Drakon sees his movement and holds the blade closer to my neck as a warning. "Stop or I will do it!"
"Don't you dare fucking touch her!" Seb hisses at him.
Taking the threat lightly, Drakon digs the tip of the blade into my shoulder far enough for blood to drain out.
Pain seethes through my clenched teeth. The warm liquid slowly runs down the length of my arm and drops to the floor. Drakon chuckles as Vernon glares back at us. No one moves, they all just stand in a small circle in front of us. If anyone breathes wrong, Drakon won't hesitate to drag his sharp blade across my throat if he doesn't get what he wants.
Sebastia lunges forward unexpectedly but the two remaining guards standing near him grabs his arm on each side. Oh no. My barriers are gone... Seb struggles to break free from their grip but one punches him in the stomach. His sword clatters to the ground. It's useless...
The man holding me starts to laugh at the failed attempt. "Or what 'My King' have me executed? Call your guards to come after me, they've all turned on you." Drakon sneers at Sebastian then holds me tighter, the dagger digs into my skin but not cutting through it yet this time. "Now, Vernon, Lord Hearthgrim whoever you are, just give me my money so I can be on my merry way." He says spinning us toward him.
They stare each other down for a moment then Vernon sighs running a hand through his dark hair while he stands up. "You useless imbecile. Don't you realize you were never going to get the money? I tipped the bandits off that your carriage was going to be on the road so that they could steal her." Vernon glares at me. "But then you had to escape and find your way here to Adelaide, to the King, before we could get to you. You were supposed to be mine long ago. But damned fate intervened, where this idiot happened to come across when you were just a wee babe."
Drakon unconsciously loosens his grip on me as Vernon continues on, and I notice Vernon's ring has a dim glow just as he moves his hands behind his back. What is he going to do? Vernon is distracting us and is going to attack but who. We are all in danger, Sebastian and I need to get out of here. Drakon can take care of himself. I glance at Sebastian, the one guard still has a hold on him but they are both busy listening to Hearthgrim's story, how he gained money and land through Vernon, through the Royal Treasury. He starts walking away from the guard, towards the doors but I watch him closely.
"For 20 years I tried looking for you, to come up with a plan to get my kingdom back. To take back what was supposed to be mine and carry out Oryn's dream... I'll admit I had to make some tough decisions and sacrifices in order to further my success. Like your mother," His gaze shifts back to his nephew. Seb's face is set in a hard frown but Vernon's grin widens when he turns back around to me. "I loved Amelia, never wanted to kill her but she was catching on to my plan and I couldn't have that."
"I can't have anyone getting in the way of my destiny." Vernon's eyes dart to Sebastian then at me and a flash of lightning shoots towards us.
Drakon did not see it coming. It was so quick that I had just enough time to lean out of the way as the bolt of bright blue fire hits Drakon. The magic strikes him so hard that Drakon's body flies across the room and smacks into the stone wall behind me. It drops with an echoing thud to the floor and a trail of smoke rises from his body.
As fast as that lightning was, Vernon is on me and holds me against his body. I can't see Drakon's face but just the way his limp body hit the ground, I know he is dead or on the verge of death.
"Nothing will ruin my destiny." Vernon says again into my ear. "You are mine girl."
"Her name is Cam and she's not yours." Sebastian snarls at Vernon.
His malicious uncle laughs. "Did she not tell you little nephew, that she has already been claimed. How I fucked her as Lord Hearthgrim, took her body as my own. She was begging for it too. You should have seen the pleasure she took from it. The sound she made when I got deeper inside her." His hand runs over my breasts then down to the place between my legs. Even with all the fabric, I can still feel his bony fingers digging in. That's when Seb hisses at him but he just hums softly as he touches me making me writhe. You will regret that old man. You will regret ever touching me like that.
"Haven't you sunk your cock into this one yet? She is quite exquisite. I wasn't surprised that you broke it off with the Tollund girl for her." Vernon comments, his voice a murmur. I glance at Seb and he's seething with rage, making Vernon chuckle. "If you had cooperated with me I could have shared her, you know."
"Shut up you bastard!" Sebastian yells and for a moment I think he is going to break free as he charges outward but both guards knock him down again. One even kicks him in the side where he is bleeding, for good measure. A pained grunt echoes from Sebastian as he leans forward.
Tears of anger stream down my face as Vernon holds my head in place. A hand comes up to my chin lifting it up to his face, ripping my view of Sebastian.
"I'm going to kill you." I say with clenched teeth. That is a promise. After what he has done, I'm going to kill him myself.
