Behind me, metal clanks on metal. Aro, blocking an attack from the second guard as he tried to sneak up on me. He catches the guard in the stomach with the hilt of his sword and the man doubles over.
“Somnis,” I incant, and the guard drops to the floor.
Automatically, I look for my twin. And find she’s disarmed and incapacitated her opponent. She smiles wildly at first, then her expression turns to dismay as she sees something behind us in the hallway.
I whirl around. Darian now holds a blade to Aro’s neck. Aro looks nervous.
Without thinking, I lurch toward them, but Darian presses the knife harder against Aro’s skin. I can feel it against my own. He must be drawing a little bit of blood.
“Take another step, and he will bleed all over this floor.”
I glance at King Damon and Queen Cyrene. While they’re surprised, they make no move whatsoever to stop Darian.
They truly don’t care. When I glance back at Aro, the pain in his eyes makes clear the same understanding is hurtling through him. The belief his parents would always protect him is the one thing he’s been banking on this whole time. I tried to warn him, we all did, but it was something he had to learn for himself.
And that time is now, the worst possible moment.
“Mother? Father?” Aro manages to croak out. King Damon and Queen Cyrene just shrug.
“Do what you must, Darian. He’s been consorting with Magi. He’s no longer our son,” the king says.
The expression on Aro’s face slowly transforms from shock to grief-stricken horror. He looks as if the world were just yanked out from under his feet.
Cold shivers down my spine. The ice in the king’s voice, the deadly seriousness. The same people who obsessively protected Aro his whole life have utterly abandoned him.
“We’ll be leaving now,” Darian says. Then he looks me in the eyes and smirks. “Thank you, Aissa. Bringing Aro couldn’t have worked out better for me. And don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten my plans for you and your sister. Once I’m done with him, you’ll be my main priority.”
I shudder. Terror ripples off Zandria beside me.
“Leave him be,” I say, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice.
Darian simply drags Aro down the hall away from us. Aro can barely walk, but I definitely feel no sense of injury. Darian must have him under a spell of some kind, one he cast without the royals noticing. The fiend gets bolder and bolder, becoming more confident now that his plans are close to fruition.
The only thing I can’t understand is why he didn’t kill Aro just now. What must he need him for?
Then it hits me. His heart. He knows I did something to it I won’t tell him willingly. And by now I’m sure he’s heard rumors of the Heartless child we healed. He must be planning to cast a spell of some sort on Aro to reveal my actions so he can mimic them when he “cures” the Heartless. I almost smile.
He’ll be disappointed when he realizes the truth. He can’t bind himself to every Heartless.
King Damon and Queen Cyrene stare aghast at Darian as it becomes clear he intends to leave them here.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the king demands. “I thought you were going to kill him.”
Darian looks between us and them. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. I have more important things to take care of, remember? Our plans to capture the rest of the Magi cannot be delayed.”
Queen Cyrene bristles. “You will remain here and kill these Magi first, Darian. That’s an order.”
But he keeps backing down the hall. Then he laughs. “I know you’ve believed yourselves to be in control all these years, but it’s getting old. Everything you’ve achieved is thanks to me. I’ll take my due now.”
While the guards have not yet arisen, several more appear in the hall. The odds of us getting out of this alive slip away by the second. Zandria twines one hand through mine. The odds may be against us, but we’ll still stand and fight, united once again.
We’ll win or die trying. And hopefully give the others time to get out alive.
The king beckons to the new guards. “Arrest them. All of them. Even Darian.”
The dungeon guards are clearly surprised but waste no time advancing. Catoria and Owen join me and Zandy, forming a line between them and our escape route to ensure the rescued Magi’s safety.
Two thirds of the guards rush at us, and the other third advances on Darian. The king and queen edge closer to him. They’re furious, and frankly look as though they’re itching for a fight.
I’m sure they’d love to let their mercy loose on us and Darian.
We fend off our guards with weapons and magic, infuriating the royals even more. They’re screaming at Darian now. He toys with the guards who are left standing.
He mutters under his breath. I can’t tell which spell he casts, but magic swells in the hall, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Within a few seconds, the guards fly back, nearly knocking the king and queen off their feet. The dazed guards struggle to regain their footing, but not before the king and queen shove forward to confront Darian.
“You’re Magi?” Queen Cyrene accuses him.
Darian smirks.
“Mother, Father, please, leave here,” Aro says. His eyes are wild with terror. He knows exactly how far Darian is willing to go.
“Tsk,” Queen Cyrene responds.
“He can’t hurt us. Not with all the metal in our bodies,” King Damon says.
“Not when he knows the wrath of our mercy all too well.” The queen points a long, metal-ridged finger in Darian’s face. “If you—”
“Your machinations are small-minded and foolish,” Darian says. “I’ve bored of you.”
The royals are clearly affronted. “I beg your pardon?” the queen says.
“Who do you think you are?” the king demands.
Darian smiles as if he’s never been happier, his free hand weaving under his cloak too fast for me to make out the movements. “I no longer have need of you.”
He raises his hand in the air, fingers splayed. The king and queen are jerked off their feet in a whirl of silk and metal, sputtering incoherently. The guards grappling with us back away, gaping slack-jawed.
