Page 25 of Kissed By the Sun
I knew as well that if the tower was tall enough it would also give us an escape route from the horde. Albeit a permanent one. Neither of us would want to join their numbers though, of that much I was sure.
We climbed the winding staircase, the sounds of the horde growing closer with each step. At the top, we found ourselves in a circular room with arrow slits looking out in all directions. I glanced up, remembering the last time I’d been in a tower and had been tricked into going on the roof, only to be locked out up there. Not something I was looking to repeat, but there was a hatch if worse came to worst.
"Look," I wheezed as I was still catching my breath. I pointed to a pile of debris in the corner. "There are some old arrows here."
Thorn nodded grimly. "Good. You take the bow. I'll hold them off if they make it up here."
I nocked an arrow and took position at one of the window slits. While I wasn’t the best archer, I wasn’t terrible, either. Usually, I only missed if my targets were a good distance away.
Below, I could see the writhing mass of corrupted fae, their eyes gleaming in the night as their lanky, twisted forms became silhouetted by the moonlight.
The first of them reached the tower, clawing at the walls with inhuman strength. They used to be fae, I knew that, but the strength they possessed was so much more than I would have expected. It made the ones I’d first encountered when we were on our way to the capital city seem positively tame.
I loosed an arrow, watching it strike true in the creature's chest.
It fell with a shriek, but two more took its place.
A quick glance at the oncoming horde told me everything I needed to know. "Thorn," I called out, my voice tight with fear. "There are too many. We can't hold them off forever."
He moved to my side, his face set in determination. "We don't need forever. We just need to survive the night. The sun will weaken them."
As if in response to his words, the horde let out a collective roar, redoubling their efforts to breach our sanctuary. The tower shook with the force of their assault, old mortar sifting away from the stones it had been holding together, and I feared it would crumble around us at any moment.
I continued to fire arrows into the mass below, each shot finding its mark, but it seemed to make little difference. Forevery corrupted fae that fell, three more appeared to take its place.
Suddenly, a clawed hand burst through one of the arrow slits, grasping at the air. Thorn reacted instantly, bringing his sword down on the creature's arm, severing it at the elbow and making the creature howl in pain.
It wasn’t the only one that had made it up the tower, though. Thin, sinewy arms were shoving their way through the gaps in the stone as though they were willing to pull the tower apart brick by brick if they had to.
“Why are they so focused on us?” I breathed. It wasn’t that I thought if I could understand them then I could fight them better; I knew that there was nothing going on in those heads other than a need that had driven them to madness.
Thorn's eyes met mine, a grim understanding passing between us. "They're drawn to our life force," he said, his voice barely audible over the cacophony of screeches and scraping claws. "The corruption seeks to consume everything untainted, and if my guess is ,then we are the only things left in this region that the blight hasn’t claimed."
A chill ran down my spine at his words. We were like beacons of light in this blackened landscape, our very essence calling out to these twisted creatures.
Another arm burst through a gap in the stones, this one managing to grab hold of my cloak. I yelped, stumbling backward and nearly losing my footing.
Thorn was there in an instant, his blade flashing in the moonlight as he severed the creature's grip.
"We can't stay here," I gasped, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest. "The tower won't hold much longer."
As if to emphasize my point, a large chunk of the wall suddenly gave way, crumbling to the floor and leaving a gapinghole. The corrupted fae surged forward, their distorted forms silhouetted against the night sky for a brief moment before they began wriggling and writhing against one another in an attempt to get into the room all at the same time.
Thorn grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the hatch in the ceiling. "The roof," he shouted over the din. "It's our only chance!"
I nodded, swallowing hard as I remembered my last experience on a tower roof. But this time, being locked out wasn't our biggest concern.
We scrambled up the ladder, Thorn pushing me ahead of him.
As I emerged onto the roof, the cool night air hit my face, a stark contrast to the stifling atmosphere below.
Thorn followed close behind, slamming the hatch shut and dragging a piece of fallen masonry over it.
For a moment, we stood there, panting, the sounds of the horde below slightly muffled now.
But our reprieve was short-lived. The first of the corrupted fae began to claw their way over the edge of the roof.
"What now?" I asked, my voice trembling as I nocked another arrow.