He just chuckles and holds me closer. His nose is at the base of my ear and he breathes in deeply then he hums. "You smell so nice, we've spent too much time apart my dear girl. After we kill my nephew and open the door, I am taking you up to the kings' chambers and have my way with you."
I shiver at the warmth of his breath. No, no. This cannot happen. He holds onto the cuffs, bringing my arms together with one hand and with the other he grips on the back of my neck at the base making me turn to the large purple doors. I hear grunts and some shifting coming from Sebastian as the guards move closer.
"Enough fighting nephew. You aren't going to win..." He says without turning around and shoves me toward the door.
"What do you expect me to do?" I say trying to steady my breathing. Stall, stall him so I can gain some strength and figure a way out of this.
Vernon grumbles grabbing my hair and pulls my head back so that I'm looking up at him again. "You are going to open this door for us because you are the only one who can. We know you have been practicing your magic with my nephew and the court mage."
My chest is tight as I stare at him. How does he know this? I don't even know what kind of magic to use to open this door. I may have been practicing but nothing that advanced. Even so, I don't think I'm strong enough at the moment. My whole body quivers.
"Don't do it Cam." Sebastian says from across the room, his voice trembling with rage. "Don't let them in."
"Shut him up!" Vernon yells.
Next I hear a thud and Sebastian grunting. No, no, don't hurt him. I turn my head back and watch the second guard slam his clenched fist into Sebastian's stomach as the other holds him. He grunts again and drops his head forward, his gold crown falls to the floor with a clang. There's blood dripping from Sebastian's mouth, splattering to the dark stone beneath him. They aren't letting up, if they continue they'll surely kill him like this. The man lifts his arm up about to hit Seb again.
"Stop!" My voice pleads. But the man punches Sebastian right in the face this time. Sebastian winces lowering his head but the guard holds his head up by his hair. "Stop it!" Again, this time in his ribs. "Stop it now! Please!" I scream but they don't listen. They need to stop.
I look at Vernon and grip his arm. "Make them stop! Please! I'll do whatever you want!"
Vernon raises a hand after a couple more hits and now the soldier holds and looks at me with a smug look.
"I'll open it. Just stop hurting him." The man lowers his arm and the other guard lets go of Sebastian and he drops to the floor on his hands and knees. Look at me, I need to see that you are all right. He finally lifts his gaze up and they hold him by the shoulders. Oh Seb, his face is wet and bloody and his eyes are starting to swell. "You'll get what you want just stop hurting him, let him go and I'll do whatever you want." I say to the man holding me.
"Cam... No.." Sebastian manages to croak out. He coughs and more blood sprays from his mouth, painting the floor in red.
"I'm sorry my King.... I have to." I sob. If I don't, they'll kill you and I can't live with myself if that ever happened.
Blood drips out of his mouth and nose as we stare at each other then he lowers his head. Just hold on, hold on so we can escape. So we can live to fight another day... I can lose myself but not you...
My body starts to shake from hearing the pain in his voice and I turn to look back at Vernon. I had to do something, if I didn't... They would have killed him and kept me until they figured out how to open the door.
Vernon grins, "Good girl, you'll need this spell to open it." He says handing me an old piece of paper then shoves me towards the door. He stands just behind me waiting for me to open the Heart with a hand placed firmly on my shoulder.
"No trying anything or they won't stop next time." Vernon warns with a low growl.
They know that I have been practicing magic but what they don't know is what kind. And they have just made the biggest mistake of trusting that I'll listen to them. Samon will not die in vain. This door is not opening to a human... Whatever magic Samon used is old and powerful to hold this door for this long. To open it, it needs an equally powerful spell and person to break it. I can't open it even if I tried. This isn't happening, not today. There's only one way...
Run Cam.
The old piece of parchment sits in my hands and I look down at it with widening eyes. I've seen this spell before, heard it actually and I realize that's what the voices were saying to me when I was first down here. It wanted me to open it then, it was telling me to. Why?
"Open the damn door!" Vernon yells at me.
I flinch at his words but place my hands on the dark purple stone. "I'm sorry Your Majesty." I say again quietly. I will save us, don't worry...
That same warmth hits my fingertips just as before but this time I sense urgency at the touch, like the magic is telling me to run. The same tingling runs through me and the hairs on my arms are still raised, ready to hold in the heat. I breathe in deep feeling, that warmth and turn it into a ball of hot air. Like the sun in the sky, like the little lights Sebastian can conjure. This one though, my ball of light, is going to be bigger and brighter. Bright enough to blind anyone that gazes upon it. My own little star. The heat spreads over my hands up my arms then to my chest. Right in the centre I can feel it beating in time with my heart.