Darian closes his hand into a fist and squeezes.
The king and queen grab at their chests, unable to stop the spell at work. I know this one. I used to fantasize about casting it on one of the largest mechs during the Royal Victory Parade, bringing it down amid the crowds and causing chaos and destruction.
“No!” Aro shouts. But Darian squeezes his fingers even more tightly closed.
The king and queen go limp as the life slips out of them. Then Darian tosses their bodies to the side of the hall, as merciful to them as they were to their own prisoners.
CHAPTER 41
ALL OF US—GUARDS INCLUDED—STAND aghast at what Darian has done. A moan escapes from Aro’s lips, but before I can get a handle on the situation, blinding light explodes from Darian’s fingers. Disorientation reigns.
When the light fades and we can see again, he and Aro have vanished.
“No!” I cry out. Zandria grabs my arm. Catoria is already at our side, casting a sleeping spell on the guards. Then she and Owen examine the limp bodies of the king and queen.
“It’s too late for them,” she says.
Nausea claws at my throat. Zandria wraps her arms around me. I lean into her, letting my sister’s warmth comfort me.
“We’ll get him back,” she says. Tears stream down my face. I didn’t even realize I was crying. Yes, we will. It’s only been a few short months since I met Aro, but now I can’t fathom life without him. Regardless of what happens, we’re in this together until the bitter end.
I stiffen. “We have to get to the woods. As soon as possible. That’s where Darian is headed.” Whether or not he’ll take Aro there alive, I can’t say, but I hope with everything inside me.
Zandria’s eyes flare. “He still needs to capture the res
t of the Magi. It’s central to his plans.”
“We must get them on our side before they make a fatal mistake.”
Owen speaks up. “We don’t just need them on our side. We need the Technos too.” He glances between us. “This is what we’ve been working toward this whole time, isn’t it?”
We step over the guards’ slumbering forms and head back into the secret tunnels, carefully securing the entry behind us. We haven’t gone far before Travers and the other Magi we freed this evening appear before us.
“We thought the royals had captured you for sure,” Travers says.
“Well, we’re still standing and the royals aren’t,” Zandria says.
Fiona hisses. “King Damon and Queen Cyrene . . . they’re dead?”
“Darian killed them. He’s been playing both sides. We have much to fill you in on,” I say.
“It sounds like it,” Travers says.
“We have others, Technocrats, who are on our side too. Who’ve sworn allegiance to the Alchemist Alliance.” I address my friends. “We need to bring Vivienne and Leon up to speed. We need their help.”
“I’m the fastest,” Zandria says. “Where are they supposed to meet us?”
“No.” I shake my head. “You and I must remain together. We need both our magics to defeat Darian. And if he kills Aro. . . .”
I can’t bear to finish that sentence. We both know what I don’t say. Should I die, there will be no one left with power to rival Darian’s if Zandria is chasing after Vivienne and Leon.
“I’ll go,” Owen says. “Just point me in the right direction.”
Zandy frowns. “I don’t know . . .”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Catoria says.
“Yes, but they’re heading in a different direction than the one we’re going in,” I say. “They’re bringing as many of the Heartless and their allies as possible out of the city to hide in the woods to the east. We’re going to the south.”
Owen’s face grows serious. “Then I’d best be as fast as possible.”
Catoria takes his hands. “You need the strength to do it.” With that she weaves a speed spell so he can move faster than should be humanly possible.
When Catoria releases Owen, Zandy throws her arms around him, surprising all of us. Then—even more surprising, and yet somehow perfectly Zandria—she grabs his face and plants a kiss on his lips. The startled boy doesn’t stand a chance. When she releases him, a dazed smile swims over his face.
“You’d better join us before dawn,” she tells him.
“I definitely will,” he says.
“Thank you,” I say to Owen, raising an eyebrow at my sister that she deftly ignores.
Then he’s off. Catoria casts a quickening spell on the rest of us too, but not full-powered like Owen’s. There are more of us, and we can’t afford to lose our energy that quickly.
But the boost helps, and soon we’re out of the tunnels and back on the streets. The sky above our heads is still dark, but the edges are beginning to lighten. We waste no time seeking out the secret tunnels that go under the walls and let out in the forest.
It won’t be long before dawn rises and the Magi attempt their terrible spell. If they succeed, it will destroy us all.
In the woods, a rough wind tangles through the metal trees, chiming the tinny branches together. It’s eerie enough to set my teeth on edge.
We exited the tunnels at the southeastern corner. We need cover, and just south of the city are plains that stretch toward the southern mountains, lined by the steel aqueducts that bring water into the city. There aren’t many places to hide outside the tree line. Plus, we need to locate the Technocrat guards and incapacitate them before a full-on battle breaks out.
Suddenly, I stagger backward. My chest aches fiercely. The breath is stolen from my lungs.
“Aissa, what’s wrong?” Zandria grips my arms like I’m about to fly away.
When I catch my breath again it hurts to talk. “Aro was just punched in the chest. Very hard.”
Zandria’s eyes turn to steel. “I won’t allow Darian to do this to you.”
