Page 84 of Crown of Darkness
BOOM.
Another one.
Fae scream.
Thiago takes a step in that direction and as if his illusions are a veil, I catch a hint of wings spreading. “Go with Baylor. He’ll keep you safe.”
Safe?
Grabbing his arm, I haul him toward me. “You’re not going up there?”
A third explosion echoes, this time weaker than the others and further along. Bells begin ringing throughout the Old Quarter—the same bells that had rung for Elms Day—though these ones sing the song of alarm. Panic echoes through the quarter, and the bells are the symphony.
“The dam walls haven’t broken yet—they’re solid stone. If I can stop those charges….”
The world will see what he is.
They will know the truth.
I can’t fly, but he can.
I see it in his eyes, and then he gives me a crisp nod. If those dam walls break, this part of the city will be washed away. Thousands will die. And if he can stop it from happening, then it’s worth the cost of his unseelie secret.
“Let me go.” An implacable sort of violence crosses Thiago’s face as he turns to face the threat. “Finn! You’re with me. Eris, get to the Bone Church and find out what Theron knows.” He takes two steps, then turns back to her. “Don’t kill him.”
She makes an innocent gesture to her chest as if to say,would I do that?
“Baylor and I will help these people to evacuate,” I tell him. “They’ll die if they stay here.”
“And so will you.”
“Not if you stop the dam from breaking.”
“Vi!"
“You want me to be your queen?” I push away from him, staring up at the water gushing down the cliff. “Then you need to let me be your queen. If I survived my mother’s court, then this should be a laugh. Panic will only inspire death. Someone needs to take control.”
Thiago’s jaw clenches. “Promise me you’ll get out before it’s too late.”
“I don’t intend to die here.” I dart toward him and kiss his startled mouth. “I have an appointment with my mother, and she’s not going to escape my vengeance this time. Now get up there and stop those explosions.”
He grabs my face in both hands, kisses me hard and furious, and then steps away. “I’ll veil as best I can.”
Ripples of invisible force stir through the air as he spreads his wings wide, and then he launches himself into the sky, vanishing in an instant. Finn curses under his breath, sheathes his sword, and then hauls himself up the side of a shop and onto the roof. He takes a running jump and leaps onto the side of the cliff face, finding handholds where none appear to exist.
A veil is all good and well, but I catch glimpses of Thiago as he flies. Even the best veil is prone to wind shifts and body movements. “They’ll see his wings,” I tell Baylor.
“He knows what he’s doing. Come on.”
Time to follow through on my own promises.
I consider the topography of the city. The old quarter has excellent views of the harbour below it, but if that dam breaks then it will be under water.
The highest point of the city is where the castle looms. I’d like to think it was mere happenstance that saw it built in a defensible position, but my familiarity with queens makes me suspect some long-ago royal liked looking down on her subjects.
“To the castle!” I yell.
My voice is lost within the cacophony of screams and fae scrambling for cover.
