Page 102 of To Wake a Kingdom

“We can’t leave them here.” The princesses were looking toward the arena, the noise drawing their attention. But some watched us, their eyes pleading and judging.

Without a word, Ronan put me down and started wrenching on the doors of the cages closest to us. His newfound Fae strength made quick work of the bars and locks. Screams and dust still hovered in the air over the arena.

“Where’s Kianna? Mare had her!”

“She flew away,” Ronan said. “She was okay. We’ll find her.”

“What happened? How did you get out of that cage?”

“I found my magic,” he said, breaking the lock on the cage that sat next to mine. The woman cowered in the corner, and I knew most of them were too scared to run. Where would they even go? “I discovered it when we came after you. I guess maybe I’ve always known. Metal. I can manipulate metal. Not just iron or steel, but anything. I’ve been practicing with smaller items. I’ve always felt an affinity with weapons, but I thought it was something that came naturally to me. I think this is why. I’ve never done anything like that before. When Mare put those chains on me, I felt a vibration in them, and the whole time you and Noah were fighting, I was trying to figure out a way to make sure my escape took out as many of those fucking Faeries as possible. I tried to shield you from as much of it as I could. I’m sorry if it hurt you.”

“Ronan, I’m sorry. Noah, he—” I broke off, unable to continue.

He took me in his arms.“It wasn’t your fault,” he said, pulling me in for a hug.

I couldn’t hold on to him tightly enough, his touch restoring the breath in my lungs after I’d been living on nothing but sips of borrowed air.

There was a shout in the distance and Ronan looked up, his face turning white at the cages dangling overhead. With his magic, he popped open the doors, but there was no way for the women to get down.

“We can’t help them all, Thorne. I knocked Mare out, but she’s going to come after you,” Ronan said, grabbing my hand. “We’ll get the rest of them out of here, I promise. But we have to get you away from here.”

My gaze trapped on the swinging cages, I let him tug me away.“Okay,” I replied and ran with him, our hands clasped as I tried to corral my guilt. We’d come back for them. If we survived.

Ronan flew across the ground so fast I couldn’t keep up, my feet tripping under me. Without missing a step, he scooped me up again, carrying me at a dizzying pace toward Mare’s palace.

“The gate—we can lose them inside the maze.” I pointed to the silver doors. Two guards flanked them, but Ronan didn’t hesitate. Using whatever magic now ran in his veins, he drew their swords from their sheaths, and in a flash, they plunged straight into the heart of each guard, gutted by their own swords. I turned to Ronan, wide-eyed, and he offered me an uncertain look.

“Nice trick,” I said.

As we approached the entrance, he put me on the ground and pulled the swords from the guards’ chests, wiping them on their cloaks. He handed me one and held the other in his grip as we entered the maze of mirrors.

“Don’t let go,” I cautioned, and he squeezed my hand.

We moved as one, around corners and down hallways, our mirrored selves mimicking our strides. I was obscured in so much dirt and blood, it was hard to tell where I ended or began.

The mirrors toyed with us. Suddenly, my reflection turned and ran away, and I stumbled, unable to catch myself. The next moment, it came back at me—teeth bared, hair flying, and leaped. I shielded my arms around my head, but nothing happened. Only an illusion.

Ronan wrapped his arms around my waist. “Don’t let go,” he reminded me.

We ran. Up ahead, the castle of Ravalyn burned, and I lay dead and slashed through the heart. This time, it was Ronan who stumbled. He cried out, crashing into the mirror, cracks appearing like spiderwebs.

“It’s not real,” I shouted. “I’m here. I’m fine.”

“Gods, it feels so real,” he breathed, his chest heaving.

“I know.”

Seeing the fissures in the glass gave me an idea, and I rammed the wall with the butt of my heel. The cracks grew, spreading over the surface.

“Not with your bare feet—you’ll hurt yourself,” Ronan said, picking up on my idea and smashing it with his boot.

The mirror shattered, the sound echoing through the halls. Shards crashed to the floor, leaving an opening, but there were more mirrors behind it, stretching in every direction.

We were trapped here. Every time I broke free, there was another door, another lock, or another cage. I became a whipping tornado of anger and frustration, all howling wind and spinning debris. Screaming echoed in my ears as I pounded the mirrors with my fists and my heels, eventually realizing the sound was coming from me. The glass splintered and cracked, the shards embroidering my skin with cuts and currents of blood.

I felt nothing. I was nothing.

“Thorne!” Ronan grabbed me and pressed me to him, pinning my arms. “Calm down.” I fought against his hold and then slumped against him. “You’re hurting yourself.”

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