Revealed in Fire by K.F. Breene
Twenty-One
I looked at Penny,surprised Halvor had relented, falling into the middle of the formation that included both Arcanas, the secret weapon that was anything but secret in this castle.
“What’s this now?” I asked her with a grin.
“Go, go.” Callie shooed us onward as the gap lengthened between us and the fae. Only the Arcanas’ assistants and a couple of others were going with them. Apparently it was understood that Arcanas couldn’t do things for themselves, probably like elf royalty. “We don’t want to get separated. That’s when they’ll attack.”
“We should’ve called a demon or two, hon,” Dizzy said softly, eyeing the elves lining the sides of the hall. “Just to create a little pandemonium, you know? This is too smooth sailing for these elves.”
“Shh, shh.” Callie batted at him. “Don’t give them any ideas.”
“I doubt these are new ideas,” I murmured, reaching the end of the hall and hitting the stairs. Down we went to the first floor, and from there to the back of the castle, decked out in the same style as that in the front, with red carpet lining the halls, large crystal chandeliers, and finely wrought wood and metal. “How you doin’, Emery? Hanging in?”
The elves who’d been waiting to the sides now filed in behind us in two neat columns. There were elves ahead, elves behind, and walls to our sides. Whenever we passed a doorway, someone was standing there, blocking it off. They wanted us contained.
They didn’t seem overly worried about the windows, though. Did they not think I’d break through one and jump through at a moment’s notice? Because it wouldn’t be the first time.
Thanks for the easy exit, fuckers,I thought, wishing I could send the thought to the mages.
The space opened up into a huge sitting room decked out with conversation areas, couches arranged around tables holding bowls of fruit, little pastry-like foods, and beverages. At the back of the room, two enormous double doors stood closed, nestled in an archway that reminded me of the castle’s entrance.
I felt magic balloon around us, the spell giving us some privacy from eavesdroppers.
“They won’t let me walk away a second time,” Emery said softly. “And it’s clear they’ll take Penny with me.”
I huffed out a laugh, and my blood boiled fire. “Nah. They won’t.” I stopped with the others, the lead elf pausing and then putting out a hand, indicating we should have a seat and wait for an audience. “On the off chance you guys are pardoned, what are my odds of heading back to the rooms after this, do you think?”
The mages and I clustered together as the fae pretended like this was a polite visit and there was a chance they’d have some refreshments while they waited.
“Next to zero,” Emery said.
“And the fae?”
“Almost certainly they will get to go back to their rooms and think over the offer they receive, whatever that might be.”
“So you’re basically saying they are going to drag you, Reagan, and Penny away?” Callie asked with a hard set to her jaw.
“Karen should’ve come.” Dizzy lifted the flap of his satchel and peered in. “We tried to get her to, but she said she had to remain with that nut ball fae Seer. If she’d come, we’d have some insight into what happens next.”
“I don’t think we’re supposed to know what happens next,” Penny said, chewing on her lip and looking around with large, worried eyes. “My mother once told me it’s impossible to see the right way when too many paths lead from a certain point. You need to wait until a step is taken in one direction or another. We’re at the crux, I can feel it.”
I knew that look. “What’s that Temperamental Third Eye saying?”
“Fight.” She put her hands on her hips. “I mean, I personally want to run, but where to? There’s nowhere to go. We need to fight. Moreover, we need to initiate.” Her eyes came to rest on me, and she shrugged. “I can’t tell if that’s my Temperamental Third Eye speaking, or just my response to Emery being in danger, but…”
Emery shifted his stance and glanced around. I noticed a shocking lack of shifters at the party. Clearly they weren’t in the doghouse. Or maybe they’d get their audience later. It was too bad telephones didn’t work in this place, because I had a feeling Roger and Devon would like to hear what was going down.
I turned my lips down and lifted my eyebrows, taking one second to think everything over just so I could tell Darius that I hadn’t acted completely without thought. My thoughts weren’t actually on what came next, or how I might deal with the situation differently, but I didn’t plan to tattle on myself.