I let that light and heat out, outside of my body without warning. A bright floating orb right behind me to blind my enemies. Hopefully giving me and Sebastian enough time to escape.
Vernon lets go of me to cover his face as he and the other men cry out in shock or maybe even pain. Somehow in the wake of the light magic, the cuffs have fallen off my wrists. No time to think about it.
As quick as I can, I sprint over to Sebastian not wasting a second. Him and the two guards have their eyes screwed shut but they have let him go too, to further shield their eyes. I reach down and grab Sebastian's hand.
"Cam." He breathes, his eyes still closed as he stands up and blindly reaches out for me.
"Just hold my hand and run!" I order, pulling him behind me towards the stairs.
"No!" Vernon yells out. "After them!"
"We can't see my lord!" One of the guards calls out.
I hold that sun and add a barrier between us and them in the room for as long as I can as we run up the stairs. We have to get out of here. Curse this dress and these shoes. All these stairs and there's only one exit from the heart. There's no doubt that more guards will be waiting at the top. At least I tried...
"Keep running." I say to Sebastian.
His breathing is ragged but he's seeming to keep up with me. His grip on my hand is strong. We need to stay moving because I can't hold onto that light for much longer.
"Wait." He says stopping me and lets go of my hand. "There's another tunnel for ventilation, we can go through it. It leads out of the castle." He turns to the left to a rock jutting out and steps into the shadow. If you didn't know it was there, you would have easily missed it.
"This... way." He huffs from the darkness.
Seb leads us through a tight tunnel. The walls are just far apart enough for us to fit, the stone scrapes against my skin, my dress and I hear the skirts ripping. I also hear the men's footsteps echoing through the cave, they're coming closer. I guess my ball of light or shield didn't hold for long.
"They're coming." I warn Sebastian.
"Just keep moving then." He murmurs, I noticed he's hunched low so he can fit in the cramped, dark tunnel. "Tread quietly and don't use any more magic."
"Okay."
It's so black in here now, I can't even see Sebastian in front of me. The darkness has swallowed us up. All we are relying on is our hearing and touch to guide us. The further we go the men's voices fade. They didn't find the tunnel, we might be able to make it out of here alive. I hope Sebastian is okay, I've noticed his breathing has become more ragged and wheezy. He doesn't deserve this... On his birthday too.
The tunnel becomes less dark as we climb uphill, we must be getting to the end. My legs and chest burn as we push on. There's no room to look around Sebastian but I can see a bit of silver light shining through.
"Almost... there... Cam."
Thank the Divine. I lift my hand up to his shoulder and squeeze it gently. I sense great pain coming from him. He's badly hurt and needs to be healed right away...
A few moments later and we are at the mouth of the tunnel. There's tall grass standing in front of the hole so it's covering it. It's night out but with the full moon hanging in the clear sky it shines a bright light for us. When Sebastian walks out of the tunnel he takes two steps coughing then falls to the ground.
"Sebastian!" He's still breathing but it's laboured now. I crouch down next to him rolling him onto his back and place my hands on his face. Blood drains from his pale lips. Oh no. "It's going to be okay. Please stay awake." I wipe the blood from his eyes, mouth and his nose. Small cuts cover his face and one eye is swollen shut while the other is just bruised. His nose, on the other hand, looks the worst. Beaten too hard now that it's a bit crooked.
"It's.. Hard to... Breathe." He says between gasps.
"What can I do?" I cry, moving his hair out of his eyes.
"Captain Hellman... You can trust him... Find him..." Why do I get the feeling he means to leave him here to die...
I look around me to see where I am. We are still in Adelaide but just on the outskirts with the wall behind us. Can we trust the Captain? His Royal Guard all betrayed him. Vernon turned them against the King. We have to get out of here and I am not leaving him behind. Thanks to the tall grass no one can see us out here, we could slip away unseen. But to get us both over the wall will be troublesome.
"Sebastian." I whisper, holding a hand against his cheek again. He doesn't respond but he's still breathing even if it is slow and laboured.
"Sebastian?" I say with a shake. Nothing. "Please don't leave me... I'm, I am going to try to heal you now." I'm starting to get worried, his chest isn't moving anymore. He's hurt really badly and said that it was hard to breathe. I lean forward to rest my head on his chest to hear his heartbeat. I don't hear anything, not like before when he hugged me. It was beating fast and strong then. Now it's quiet. No.
"No! You can't leave me too! I can't lose you Seb, please!" I cry out into his unmoving chest.
He can't be dead, he can't die here not after all we've been through. I am not some helpless girl anymore that will watch my friends die in front of me. I can save him. I will save you Sebastian because I couldn't save Elyse...
