Liberate

by Krista D. Ball

  She kicked him again. He moaned. Her body was exhausted. A beating was hard to give anyway, but the wall of protection around her tripled the tax on her body. She was flagging, she knew. If she didn’t gain control of herself soon, she’d collapse and then she’d be the next target on Jud’s list. Only, she feared Jud’s work on Erem would have only been the early tries. That his torture upon her would be even more extensive.

  In the back of her mind, she was aware that there were bows pointed in her direction. She knew she was surrounded. But the voice within her did not care. It wanted to extract the price of vengeance. It wanted to destroy, butcher, crush, and burn all those who harmed one under her protection. The voice said Erem was under her protection.

  “Bethany!”

  Bethany blinked at the voice shouting her name. It cut through the fog and confusion. She turned around and saw a shimmering curtain of light separating herself from several lines of archers. When did they get there? She was even more surprised to see knights on both sides, some ready to attack her, some ready to defend her.

  And the most surprising thing of all was Arrago in the center of it. Blood trickling from his nose. Dazed. Worried. Determined.

  “Arrago? What are you doing here?” Bethany asked.

  Distant voices shouted at her, but she couldn’t make out what they said. Arrago’s voice, by contrast, came to her crisp and clear. “Put down the dagger and let’s go.”

  “He needs to pay for his crimes,” Bethany said. She wasn’t certain if it was her or the voice saying it, but both agreed with the statement. “You need to pull down the curtain or it will kill you.”

  In a small voice, Arrago said, “I don’t know how I’m even doing this.”

  Bethany pressed her lips together. She looked about the courtyard. This was the place where she’d made her first revelation: that she was Apexia’s heir. So she supposed it was fitting that this would be the place where they would make their second revelation: they were Apexia’s replacements.

  Bethany drew in a long, deep breath. She had not recognized where she’d ended up. The last time she’d sunk this deep into her Power was when she was unconscious for a month after the destruction of the temple. She looked at Jud’s unmoving form and felt no regret, though she should have just outright killed him. She had let an aspect of Apexia’s Power grab her and take hold.

  She shook her head. She should have been teaching them all how to discover and control their powers, not have been under virtual house arrest for a year. This is what Jud had done to them. Any illusion of their story being accidental or rumor was gone now. It was all gone. Damn. It was all ruined now. If Jud survived this, he’d come for her. If Jud didn’t survive, someone else would come for her. Nowhere was safe now.

  Bethany returned herself to the present, to the shouting and screaming voices. She lifted her hand and shouted, pushing only enough Power into her voice that it wouldn’t take over. “You all know me.”

  The roar of voices began to dull and quiet and, when they did, she continued. “You know what I am and who I am. Many of you fought in the war with me. You know the kind of person I am. You know that Allric was never a traitor, no matter what lies Jud tells. Jud is the traitor.”

  More voices rose and shouted, though many remained silent. She let them continue for a few moments, before raising her voice again to speak. “I am leaving with my friends, and you will let me. Pray to Apexia I never return. Because, if I come back and you are not with me, you will all look like this by the time I am done with you.” She threw her dagger at Jud’s unmoving form and it sank deep into his shoulder. No sound came from him.

  She reached out and found the thread of Power that held together Arrago’s protective curtain. She pushed her own will against it and it shattered. The blow knocked back everyone in the courtyard, excepting herself. Even Arrago rolled twice before he managed to stop.

  “Come. We got what we came for.”

  Bethany reached down and pulled Arrago to his feet. She turned her back on them all and, deliberately, walked slowly away toward the wharf, her ship, and her life.

  “Kill her!” Holy Father Roc shouted. “Kill the bitch!”

  Chapter 21

  BETHANY HAD NOT RELEASED her grasp on the Power that had gripped her, so her senses were keenly aware of the movement about her. She felt the scuffle of feet through her connection to the earth. She could see seconds into the future, a predictable outcome to the situation she had found herself.

