Fireblood

by Wolfe, Trisha

  Glancing at the castle once, I inhale a deep breath, then latch onto the first rung leading up to the control booth. My hand trembles as I reach for the second, my stomach ablaze with pain, but I pull myself steadily up.

  I don’t want to kill another, but if Sebastian still has his knights ordered to arrest me, and the guard in the tower attacks, I’m not sure what I’ll do. All I know is I need to close the gate. Maybe I can simply bash him over the head and knock him out.

  Or maybe he will end me. I’m in horrible shape.

  There’s no use trying to figure out what will be before it happens. I reach for the third rung and hoist myself up the ladder. Hands grasp me around my waist, pulling me down. I scream from the pain and fail to reach my sword.

  “You’re ordered by the Force to surrender your weapons and come with us, Princess Zara,” the knight in a crimson vest says as he restrains my arms.

  He grips my shoulder and more pain slices through me. I struggle against him only a moment before I’m thrown to the ground. My hands scrape the gravel as I slide to a stop. Another knight approaches. His large black boots stomp my way, then I feel a shock.

  A V-Baton.

  I fall limp, and my chest hits the dirt. Willing my limbs to listen to me, I attempt to move my body, but I can’t move anything. I know I’m shaking—convulsing as I saw the crazed man do—because the earth vibrates in my vision.

  They grab me by my biceps, and pain blazes through my body as they drag me toward the castle. The ground blurs, and my mouth parts to release a rant of reasons why the gate needs to close, but even my tongue won’t obey me. Don’t they understand what’s happening? Doesn’t Sebastian understand?

  No. He doesn’t understand anything. Damn Larkin.

  One of the knights must notice the blood on my dress and decide I’ll be half-dead by the time he reaches his destination. He lifts me into his arms and carries me the rest of the way. My eyes roll back in my head, and I’m suddenly more tired than I’ve ever been. I think of the crazed man, shocked three times, and wonder if he survived.

  I feel motion taking us upward, or it could be down. I’m not sure. The backs of my eyelids are too inviting and, though I know there’s something I should be trying to do, all I want is to sleep.

  When I finally open my eyes, my head is foggy, and I’m seated in a chair in the transparent room. The weight of my situation crashes down on me and I slouch, consumed with failure. I’m right back in King Hart’s secret chamber. I haven’t gotten far in any of my endeavors.

  Maybe Larkin was right. Maybe I’m simply a coward and I allowed my fear to talk me out of the mission that I’d vowed to complete. If I would’ve ridden the lift to King Hart’s chamber with Sebastian the first time he tried to take me, I could’ve ended Hart and proceeded with the plan as it should have played out.

  But no, my heart still tells me I had a chance to reach Sebastian and stop it all. And maybe I’m not too late. There’s still a possibility I can convince him of what needs to be done. I have to try.

  I weakly twist my stiff neck and glance around the room. King Hart is no longer hooked to the machine near his throne. He’s been removed. Blood stains the fabric, and lights on the machine hold steady, unblinking. A knight places a chair directly in front of me, and Sebastian sits down.

  He snaps his fingers, and the knight in crimson walks to the corner of the room and turns a dial. The clear walls shimmer, rippling as a dark coat of gray paints them and encloses us. I can no longer see the sky. Low-hanging lanterns illuminate the shadowed room in an unnatural glow.

  “There,” Sebastian says. “Now it feels as if we have some privacy.” His eyes look me up and down. Their once-golden light now dim and flat. “You still look lovely as ever in your wedding gown.”

  My body is slightly numb, and my limbs weak. I don’t feel the pain in my stomach and shoulder as intensely, and my eyes widen.

  “You were given a pain shot while you were out,” Sebastian says. “I couldn’t have you passing out during our chat.”

  Though my head is dizzy and I’m still aware of my injuries, I manage to sit forward. “Sebastian, please listen to me.”

  He holds up his hand. “Do you know what I discovered, Zara?” He lifts an eyebrow, but it’s not really a question. “My father left me a holographic recording, explaining—more thoroughly than you, I might add—about the realm.” He lowers his head and stares me directly in the eyes. “I was worried your Rebels took that from me. I’ve waited a long time for him to bestow the power to rule on me, and I understand what has to be done for the betterment of Karm. I plan to see it through.” A slanted smile hikes the side of his mouth. “My father was a genius, but I flatter myself the visionary.”