“Right then.” I burned away Emery’s privacy magic and turned.
“What’s happening?” Dizzy asked, removing some herbs from his satchel. “What sort of thing should we create?”
What’s our end game? Emery thought.
“You will remove all weapons before entering the Royal Hall,” the lead elf announced, standing in front of the wide doors. He was preparing to usher us in, which meant the king and queen were in position.
“End game: to be determined,” I said, strutting forward.
“No, wait,” Charity said, standing quickly. She knew me better than Romulus did. She knew the show was starting before the curtain had been raised.
This was why I hated Seers. They got you into these messes, but they didn’t often give you a way out. My fate, and Penny and Emery’s fate, diverged from the fae right here. I felt it in my bones, and Penny’s Temperamental Third Eye affirmed it. The elves planned to give us different treatment, and nothing Romulus said would help us. Not now. We couldn’t play polite anymore. We had to be bold.
“Step one: make oneself known.” I swept my hand through the air, and the lead elf got caught up in my magic. Its eyes widened as it rolled to the right. It fought to lift its hands, but before it could get off a spell, or whatever it was planning, it bonked its head against the far wall and then lay still. I doubted I’d killed it. Probably just knocked it out. It was nice to know they were as fragile as humans and not so hardy as shifters. That would make things easier.
“Step two will likely be to fight our way out of here,” I continued. “Then we should get back to Karen and the Red Prophet. Cheat to win.”
I paused in front of the wide double doors just long enough to balance on my left foot and kick with all my strength. Metal squealed. With a loud crash, the doors flew inward, even as elves rushed us from around the room. I blocked them with air, shoving them back without looking. The doors slammed into the sides, and one pulled free from its jam, teetering.
We…cannot follow you in this,Romulus thought, standing. I almost felt his confliction in his thoughts. He knew the “right way,” but also knew his duty. We cannot begin a meeting this way. It is not how things are done. Please, come back. Let me lead.
His illusions wouldn’t be long in dying, but I didn’t have time to wait.
I ignored him, stalking forward with my weapons intact. Penny and Emery were right behind me, in it to win it. I heard Callie and Dizzy following us. After we made it through, I blocked off the door so the elves couldn’t follow. They were standing between us and the fae anyway.
A red carpet ran down the middle of the space, columns on either side of it, and the golden dome above us had to be over two stories high, with pictures painted on the ceiling and an enormous chandelier hanging down from the middle. There were ten rows of seats to one side, filled with spectators who’d shown up to watch the proceedings. That wasn’t ideal. In front of me, five steps led to a wide, raised area on which sat two golden thrones. The king and queen both had long, straight white hair, rustling in a nonexistent wind, and wore matching cream-colored robes. I honestly couldn’t tell them apart.
“Question—is it normal for elf royalty to marry their twin?” I stopped in front of them, feeling magic take shape around me. The natural dual-mages were readying for an attack. “Because you two look almost identical.” I snapped my fingers. “It’s a narcissistic thing, isn’t it? That’s what this is about. You love yourself so much you want to see yourself reflected back to you. Dude, that’s gross. You need someone around that will actually tell you the truth from time to—”
“Silence,” the one on the right said, and power curled around me, stronger than anything I had felt before, pressing into my flesh and crawling along my scalp. It forced my mouth shut and pressed compliance into my limbs.
Which pissed me off.
There was a lot I could handle, but being compelled to do something I didn’t want to was on the short list of hell fucking no.
Power rocked through me, sweet fire licking at my skin. Ice crackling the air.
I sent out a shock wave of it and shook free of the oppressive magic weighing me down.
“Nope,” I said, no humor in my tone. In my body. “What do you want with me? Speak quickly, because I’m about to leave.”
