brock. “They look hellbent on starting a war. What will your queen do if you return with a dead prince?”
Brock met my glare with his own, but something in his expression told me my words struck.
“That’s what I thought.”
He eyed Aspen, now covered head-toe in blue flames with his uniform still intact.
“If you move from this spot, I’ll take your whole ear,” he said, unsheathing his sword.
“I hope you die,” I said, meaning every word.
He smirked. “They always do.”
Brock leaving me was easier than I thought it’d be. Although, playing on his fear of the queen helped. It was a game of who was thelesser evil—Aspen or the queen who’d most likely kill Brock if anything happened to Aspen. To Brock, I was another female in the long line of females they’d kidnapped. I was disposable to him. Aspen was not.
The next tricky part was sneaking to the tripwire, luring two dangerous pissed-off males to me, and not dying.
A ball of blue flame flashed through the air toward Tavean’s chest. It distracted the Dominion long enough for the dagger swinging in front of Aspen’s face to drop. Tavean’s second dagger melted on contact with Aspen’s flame-coated leather. Relief released the tightness I didn’t know squeezed my chest.
Brock faced off with Milda and her lightning, dodging it as he swiped with his blade. Truly, I hoped the wench won. Because if she didn’t, I was about to be earless.
Sliding to the other edge of the carriage, I jumped down and hurried to the horses. They blocked most of my body as I gazed at the gap in the trees.
I glanced at my cuffs and made the smartest decision I could. Dropping to my hands and knees, covered by the metallic grass, I crawled as fast as I could through the field.
Lightning struck, hitting randomly, giving me mini heart attacks every time. I already tempted death with one lightning strike. Let’s hope death didn’t want me today, either. When one came a foot within reach of my hand, blinding me, I froze.
Ether drove into my nose. The hair on my arms and legs stood erect. Every inch of my mind screamed at me to turn around.
I stayed there staring into the little flames on the ground, seriously reconsidering everything.
“Lucille!” Aspen bellowed.
Shit. I needed to hurry. I couldn’t stop.
“Your mom’s out there. Be brave, Lucy,” I whispered, closing my eyes, and drove to my coiling power in my core. It hummed with a little more energy than before. I pulled at it, and nothing happened.
Another lightning bolt struck nearby.
“Come on. I can do this.”I grasped the humming energy and willed it to listen to me. It was challenging without the prompting from my anger, but I forced it to the surface. A restless energy tingled beneath my skin, accompanied by the faint melody of ice cracking in my ears. When I opened my eyes, purple flames swallowed my hands. A triumphant smile curved my lips as I beheld my accomplishment.
Thunder boomed above my head, reminding me I needed to move.
I scrambled. Fast.
The tiny flames created by the lightning hissed as I crawled over them, leaving icy handprints behind. Despite the danger I was in, I couldn’t keep the grin from my face at the site. I had finally used my power without help from my anger, and I wasn’t overwhelmed by the music or consumed by the desire to kill. If this were any other time, I’d probably jump up and down.I did it.
At the tree line, I found the path and stood, letting go of my power. My smile dropped when I assessed the vicious fight.
Aspen dodged another knife and dragged his sword against Tavean’s leg. Tavean stumbled back. I waved at Aspen, capturing his attention for a second before Tavean attacked. A flash of surprise, worry, and anger overpowered my emotions. I didn’t know why I could feel his emotions at random times. It had to be the guardian bond, but I knew nothing of it.Did I ever end up getting the book forAspen?If so, I wasn’t sure a couple of sentences would give us much to go on.
I motioned for him to hurry, hoping he saw it and understood what I was trying to say. Then, going off a hunch, hoping he was true to his word, I ran away. More like jogged. Maybe shuffled.
Cuffs sucked.