  Exhaustion tugged at Bethany’s body, but she managed to push beyond it to think. She wasn’t sure if time had slowed for her or if her thoughts were simply faster than the events around her. What she did know was that she wasn’t strong enough to throw up a barrier to protect their escape. She had never practiced her innate Power, and Apexia only knew how powerful she was now with the true Power in her veins. Or how powerful she could be if she joined hers with Arrago.

  Bethany grabbed Arrago by the wrist, squeezing hard. She found the untapped well inside him. She pulled on it, and thrust her free hand out at the guards who were rushing them. The Power within her connected with his and a wall of fire formed between them and the knights.

  Arrago wobbled, but she caught him. She wrapped an arm around his waist and said, “Run.”

  They ran for the wharf. Arrows rained down on them, but Bethany flicked free her hand again and again and the projectiles seemed to never land. She kept a hold of Arrago, who now needed her support to stay standing. She saw the blood dripping from his ear. She couldn’t push him much more, but she needed to get them out of there.

  When this was over, if they survived, she was going to go to a field and she was going to teach them all, including herself, how to harness their Power without getting a damn nose bleed. Or in Arrago’s case, a brain bleed.

  “Did you just declare war on the elves?” Arrago asked, panting.

  “We all did, the moment we stepped here. You should have let me kill Jud.”

  They reached the wharf and began hurrying down it. “I thought that would stop them from attacking us.”

  “Either way, we all knew deep down it would end like this,” Bethany said. She skidded to a stop. Turned, and collapsed the fire barrier. She sagged. She was out of practice, not that she’d ever purposely gotten into practice. The entire point of her having lived in secret was that she had put her energy into practicing how to hide her talents, and not in honing them.

  Myra and Jonas ran to meet them. Jonas put an arm around Arrago and helped him stand.

  “Oh, Apexia,” Myra whispered. “They’re rushing us.”

  Bethany shoved Arrago away from her. “Get him out of here. Go!”

  “Lady Bethany, what about...” Jonas asked.

  “Go!” Bethany shouted.

  Myra put an arm around Arrago, too, and together the three jogged toward the ship.

  Bethany turned to the mob running for her. She still had some of the Power from Arrago inside her, churning up her own reserves. She decided there was no point in reasoning with these people. They were taking orders, not thinking. Most of these were Jud’s men from Wyllow. Young pups who never fought in the war.

  Bethany thrust out her hand at the wooden wharf and caught it ablaze. She felt the wooden dock itself buck under her feet, and she sprinted for the rowboat before the fire took out one of the support struts. She climbing down the ladder into the waiting boat. Jonas and Myra, along with a dozen others, began rowing fiercely.

  “Thanks for the rescue,” Jovan wheezed.

  “Thank me when we get out of here alive,” Bethany said. She took several deep breaths and saw the line of archers forming along the south wall. She sighed. “Jovan, what’s the distance range on the new longbows again?”

  Erem looked around crossly and said, “We’re in range. Please let them kill me.”

  Bethany glanced at Erem and noticed his hands and feet were tied with rope, and he was tied to one of the seats in the row boat. She looked at Lady Kia,
who shrugged. “He tried to jump.”

  Bethany rubbed her forehead.

  “In range!” Erem shouted.

  Bethany’s knees were wobbling now, but she gathered up the last of the Power granted to her by her mother. She pointed at the water and wind gathered around them, propelling them closer to the royal yacht. Arrows slammed into the water where they’d just been. Bethany tried to sit down, but collapsed on top of Arrago instead.

  WHEN BETHANY FINALLY woke, she was in bed next to a snoring Arrago. She rubbed her eyes, trying to push away the fog in her brain. It was dark, with only a sliver of muted light coming through the door frame.

  Bethany eased herself out of bed, wincing at the stabbing pain in her temples. Her stomach rolled when she sat up. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so awful. Not even that night after the war, when they all got roaring drunk on the battlement.