The elf on the left surveyed me with narrowed eyes. “You insolent scum,” it said. “You dare—”
“Yeah, look.” I pushed fire into the pew-like seats on both sides behind me, and shrieks crowded the air as flames raced along the base of the structure and licked up the backs of the seats. Power swirled in the room. I increased the potency of the fire, forcing everyone out of their seats, lest they be burned. A spell washed through after my efforts, incredibly powerful and horribly vicious, intending to melt skin from bones. Penny felt the danger and was not fucking around. She’d nabbed that spell out of my most advanced spell book at some point and managed to make it even worse. “I’m not here to be kicked around by a couple of narcissists with a hair complex. You’ve been looking for me. Here I am. What do you want?”
The elf on the left tapped its fingers against the golden arm of the throne. “You are Lucifer’s heir. I can feel the disgusting slide of your magic over ours.”
“We had so hoped she would be born of a high-level demon,” the one on the right said, with slightly shapelier brows and thinner lips, looking over at its partner, “so that we might kill her along with her friends. Sadly…”
“Yes, I agree,” the first said, and unfortunately, I didn’t hear any thoughts. “We cannot hope to pass her off as less than the heir. We must…reflect.”
The chairs burned wildly behind me. People pushed against the walls to get away, because the elves had invited their social elite to witness our “interview,” not their fighters. Not anyone who could subdue us.
“You fuckers are sure arrogant,” I said, which brought their focus back to me.
“Your manners are fitting of your origins,” said the elf on the left.
“Thank you. Honestly, that is a huge compliment.” I hooked a thumb behind me. “What is your plan for the Rogue Natural? Do you intend to honor Romulus—the Second Arcana—”
“First Arcana,” Emery corrected me.
“Right, right. Do you plan to honor the First Arcana and give the Rogue Natural a fair trial?”
Bodies crowded the busted doors, some trying to get out, the guards trying to get in. I felt their magic pulsing into the room.
We need to get out of here, Emery thought. Penny and I are working on something.
I knew that. I could feel it collecting above our heads, spicy and intense. It was taking shape slowly. I needed to keep talking for a moment.
“The fae are eager to resume their rightful role and help get your kingdom back on track,” I finished.
The one on the right laughed, a tinkling sort of sound. “Back on track—do you hear her?”
The one on the left raised its voice, presumably so it could be heard throughout the room, “Our kingdom has never been more prosperous. Our subjects have never experienced a more pleasant lifestyle than what we are currently providing them. It is only vile creatures like you who seek to bring it down. It is people like you who interrupt our perfect harmony.”
“Perfect harmony? Holy hogwash, Batman.” I laughed and hoisted the fire higher. They weren’t trying to put it out, so I would push the issue. “Who are you trying to fool? You idiots try to kill anything that pushes back while brutalizing common folk. You abuse power, think you’re above the law, go off the handle in response to any perceived threat, justified or not, and cannot find something so simple as a name to a magical person affiliated with a great many creatures right under your nose. You are losing your grip on—”
Magic crushed down onto me, twisting my guts. It felt like a white-hot blade dug into my stomach and tried to rip out my heart. Someone screamed behind me, and I thought it might be Penny. A body hit the floor, then two, and I wondered if it was Callie and Dizzy.
I stood my ground, taking the pain. Owning it. Pushing past it. When bonding Darius, I’d been on the brink of death. I’d nearly bled out, a necessary part of the bonding process. I’d felt what it was like to walk the line, and I’d come out the other side stronger for it. Not easily ruffled. Not apt to panic.
Harnessing my inner fire, wrapping myself in ice, I rose to the challenge. I rose to their magic. I was my father’s daughter. Running through my veins was the blood of the ruler of the Underworld and, with it, the blood of gods. My power equaled theirs, but my might didn’t stem from that. It stemmed from my experiences. My ability to survive. My ruthlessness when threatened and my undying loyalty to my loved ones.
I was the Underworld—I was love and lust, hate and violence. I could forgive, but I could also wield my wrath with no impunity.
In a blinding flash of power, I struck back. The ground rumbled. The windows shook, then exploded outward. Those by the walls quailed, sinking. The magic all around me throbbed, fighting.
