I have magic, and it’s time I used it.
It’s time for me to live up to Krug’s name for me.
“I want to get my sister,” I murmur, and when I glance back, I see my other men climbing through the holes in the shack. I wince with guilt. “We are going to get my sister back.”
“Then I suggest we move. I sense humans heading this way,” Bracken drawls as he brushes wood from his shoulder with a frown.
Grim helps me to my feet, and I nod, hesitating as I look down at my father. He’s out cold but not dead.
I could kill him so easily, but he’s not worth it. Turning away, I follow my monsters into the night, determination filling every step.
The king will regret the day he touched my family.
I’ll ensure it.
* * *
We hide behind an old barn,watching the guards sweep the destroyed shack where I used to live and pull my father from the wreckage. Leaning back with a sigh, I meet everyone’s unsure gazes.
“The castle, the magic…” Zee starts with a wince.
I know he’s worried about me right now, they all are, but I need to do this, and I need them with me.
“Don’t you think if Emelyn was anywhere, it would be there? In the one place her love, the king, could never get to?”
Razcorr nods. “She’s right—he would have kept his daughter’s body close.”
“Then that’s where we go,” Grim states, throwing them all a narrow-eyed look. “We go to the castle, we rescue your sister, and we free the queen’s body.”
“You forget we have to make it through the Shadow Lands and the Gilded Lands,” Nero adds but winks at me.
“These puny humans will not stand in the way of what my Cora wants,” Krug says, making me smile.
“Ah, fuck it, I’m in. I love a bit of chaos anyway.” Bracken grins.
“So we are doing this?” I confirm.
“Together,” Zee murmurs. “Now let’s move before we get trapped here. I think the humans inside this barn might scream if they come out and see us, especially him.” He jerks his head at Nero.
“What did I do?” Nero scoffs, making us all laugh, and when he grins at me, I know he did it on purpose.
“Let’s get moving.” I get to my knees and glance around the barn. “We move through the fields and then to the road that leads into the Gilded Lands. I’ve never been, so from there, we are on our own, but I know the night patrols here.”
“And why is that, Goldie?” Bracken smirks.
Rolling my eyes, I get to my feet. “Because I used to sneak out for secret night orgies, obviously.”
“And you didn’t invite me?” He grabs his chest. “Guys, we have time for a secret night orgy, right?”
“Next time.” Zee grins when he tugs Bracken after me as we run toward the field. Luckily, at this time of year, the crops are high. They cover me and more, but my men have to crouch behind me as we move.
Between each field is a dirt track, and we linger in the darkness of the crops for the guards to pass, shying away from the light. If they looked too close, though, they would see a glowing half human, a fey, a minotaur, a kraken, an orc, a naga, and a gargoyle.
That would be fun to explain.
It’s slow going as we make our way through the fields, and by the time we reach the last one, I’m sweating with nerves. Now there are only homes and the open road between us and the Gilded Lands.
No shade, no shadows, just openness.