After I wipe my face, I unbutton his coat and shirt and give him a quick kiss on the cheek then place my hands on his chest. While focusing on his face, I imagine how it was before. His nose straight, his clear, bright blue eyes not bruised or puffy. Please work... I close mine tightly, focusing on that image where his face isn't battered or bruised. My magic will mend him, it will save him. My hands are warm against his cool, dewy skin. Nezra said healing comes from light magic. The sun gives life, it shines on us, keeping us warm. Please work. Let the sun shine on Sebastian once again.
I grunt at the strain but move my hands to his face as the heat builds, it radiates from me to him. This is taking a lot of my magic but I am stronger, I was able to hold three men at a time. I can do this for him, he has to survive and I'll do whatever it takes.
My head spins and I let go of him letting out a gasp of air. I open my eyes to see that the swelling is gone and his nose is back to normal. "Thank the Divine." I weep almost laughing. My magic may have healed him but there's still blood and sweat covering his face.
I rip a piece of fabric from the underskirt of my gown and dip it in the puddle I find near us. With great care, I wipe the drying blood and sweat from his face. That looks better, somewhat. He still has a couple of small cuts and a light bruise under his eye but other than that he looks good. Come on Sebastian. Wake up... Did I not heal him properly? Maybe there was internal damage?
Please wake... I wipe my thumb across his cheek, waiting, hoping. A few moments pass then Sebastian's eyes open slowly and he breathes in deeply. His gaze is looking up to the night sky, he blinks a couple then his eyes find me. "Cam?"
My heart thumps against my chest. He's awake. I did it. "My King!" I yelp throwing my arms around his shoulders, pushing him back in the grass. Although it was unexpected, he catches me, wrapping an arm around me and uses the other to hold his body up.
"Oh!" He grunts.
I sit back quickly, holding a hand over my mouth. "Sorry!" Did I hurt him? I shouldn't have done that.
"No, no. It's okay." He smiles weakly and grabs me, wrapping an arm over my shoulders. "Thank you."
I cry into his neck as he holds me, the emotions rushing through my body. "I thought I lost you." Thank the Divine you are okay.
"I am so proud of you." He says stroking my hair. "I had no doubt that you could do it."
Oh. No one has spoken those words to me before. No one has been proud of what I have done, not said it aloud. I glance up at him, this man... He has made me so happy and we have been through so much. I pull on the collar of his shirt and kiss him, hard. There's tears streaming down my face. Too many emotions are flowing through me right now that I can't think straight. When we pull away he rests a hand on my cheek and wipes the tears with a thumb and he grins so wide at me.
He pulls me in close so that my chin rests on his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm here now, you did it." He says softly into my ear.
We did it. We made it out together and now we can escape.
"I like the new look." He says as his eyes skim over me when we pull away from our embrace.
"What?"
He holds a handful of my hair and we peer down at it. It's completely white, matching my streak of white if I still had it. There's no raven colour to be seen.
"What the..." Who's hair is that? That's not mine.
Sebastian chuckles letting it go. "Your true form."
I grab some more hair to look at it. Amazing... It's all white just like the streak of hair. Wait.. I slowly lift my hand to my right ear and touch the top. It's not rounded like a human, it has a point to it. "Ah!" I yelp. Then touch my other ear, it's the same. "By the Divine!" I say touching my ears then my face to see if I can feel a difference but I can't tell.
Sebastian laughs then grabs my hands. "Cam, I'm sorry to tear you away from this moment but we have to move. We need to get to the captain before my uncle, if he hasn't already, then get out of Adelaide."
Where would we go? How will we travel together. I gaze at him then nod. "Right." I stand up from his lap then help him to his feet. He mumbles something in Ancient Fae then looks at me.
"Sorry... You didn't heal me completely but that's okay." I open my mouth to say, 'Let me heal you.' But he looks toward the wall following it off to the right. "The captain is stationed at that tower. Come on." He says grabbing my hand then whistles sharply for Neo.
We run again through the grass where the Captain is patrolling the section of wall. This spot isn't far off from where I came through, where I first met Sebastian. This spot is more westward though.
No one is standing by the door to the tower thankfully. Before Seb opens the door though, he turns to me. "You'll need to change your ears and hair back. I don't know how the captain will react if he saw you like this."
"Okay." I say. Changing my hair was easy but it is a bit challenging to return my ears to normal. He waits for me while I run the tops of my ears with a single finger until they are round again. I can't believe I have pointed ears. "Wait." I tell him placing my hand over his as he almost opens the door and he pauses.
"How do you know you can trust him? Those guards back there helped your uncle, how do you know Hellman is on your side."