Run,Emery thought, and I knew the best I could hope for was to get out from under these elves. They were more experienced, and experience would ultimately decide the victor, but damn it, I wanted to go head to head and come out swinging.
Run! Penny thought.
The spell they unleashed widened my eyes. It filled the room and then some, blistering in its intensity, nearly as powerful as the magic coursing through me and the elf royalty. The natural dual-mages had godly power, and they were showing their might.
The spell slammed into the onlookers before rushing for the thrones. Agonized screams drowned out the crackling of fire. Eyes popped out and bodies twisted. Bones broke, snapping as arms and legs curled in on themselves. Skin continued to melt from the other spell, and now it peeled away in strips, like from an invisible potato peeler.
“Go,” Emery said, grabbing my arm and yanking. “Go!”
I spun and pushed Penny forward before bending to haul Dizzy up to his feet. Emery helped Callie, and we sped for the door. A wall of elves waited for us, trapping us in.
Our magic together, Penny thought.
She’d handle the togetherness part, I knew, so I swelled my ice magic and readied to shove it in front of us. A spell wafted up, latching on to my power and adding it to the might of the natural dual-mages.
“Ignite with your fire,” she yelled back, clearly forgetting she didn’t need to verbalize her thoughts.
I did, starting with a spark and burning hot. That spark turned into an electrical explosion that likely meant Penny was close enough to Charity to borrow her magic too. A concussion of air blew out from Penny, crashing into the wall and flinging it backward. The doors got caught in the push, ripped from their hinges and frame. They banged and tumbled into the room beyond, squishing bodies as they did so.
In the waiting room, power surged and swords swung, four elves to every fae, and more coming into the room from the other side. The elves were attempting to subdue the fae somehow, maybe tie them up, I didn’t know, and I didn’t plan on sticking around to find out. The fae wouldn’t be killed. We would.
“I blame the Seers for this,” I said to absolutely no one, wasting no time, hefting Dizzy into a wedding-night hold and sprinting for the hall. Penny stayed close behind me, a natural runner, and Emery thankfully kept up, carrying Callie.
More elves ran our way. I crushed them with air, in no mood to spare anyone. They squished against the rug, and I jumped over the bodies. I heard Penny gag behind me. Around a bend and into a larger room, I eyed the windows.
“We need to get out of the castle—”
“Look. Watch out!” Penny screeched.
A jet of magic hurtled our way, ripping through my middle and trying to come out the other side. It wasn’t as strong as the royals’ magic, though, and I counteracted it with my own power. Spells rose from Penny and Emery even as Penny groaned and sank down. The spells must’ve been the tracking type, because they seeped through a cracked open door in front of us. Screams ensued.
“Let me down to fight,” Dizzy said, struggling out of my grasp.
“No! We’re not fighting, we’re running, and you don’t do that fast enough.” I squeezed him tighter.
“I feel ridiculous,” he shot back.
“You also look ridiculous. Just go with it!”
I barely stopped when I reached the tall but fairly thin doors, jumping with Dizzy in my arms and kicking. The wood cracked into the head of someone who was already sinking from Penny’s spell, the damage clearly internal, because I couldn’t see the effects.
“Using their magic against them. Nice, Turdswallop,” Emery said with pride.
The next room opened up to a space as tall as the throne room. It had tall windows along one side and doors on the other, plus a second-floor balcony looking down. I skidded to a halt, my eyes widening, my stomach dropping out of me.
“Turn around,” I yelled, trying to back-pedal and bumping up against Penny. “Turn around! This is a kill zone!”
“Too late.” Emery’s voice was suddenly rough, realization dawning.
Doors opened and bodies entered, their swishing clothes moving in the unseen wind, their outfits formfitting and made from tough material that would undoubtedly make them more difficult to kill. They stood in a line on the railing above, their position giving them a clear advantage. They poured in through the downstairs doorways and spread out in numbers.
This was the fighting force, and they had us surrounded.
