With her back pressed against the exit-that-was-not-an-exit, Kestrel slid down to the ground and reached for the first thing she could grab. Splinters and debris sliced and poked at her skin, until she pulled up a wooden plank that had previously belonged to the door that now lay broken around her.
She held it in front of her, the only weapon she had.
It likely wouldn’t be enough to stop him, let alone kill him. But if she could knock him in the head, perhaps disorient or subdue him for a few moments, she could scurry away again. Find somewhere safe to hide. To nurse her wounds and collect herself.
The king-beast lunged.
Kestrel drew the plank back, prepared her attack, and hoped for the best. “Blessed moon, keep me safe.”
And there it was again.
That unknown swirling, like something coming to life inside her.
This time it was lighter, like sunshine peeking through the clouds after a storm, and she wanted to bask in it. To throw herself overboard into its warmth.
But the fear in her chest pulled her back. The wooden board wobbled in her hands as the beast’s bellow shook everything. Kestrel squeezed her eyes shut and swung.
And then the room fell silent.
The unseeable door she’d been leaning against disappeared. Kestrel tumbled backward out of the larder and into fresh air.
When she opened her eyes, she sat up and saw Micah standing inside the doorway. His arm was thrust out, a sword held in his trembling grasp.
The silver stretched all the way up to the creature’s chest.
It disappeared behind a bloom of red.
The creature’s tongue hung limply.
With a shuddering breath, Micah twisted the blade, the monster’s lifeless body wrenching with it. Then he let the weight of it collapse, Micah going down as well. He sobbed.
Kestrel inched back from the forsaken fortress. This was her chance to run. She was free. No longer a prisoner trapped inside that cursed place, nor an unknowing prisoner to the princes any longer.
But Micah had gone in for her.
He had slain his own father, just to save her.
Despite everything, despite all the lies and deceit, she couldn’t bring herself to leave him. The only friend she had ever really had.
So instead, Kestrel dragged her body over to Micah’s side. She pressed a hand on his shoulder. At the first hint of contact, he twisted around and flung himself into her arms. The sobs racked through him like a storm. They made her cry too, for they reminded her of everything she had been through. For a third time in her life now, she had almost died because she still didn’t know how to survive in this cruel and terrifying world. She had trusted the wrong people. Made the wrong choices. And been helpless in the end to defend herself.
Although this time, somethinghadbeen different.
She had felt it. That pull. That awakening inside her.
And although at first it had seemed dark and cursed, there was a lightness to it as well. A calm and comforting side to it that she wanted to learn more about.
As the tears began to slow, Kestrel felt theexertion finally catching up to her. She needed a hot bath and a long night’s rest. And for someone to tend to the gash that throbbed in her right foot.
But there was a crunching of footsteps outside, and both of their spines went rigid as they spun around to face the new threat.
Leighton stood in the doorway, appearing every bit as angry as a scorching sun. “What have you done?”
Chapter 14
Family Ties
KESTREL