  Sebastian has to be confused. “What about your ideas? What about all the things you planned to do to make this a better place for the citizens? Don’t you think those Outside deserve that same life?”

  A harsh sneer crooks his lips. “There are always sacrifices, Zara.” He releases a mock sigh. “Nothing great comes without a price.”

  Dread creeps over me. “But your father made that choice for others, Sebastian. We’re not given a choice in offering ourselves for the betterment of Karm,” I plead with him. “You have to know what he’s done here is wrong.”

  “What I know is that my father locked himself away for years because of the Rebels.” His eyes bore through me. “He lived in fear of assassination, and look what happened! I won’t let that happen to me.” He bounds from his chair and grasps the arms of mine. I press my back into the cushion as he hovers over me. “I know what it takes to rule. Strength. Being able to do what others are too weak to accomplish.” His breath skims my lips as he sinks closer.

  “This is only the anger and hurt talking,” I say, trying to convince myself as much as him. “You need time to grieve, and then you’ll know what you’re saying is false. I can hear the tremble in your voice. You don’t believe your own words.” I force myself to hold his stare. “They’re not even yours. They’re your father’s.”

  Anger flares in his eyes, and I brace myself, waiting for his strike. Suddenly, his gaze softens as his eyes flick to my mouth. “I still need a queen,” he says. “I’ll do all the things I’ve planned, just on a grander scale. And who better to help me lead a retaliation against the Rebels than one of their own?”

  Is he really this far gone? Or did the good I saw in him ever exist at all? I feel like a fool—a naïve pawn being

  perfectly maneuvered around a board.

  “No, Sebastian. You know that I won’t.” The anger blazes back to life in his eyes. He still can’t accept rejection. “It’s over. The barrier is down. We have a war to fight. You need the Rebels alongside your knights to fight the monsters of Outside.”

  “The Rebels obviously don’t know everything.” A harsh smile tugs at his lips. “And it’s too bad you won’t reconsider my request. I was hoping you’d make the right choice.” He grabs the back of my head and yanks my hair, forcing my face up as he crushes his lips to mine. Pulling back, he says, “Guards!” He pushes off the chair and stares down at me. “Take her to the Oubliette.”

  Stumbling to my feet, I attempt to run, but they have me in their hold in seconds. I look at Sebastian. “You know this is wrong.”

  He walks up to me and removes the silver crown from my head. “Sometimes, forgetting is the only way one can move on.” He turns his back to me as the knights force me into the lift.

  * * *

  I try to gauge the time I’ve spent in my windowless dungeon by the light seeping in through the crack far above my head. When I went to sleep, it was pitch black. Then it became brighter, and now it’s black again.

  One day.

  My pain medication wore off a while ago, and now my stomach throbs with pulsing heat despite the cold. I shiver. Infection is setting in. There’s a tiny dribble of water leaking down the side of the cave wall. I collect a handful and drink, then hold my blood-stained bandage up t
o wet the cloth. I try to keep my injuries as clean as possible, but I’m becoming too weak to tend to them.

  I press my palm to my chest, aching to feel my communicator. The Force relieved me of just about everything I valued—my only connection to Devlan, my father’s dagger, the antidote, even the sleeping potion I was to give to Sebastian. At least if I still had it, I might be able to sleep through the agony of a slow death

  They did leave me my commitment gift and Madity’s necklace. I push aside Sebastian’s locket and grip Madity’s necklace tightly, as if it’s my last lifeline and she can feel me through it, hear my prayers.

  A damp cold chills me to my bones, and I pull my dress over my legs, tucking them close to my body. I wrap my arms around my knees. This place smells of death, and filth, and decay. All around me is dark stone, only there’s not much light, so I’m not sure as to the exact color. Only the small sliver of light bleeding through the crack in the ceiling shines just enough for me to make out my surroundings.

