Avenged

♔ Chapter 6a

Several things happened at once.

The door literally splintered from the sudden, and damn near ear-splitting, wind attack. Fire burst immediately from the hands of the first attacker, water from the next. A half dozen hooded intruders wearing long, dark robes rapidly filed in behind them, waiting... For what I couldn’t tell. Thorn whipped up a wind shield deflecting both the water and fire. The short steam of fire ricocheted off the invisible wall and scorched the wall off to our left. Narrowly missing Fin. The irritated bird shrieked and flapped, but could do little whilst stuck in that tiny decorative cage. The water hissed and steamed as it collided with the fire in the chaos. Despite the shield, I could still feel the heat of the flames and the light mist from the water attack. A strange combination.

During the melee, I swear I caught a fleeting look of horror cross the intruder's faces. Why, though, I couldn’t be sure. Were they concerned about the phoenix? Shocked that Thorn was here? Not expecting resistance? Not expecting the room to be occupied at all? I didn’t have time to think about it, though. But I knew something wasn’t right about this.

Adonis reacted to the intruders just as quickly. While Thorn was dealing with the first fire and water attackers, Adonis instinctively engaged as well. With a flick of his wrist, he released his secondary element: earth. Vines shot from his hands and wrapped around the wrists and ankles of the water fairy and the man or woman beside him. With their face masks and hooded robes, it was impossible to discern any personal information beyond the powers they possessed. Damn, Adonis was fast. Charming when he needed to be, but anyone with any sense also knew he was deadly powerful. With my brother and father out of the way, there were few fae powerful enough to take him on, especially beyond high born circles. This was a suicide attack. It made no sense to risk people’s lives on a foolish mission like this.

As all this was happening, another of the hooded figures blasted air at the King, hitting its target. The King stumbled, but didn’t fall. Still, something felt off about all this.

“It’s the damned Bright Brigade,” the King roared, while roasting his attacker alive. The heat was so intense I could feel it from where I stood, so much so that my eyes stung and watered. And the smell… you can’t possibly imagine. It started out acrid and sharp, reminding me of the time I accidentally set Tiberius’ hair on fire, before the scent faded to a smoky almost roast meat aroma. The thought made me nauseous.

Yes, this did look like the Bright Brigade. I recognized those damn cloaked hoods. Anyone would. As well as the smoky air magic that blurred the patterns of their wings to deter identification. Yet still... something seemed a little off. Not quite right.

As these thoughts were popping inconveniently in my head, I wordlessly whipped up a wind wall and stood beside Thorn, effectively extending his shield.

“Father, you can’t question a dead man,” Adonis reminded the King quietly but firmly. “We need prisoners to question,” Adonis added as the King eyed his next target with malice. For a second, the thought that the King was hot headed by another, far more disturbing thought. What if he’s the one behind this? What if he planned this to take out Thorn? Or me? There were plenty of rebellious whispers that Thorn would declare outlet Duchy its own kingdom. What if the King is eliminating witnesses?

“Where are my guards?” The King roared once again. Deciding to ignore his son’s advice, the King summoned another raging fireball, pulsing with red, orange, and yellow flames. Before he could throw it at his target, though, a half dozen more hooded figures burst through the second door behind us. If I had to guess, I’d say they messed up the timing. It would have been more effective if both waves of attacks had occurred simultaneously. Unless an effective attack wasn’t actually their plan. That made no sense. Though now that I thought about it, none of these attackers seemed to actually be aiming for anyone. These weren’t attacks meant to kill or even injure. In fact, these newcomers weren’t actually doing much.

Perhaps my crazy thoughts that the King was behind this weren’t so crazy. Evil as he is, I can’t imagine he’d risk his own life, or those of his wife and children. Or maybe….

“It’s a distraction,” I mumbled to Thorn and Adonis, both of whom had taken up position as warrior sentinels on either side of me. Together, we’d make a formidable front.

“Agreed,” Thorn answered.

“Father, this is a distraction.” Adonis called to his father, louder this time. I was thankful he did. First, because the smell of burned flesh was still making me nauseous. And second, because I knew the King would not listen to a disabled little girl fairy like me. The pompous a*s was too stuck up to consider that anyone like me could be useful. He’d likely kill everyone out of spite, just to prove that he didn’t need my suggestions. But more than that, my plan here is to destroy this fake royal family. So these attackers, whoever they were, weren’t my enemy. Hell, they could have been my allies. Despite the discomfort that chilled through me at the thought of the castle's dungeons, I made a mental note to find them in the cells later. Perhaps, with appropriate funding and leadership, they could be useful to my cause.

“Run. I need you to run,” Adonis said, as he turned to face me. Thorn quickly followed suit. Each then threw a glance at Marissa, who was standing behind us with small fireballs ready and waiting in each hand. Thorn, knowing how strong and how stubborn I was, surely was acting concerned more than he was actually concerned.

“I can fight. I am not leaving you here.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared stubbornly at Adonis. I had just as many questions about this situation as he did. Who were these people? What did they want, exactly? Why now?

“I’m not saying you can’t. I’m saying I can’t fight if I’m worried about you.” Adonis gripped my upper arms, firmly but gently, and drilled his eyes into mine. “Please take Marissa and my mother and go. I need you safe. I need you all safe.”

“That’s just...” I stammered, ignoring the battle-standoff around us.

“Sexist? Condescending? Yes. I’ll apologize later. Right now, I need you safe. Please. If I’m worried about you, I’ll be distracted, sloppy. That’s dangerous for everyone.” Adonis’s warm fingers softly slid up my arms to cup my face. Ignoring the little shiver that ran down my spine, I shot a quick look at Thorn.

We were safe behind this shield, but we were surrounded and outnumbered. I did not want to leave. At this point, everyone had drawn on their powers. You could feel the magic simmering in the air. We were all just waiting to see who would make the next move. The King was spot on about one thing, though. Where were the guards?

“Go, Ella,” Thorn ordered. He obviously feels the same way as Adonis about this. Damn them both.

“Fine,” I reluctantly agreed. I was surprised, not for the first time, at the level of feelings Adonis was already willing to admit to.

I ran toward Marissa, who was waiting by the only cleared doorway behind me. The Queen had long since disappeared. Or so I thought. When I caught up to Marissa, I saw the Queen impatiently waiting for us further down the hall. That actually surprised me. I always took her as the save herself kind of gal.

“Come on ladies, follow me.” When I hesitated, she added, “They will be fine, Ella. Adonis and Thorndon are the two most powerful fae in the kingdom.” When we got close to her, the Queen grasped one each of both mine and Marissa's hands and tugged us to get moving.