  She managed to get out of bed and out the door without Arrago stirring. His breathing and his snoring didn’t even change pitch. She didn’t bother waking him. He was going to feel far worse than she did when he awoke.

  She found her way to where Jovan and Erem were being cared for by the healer. Jovan was still awake, both legs being massaged by two healers. Erem was asleep in a cot on the opposite side of the room.

  She looked at Jovan, and said, “It’s good to see you.”

  “Thanks for coming to get me,” Jovan said through clenched teeth. The healer was already working on his legs.

  Bethany glanced at Erem before looking back at Jovan. “How bad was it?”

  Jovan shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “All right,” Bethany said. She knew never to push. Though, a fire boiled inside her belly. If Jovan’s few hours in Jud’s tender care was too much for him to talk about, what had Erem gone through?

  She twitched as a needle drove itself through her brain. She pushed the Power down as far as she could, and the pain subsided enough that her vision came back into focus. Oh, she really needed to work on this. She got a feeling there was a lot of fighting ahead of her and she needed every advantage she could muster.

  “I thought we all agreed to keep the thing a secret,” Jovan said.

  “You know how it goes,” Bethany said. She turned to the healer examining Erem and asked, “How is he?”

  The healer looked over his shoulder and frowned. “Physically, he is exhausted and starving. Mentally, well, I cannot heal that, Majesty.”

  “I understand.”

  “Are you certain, Majesty? He is going to need his friends to survive. And even then...”

  A chill spread through Bethany’s body. “I understand.”

  The healer gave Erem’s limp form another glance before nodding. “It will be better once he is in Taftlin, back at the palace with all of you. Warm food, clean clothes. It’ll help him find himself again. You must ensure he makes it until then.”

  Bethany closed her eyes and nodded. She knew one thing. If Erem didn’t make it, she was going to come back and Apexia have mercy upon them all. Because she sure as fuck wouldn’t.

  Chapter 22

  AMBER CLUTCHED TWO crying children, their arms wrapped about her neck choking her, and she rushed down the stairs. She couldn’t stop to pull the barriers across the doors because the mercenaries would hear the noise and know which way she’d gone. At least, there were no candles in this area and the outside brush and plants obscured what moonlight there would have been.

  She was supposed to get out of the palace, but her escape route was currently a massive brawl. Eventually, she’d have to make her way back upstairs to the main floor if the entire palace caught ablaze. For now, she had to keep safe long enough to even make it upstairs.

  “I’m scared,” little Henry wailed.

  Amber put her hand over his mouth and whispered, “You must be quiet.”

  That only made him howl louder into the palm of her hand. “I want my daddy!”

  “I know,” Amber said and she would have appreciated either of Henry’s fathers right at this moment to help save her.

  Footsteps. It wasn’t Darien’s, as she had pulled the beam down over the door to slow down anyone who’d followed them. She regretted doing that now, because she could use his sword arm to defend against whoever was out there.

  She felt around and found a cupboard and stuffed both children into it. “Stay here and be as quiet as possible.”

  “I want to come!” Henry sobbed.

  Amber ignored them, pulled off her cloak and shoved it over their heads. That made Opal shriek loudly, as she never did like her head covered. Amber closed the door and hoped to Rygous and Apexia’s holy will that the children, at least, would make it out alive.

  She kept low behind the table and found the knives. She took the one that was the heaviest and waited. She had no idea how to defend herself, nor did she know how to even use a knife.

  The man burst into the room, a torch in his hand. Amber plunged her waiting knife into his chest and screamed alongside his as they collapsed to the floor together. The torch rolled across the wooden floor, and Amber gathered her courage to jumped up and down on the sparks until the room was black again.

  Her heart ached from the pounding, and she felt sick to her stomach. She was weeping and shaking, but she opened the cupboard to the sniveling children and pulled both close to her. Thankfully, the children would not be able to see what she had done, with the darkness. She’d get them beyond the room and then they’d be safe.

  “It’s okay, Amber,” Henry said. “I protect you. Daddy protects people.”