  To my left, decomposing bones lie scattered, and a dirty, half-crumbled skull stares up at me. Its teeth dig into the dirt floor. I kick the skull over the edge of the Oubliette and wait to hear it hit the bottom. The sound never comes. I’m not sure if there is a bottom, though there’s a door just on the other side of the abyss. I have a ledge the size of my body if I stretch out, but I hunker against the wall, trying to keep warm.

  How many days will it take for me to die? With little to no water if the dribble stops, maybe five. I’m not certain when I last ate. My mind drifts back, rethinking how this could’ve played out differently. I’d like to accuse Larkin of everything—place the blame on his impatience and the possibility that the Virus drove him mad.

  But I know I’m most to blame, though I can’t take it all upon myself. Devlan and the Rebels played a part, too. We all gambled with deceit, betrayal, and lies, and we lost. I bet on Sebastian’s virtue and the fact that I thought he was different from his father. All the signs were before me. I only chose to see what I wanted.

  Now, my father will die either laboring in a harsh environment, his mind forever lost, or as a sacrifice to the cannibals. Sebastian will exact revenge on the Rebels, waging a war against them while also fighting the monsters of Outside, until he figures out a way to control the chaos invading Karm.

  His words plague me.

  The Rebels obviously don’t know everything.

  I try to forget the horror of it all and focus on finding a way out. If my injuries didn’t already make it impossible to climb, the condition of the Oubliette does. The walls are flat and smooth, slick with slimy algae and impossible to scale. If there were a way out, I’m sure my bony companion would have found it.

  When my mind is too weary to churn through faults and regrets, I lie down and shut my eyes. I tremble, chills overtaking me, my bones sore. I pass out.

  A tiny stone hits my head. I scurry against the wall, fearful that somehow rats can climb the abyss walls. I hold still and wait to see their movement. A scraping sound comes from above, and I look up. Something is moving. I strain my eyes to see in the darkness.

  Someone drops in front of me. I back as far as I can against the wall and shield myself.

  “Zara,” Devlan’s voice echoes through the Oubliette. His arms reach out to me.

  “Devlan,” I say, fearing I’ve lost my mind. “You’re here.”

  His arms wrap around me, pulling me to him, and I inhale his scent of woods and mint, and the sweetness I can never identify but know is his. He kisses my forehead, then pulls back. My eyes begin to focus, and I can make out the curves of his face.

  A tear slips down my cheek. “You’re here,” I say again, because the words didn’t feel real the first time.

  His lips find mine, and he kisses me urgently. Breaking away, he presses his forehead to mine, and says against my lips, “I’ll always come for you.”

  THIRTY-FIVE

  After Devlan anchors me to his body with a harness, he climbs the cable toward the ceiling of the Oubliette. The crack is no longer a sliver. A circle of light now shows the way out, and as we reach it, he climbs through. I try to help, but only manage to pull dirt down around us.

  When I feel grass, I inhale the fresh air around me. “Here,” Devlan says, unhooking the harness as he lays me on the ground. “Rest a minute while I re-cover the hole.”

  “How did you find me?”

  He taps the sod into place, then layers pine straw over it, making it look as though the ground was never disturbed. “Xander is still on the inside. He told me you’d been taken to the Oubliette, and Fallon knew of a way in.” He attempts a smile.

  I nod, slowly trying to piece things together. “But you’re no longer on the inside.”

  “No,” he says. “My cover was blown after I found out you were put here.” He drives his hand through his hair. “But I managed to escape the Force after trying to attack Sebastian.”

  “Devlan,” I say quickly. “You shouldn’t have risked—”

  “It’s done,” he cuts me off. “I couldn’t restrain myself around him any longer, regardless.”

  I hate that he’s blown his cover for me, but maybe it’s best. Sebastian probably would’ve punished Devlan for my rejection anyway if he hadn’t left. He’s here now, and we’ll figure everything out together.

  Glancing around, I say, “How far away from the castle are we?”

  “Not far.” His eyes slip over me, seemingly noticing my defaced wedding dress for the first time. His features harden. “But there’s no one to erase the feed if we’re seen. We need to move.”