His lips tighten over his bared teeth. "Because I know Hellman. We can trust him not unlike those traitors." He says swinging the door open and steps inside with vigour.
There's no time to argue or think it over, I just hope his judgement is right. If it isn't then I guess we will fight our way out.
We quickly walk up the stairs to the top and find Captain Hellman standing at the wall looking out towards the country but turns when he hears us.
"Captain." Sebastian greets quietly. His hands are tense at his sides and so are mine. Although we aren't armed, I'm sure we could take the Captain on if things should turn that way.
The captain faces us quickly with an open mouth and wide eyes but he doesn't reach for the sword hanging on his hip. Instead he bows deeply. "My King.. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." He shifts his gaze to me then bows his head. "Your Grace. An Honour."
"Excuse me?" Sebastian and I say together.
Why would he address me so highly? As if I am a Royal or something of that nobility.
"You must listen to me, your Highness." Hellman clears his throat, shifting in his stance. "We didn't know of the coup until the day of your assassination...Your uncle has been devising a plan for years to take the throne but he couldn't do that with your father in the way and then you were born..." Hellman sighs. "Vernon made us swear fealty to him after the attempted assassination, if not we would've been killed along with our families. He made an alliance with a Lord Hearthgrim and has brought troops from Cheridan. They want you killed on sight Sebastian and to have her captured alive. We got the orders when you broke the engagement off with Lady Tollund..." The Captain says with a grim expression and bows again. "I'm sorry Your Highness."
"No..." Sebastian takes a defensive step in front of me. "How could you? You all loved my Father. Had such high respect for him... for me. Why are you betraying us?" His voice cracks from him choking on the words. Pain and betrayal seeps from his words.
"It was the only way to protect you My King. We are on your side, most of us are, including me. You have to trust in that. It's the younger ones, they greatly outnumber us in the ranks. The High Lord has been planning this coup since your father died, that's why he hired more soldiers under his authority. Vernon thought he should've been crowned king instead of your father."
"Fuck!" Seb yells in a low growl and pushes his hair back. "I have to take back my kingdom, I can't let Vernon take over. He wants to open the Heart Eli and he almost did tonight." Sebastian says raking both hands through his hair as he paces. "And just to let you guys know, Vernon is Hearthgrim, he's been using a glamour spell to gain land and power that way. You should also know that Vernon is responsible for my mother's death as well."
"Queen Eva..." The captain stands for a moment, shocked then a hint of anger flashes across his face. "Wow, never saw that coming..."
Neither did any of us...
"That evil bastard loved your mother. We all did..."
"I know." Seb says quietly.
The captain shakes his head then he steps forward placing his hands on Sebastian's shoulders. "I am sorry Sebastian... You will be the rightful ruler in time. Right now, all you need to do is get out of here. Rally some allies to take back Adelaide. Your path is with the girl, stay with her Sebastian."
They both look at me but I ask the Captain. "Where will we go? How can I be any help?"
"Silver Stone Vale. That's where you go. You two will bring the humans and Fae together. You tell them what you are and with luck the Fae will agree to help." He sighs looking at Sebastian with sad eyes. "When they found out that they were going to have you, your father was able to make contact with an Azure... Unfortunately your mother didn't make it to Adelaide on her own Your Grace." He says to me.
What? "My mother? You knew of her?" I take a step forward to ask him more, to hear what he has to say but a noise behind us makes the Captain glance up.
Neo. The large winged creature flies in toward us and lands swiftly on top of the wall a few steps away from us.
"You must go. Now! Before more guards or Vernon shows up." The captain orders, pushing Sebastian and I around toward the griffin. We comply and walk to Neo. I jump up first and watch Sebastian about to climb on then he turns back.
"We will come back. I promise."
"I know you will and when you bring that army I will fight with you." The captain says bowing his head then turns to some items laying on the ground next to him.
"Take this." Hellman passes a sword to Seb and two small bags then says. "The Fae lands are a dangerous place, do not be fooled by its beauty, do not trust your senses and you must stay together."
How does he know anything about the Faelands? Why is it so dangerous?
Seb sheaths the sword and hops onto Neo. "You are a good man Hellman. Take care friend."
Hellman steps to us shaking his King's hand then looks to him and me in the eyes. "Good luck to you both. May the Divine shine on you. Bring peace between the humans and fae again Your Grace."
No more words are needed to be shared between us as we nod our heads to each other. Time is running out. With a click of Seb's tongue, Neo flaps his large wings and shoots Seb and I up into the night sky, towards Silver Stone Vale. Leaving Adelaide in the darkness.