  She stepped over where she knew the body lay, where the children couldn’t see the bleeding form on the floor. She wept as she ran down the corridor toward the wine cellars. “You need to protect Opal, Henry. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes,” Henry said. “I’m a big boy.”

  Amber let out a weary chuckle. “All right, but you have to promise me to listen if I tell you to do something. I’m still an adult.”

  Henry let out a dramatic sigh. “Yes, Amber.”

  “Opal, are you okay my honey?”

  Opal tightened her grip on Amber’s throat.

  “Let’s go. Quietly, now. We don’t want the bad men to know we’re here.”

  “I want Dada.”

  Amber pushed aside the thought of Edmund. “I know, sweetheart.”

  Chapter 23

  AS EDMUND, KINER, DARIEN, Rose, and Brennus split up to search for Amber in the cellars, Edmund found himself wondering why in the entire year he’d lived in this palace had he not even considered an evacuation plan? What if they’d been overrun? Surely there was a place for the royal family to escape. As soon as he had the opportunity, he was going to ask Stanley and Rayner where the secret passages were located. And if they didn’t know, the housekeeper. And, if she didn’t know, he was going to rip the palace apart to find it. Never again was he going to allow anyone be unprepared. He’d have artists make drawings on the bloody walls, if necessary.

  His smooth boot soles slid across the stone when he hit the bottom of the stairs. Instinctively, he flailed his right arm to grab the wall for support, but his stump merely scrapped against the stone. He collapsed to the floor, wrenching his ankle. Edmund let out a tirade of curses, but hauled himself back to his feet, and continued down the dark corridor, limping the entire way.

  He held the sword in his left hand, gripping it tightly. He’d not practiced nearly as much as he should have with it. Arrago and Kiner both told him he needed to, that it would help him. Bloody tits, they’d been right. If a soldier rushed him, he’d be dead and no good to anyone.

  “Apexia, I solemnly promise to practice if you just let us all live through this,” Edmund panted through the pain.

  The wine cellar door was locked. He pounded on the door. “Amber? It’s me. Open up.”

  He was greeted with the most beautiful face he’d ever seen. Her brown skin was smudged with dust and there were cobwebs in her hair. Her face lit in
to a huge smile when she saw his face and she threw her arms around him. He threw his sword aside, and then squeezed her tight. She was safe in her arms. Joy surged through him. She pulled away, still grinning. A little giggle escaped her. No words, they weren’t necessary. She could probably sense his joy and it made him even happier for her to know how happy he was to see her.

  Then, that joy possessed him. He pulled her closed and lowered his mouth to hers. He was so overcome with the delight of seeing her. Having her in his arms. His lips touched hers. Soft, gentle. Something let go in his heart. Something he hadn’t thought would ever come back up for air. May Apexia forgive him, for he realized his heart no longer belonged to just Celeste’s memory.

  He pulled away, realizing what he’d done. He looked down at a startled Amber. Her brown eyes were huge and he wasn’t sure she was breathing. Her mouth was parted where they’d kissed.

  No, he’d kissed her. She had not kissed him back. She had been stunned by what he did.

  “Amber,” he whispered. “Apexia’s tits, I’m...”

  “Dada!” shrieked a little voice behind him.

  Tears welled up in Amber’s eyes and then he knew. Oh, he knew. Just that look in Amber’s face and he knew.

  He closed his eyes, even as Opal pulled on his pant leg to get his attention. “Up, Dada! Up!”

  He opened his eyes, only when he was sure he had his own welling emotions under control. He bent down to pick up Opal and she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, holding tighter than usual. Little Henry hid behind Amber’s skirts, but he rushed over when Edmund held out his hand for the boy to join. Henry jumped into Edmund’s arms, knocking him over. Both kids piled on top of him, hugging him tightly, as Henry loudly and rapidly detailed the entire evening to him in a combination of child babble and full sentences. Opal added in the occasional word and stutter, which Henry would quickly interpret.