“You may not have a choice,” Catoria reminds her, but it does nothing to douse the fire in my sister’s eyes. She helps me to my feet, and the world stops spinning.
“I’m all right,” I say, straightening my spine.
“I’m not,” Zandria says. “Darian has already taken our parents. I’m not about to let him take you away from me too.”
Catoria pulls Zandy aside. “Gives us a moment,” she says to the rest of us. Curiosity fills me, but I release my sister’s hand and the two of them walk a few yards away, speaking in hushed whispers.
Moments later, Zandria grins broadly, a wicked gleam in her eyes that gives me chills. Then she heads deeper into the woods without saying goodbye. Catoria rejoins us, an expression on her face that I can’t quite decipher.
“Where’s she going?” I ask. “We should be sticking together. That’s why Owen went to find Vivienne and Leon. If I fall and Zandy’s not here, we’ll be crushed by the Technocrats.” Annoyance brews in my chest. My sister has ever been impulsive, but this was one of those times I believed I could count on her. And I never expected Catoria would egg her on.
“She hasn’t gone far. She’s retrieving something for me,” Catoria says cryptically.
“Which is?” I demand.
Catoria shakes her head. “You’ll see soon enough.”
I swallow the questions burning on my tongue. I’m not at all happy with my sister disappearing at such a critical moment, but I know how stubborn Catoria can be. Pressing her on this will only waste time we don’t have. “Fine. Let’s find those guards.”
We reach a spot with good cover, then all stand in a circle, facing outward, as we each cast a locator spell that together searches in every direction.
“I think I found the Magi,” Fiona says after a couple minutes. “They’re deeper in the forest, and they feel different. I can sense their magic.”
“Good work,” I say. “We’ll need to warn them once we know where the Technocrats are hiding.”
I keep searching to the south, and that’s when I find them: in the aqueducts. The metal structures stretch across the plains all the way into the mountains. I’ve never been in one myself, but we learned about them in school. The water flows through a conduit above the two-story-high aqueduct, which is supported by metal beams. An enclosed level is just below the conduit to allow for inspections and repairs. Below that is a pattern of archways and metal columns with doors in every third one. It should be wide enough for at least three or four of the guards to stand shoulder to shoulder as they wait inside the enclosed level. The entire city guard is there, packed inside, waiting for Darian to give them a signal. Then they’ll pour out through the doors and overwhelm our Magi friends. I shudder.
“They’re already here.” I nudge Catoria and point in the direction of the aqueducts. “And they’re sitting ducks.”
“All you have to do is put the stopper on the bottle,” she says.
My chest still aches, and I’m sure Aro’s does too, but it doesn’t stop me from casting a spell to melt the hinges and seal the edges of the first door in the aqueduct. It won’t open if Darian manages to get a signal to them. He can’t be far away. By now he must be with the Magi. Maybe even planning to reveal Aro’s identity and execute him in front of them, all to whip them into a frenzy. Anything Darian believes he can leverage—no matter how small—he will.
While I work, Catoria and the others keep watch, weaving a magical net around our group that will alert her if anyone comes near. Once I’m confident I’ve sealed all the doors in the aqueduct within my range, we regroup. There are more doors farther away that they can get to, but now they’ll have lost the element of surprise, and the Magi will see them coming.
“We need to warn Remy,” I say, but before we can take a step in the direction of the Magi, a loud noise erupts from somewhere near the city. It sounds like som
ething enormous and metal wakes. And it isn’t happy about it. The pounding continues, starting small and then growing, when a new sight greets us from the east: Owen, carefully winding through the metal trees.
Behind him is a veritable army of Heartless children and their nurses. Some are sickly, the dark tendrils of poison weaving around their arms and necks, while others with newer transplants have a healthier glow. But all are weak. They’ve spent their lives either recovering from major surgery or slowly being poisoned. My heart aches at the sight of so many. The group Owen has brought stretches between the trees as far as I can see.
Catoria gasps softly, immediately understanding what she sees. Her eyes water with unshed tears. The guilt she feels must be tearing her up inside. I place a hand on her shoulder.
“This is Darian’s doing, not yours. That’s why there are so many now.”
Catoria shakes her head. “No, it is my fault. I crafted the alchemical that did this. I made the tool, Darian only used it.”
“Which is exactly why he’s responsible,” I insist, but her forlorn expression doesn’t budge.
We greet Owen. “Where are Leon and Vivienne?” I ask.
An odd expression flashes over Owen’s face. “They’re with your sister. They said they had something they needed to do. Something about waking everyone up?” He glances back and forth between us as if we might understand better.
Suddenly, I do. Sort of.
“That noise,” I say. “Whatever is causing it must be their doing. They want to wake everyone in the city to either escape or witness the Alchemist Alliance.”
Even as I say the words, the sound increases. It almost sounds like . . . metal feet. And voices. The hum of life stirring within the city walls is unmistakable.
“Was this what you were whispering to my sister about?” I ask Catoria. She just shrugs, but mischief sparkles in her eyes.
“Fine. Let’s find the Magi and get these children safely away from the city,” I say.
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