  With Devlan’s arm supporting me, we evade the Eyes of the forest. We creep through the trees as we near the brook. Fireblood waits for us. Her long black mane dangles in the water as she drinks. Devlan leads me to her, and I run my hand along her dark coat. Leaning my head against her, I relish the feel of freedom her presence brings.

  I choke out a strained sob, holding my stomach as I try to lessen the pain my trembling brings. “I thought I could…” I trail off, not sure how to explain why I deviated from the mission. I shake my head against Fireblood.

  Devlan’s hand cups my face, and he turns me toward him. His thumbs caress my chin, my cheeks, as he looks me over. “She has fire in her blood,” he says, his pale blue eyes glimmering in the moonlight. “And she’s stubborn as hell.”

  I sniff back my tears, and force strength into my eyes for him. “Then, is Fireblood to be my new name? Or is there one especially for those who mess up this royally?”

  His lips curl into a smile as he touches them softly to mine. He nods, and whispers, “Mine.”

  * * *

  As we near the Rebel camp, Fireblood comes to a sudden stop when Devlan tightens her reins.

  I glance around. “What’s wrong?”

  His form goes rigid in my arms. He leans back and silently cues his horse to back away. Twigs snap under Fireblood’s hooves as she retraces her steps. I can feel her hesitancy beneath me. Cautiously, I angle my head around Devlan, and freeze.

  Large indigo eyes, reflecting the moon so brightly that they glow, stare back at me. A low growl rumbles from the beast. My arms hug Devlan tighter. “What—”

  “Shh,” he says. Fireblood snorts.

  The hair of the monster’s dark-gray coat stands up as it lowers itself to the ground, readying for an attack. It’s close to the size of Fireblood, and its legs bulge with muscles under its matted fur.

  Dread creeps over me as I stare into its wild eyes, but it’s the mutated wolf’s face that scares me the most. Its long muzzle and pointed ears have no fur. Black skin stretches over its face. Thin lips pull back to reveal razor-sharp teeth tinged with blood.

  “Hold on.” Devlan kicks his heels and leans forward, urging Fireblood to charge past the monster.

  Fireblood gathers herself, and the beast lunges. I latch my arms around Devlan, holding on as Fireblood gallops off.

  As we near the twinkling lights of camp, Devlan
shouts, “Arms!”

  A barricade of large cemented blocks, bags of grain and sand, and logs surrounds the Rebel camp. Rebels spring up from the other side of the makeshift wall, wielding bows. Their arrows whiz past us as we head for the barricade’s opening.

  Once we clear the barricade, Devlan pulls his horse to a stop. The guy behind us slams the gate. Devlan dismounts. “Don’t move until I get back,” he says before running toward the wall. Grabbing up a bow, he shoots arrows at the monster.

  Shakily, I nudge Fireblood to turn and face the fight. It’s chaos. The wolf hurdles back and forth, higher than any animal I’ve ever seen jump, dodging arrows. The arrows that do connect glance off its hide. Finally, one hits its mark—the beast’s soft underbelly. It howls, the sound sending a tremor down my spine.

  As the beast tries to retreat back into the woods, the Rebels take up their swords and climb the wall, going after it. The Rebels surround the mutated wolf, their weapons raised, and attack.

  The giant jaws of the monster snap at them. Then someone slices its jowl, while another strikes a tendon above one massive paw. Its mouth hangs loosely, and the monster limps away before it falls to the earth.

  Devlan stands over it and sinks his sword into its chest. The beast releases one last distorted howl, gurgling out its death rattle.

  I’ve been locked away for only a day, and the world has gone mad.

  Once Devlan reaches me, he tosses his blood-coated sword to the ground. “Zara,” he says, worry lacing his voice. But he says nothing else, and I know there’s nothing he can say. He wraps his arms around me, and I cling to him as he lowers me off the horse.

  As we make our way toward a tent, I glance around at the changed camp. It’s become a battlefield headquarters. Weapons and tables with maps and gear are set up all over, fires burning to light the darkness as Rebels plan tactics and strategies.

  Devlan holds back a flap, and I enter the dark tent. He helps me to the cot before striking a match to light a candle and setting it on a small desk. “I need to tend to your wounds.”