Vengeance

Chapter 5

The castle halls stretch before us, dimly lit by flickering sconces, the cold stone echoing our hurried footsteps. Shadows stretch and coil around us, adding to the suffocating dread pressing against my chest. My mother grips my hand so tightly that her nails dig into my skin, but I don’t complain—I can feel her trembling.

Arianna and Lettie follow close behind, their breathing ragged but silent. Lettie had sent Elric ahead to prepare the horses, knowing we wouldn’t have much time. Every turn, every corridor feels like it could betray us. I can almost hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears, counting down the seconds before disaster strikes.

Then, my mother jerks to a stop so suddenly that I slam into her back.

I barely manage to stifle a gasp as I peek around her.

A line of soldiers stands before the stable doors, their armor glinting under the moonlight spilling through the windows. My blood runs cold.

Stepping forward from their ranks is Commander Dion. His broad frame casts a long shadow across the stone floor, but it is the sorrow in his eyes that sends a spike of unease through me.

“Violet,” he says, his voice low, almost pleading. “You must hand over Calista. The king requests her presence in his chambers.”

I stiffen. A sickening weight settles in my stomach.

My mother takes a step back, her grip tightening on my hand as if she could anchor me to her. “I will not hand over my daughter to that man,” she seethes, shoving me backward toward Lettie and Arianna.

Commander Dion sighs, but there’s no softness left in his expression. He takes a step forward, and the soldiers behind him follow suit.

“You dare refuse the king?” he growls. “You should see it as an honor to have a daughter who has caught his eye.”

An honor?

“If she were younger, I would understand your hesitation,” Dion continues, his voice laced with irritation. “But she is seventeen, well into her debut classes. The king has been most patient, Violet. Now—” his eyes darken, and his tone turns sharp as steel—“hand. Her. Over.”

I flinch. Lettie grips my arm so hard I fear she’ll leave bruises.

“We must run,” she whispers urgently. “Your mother will hold them off.”

The words send ice through my veins.

I snap my head toward her, eyes wide. “I will not leave my mother to face these guards alone,” I hiss.

Lettie’s gaze pleads with me, desperate, but I barely see her. My eyes dart back to my mother just in time to see Commander Dion draw back his sword—

And bring the hilt crashing down toward her head.

A scream tears from my throat.

Something inside me erupts, raw and wild. Power surges through my veins like molten fire, then ice, then something altogether beyond me.

A force explodes outward.

The shockwave is deafening. Soldiers are thrown off their feet, their armor clattering as they hit the walls and floor with cries of pain. The torches flicker violently. Dust rains down from the ceiling.

My mother staggers, but I lunge forward and catch her before she can fall. My breath is ragged, my vision swimming.

“Run!” she gasps.

I don’t hesitate. I grab her hand and pull her in the opposite direction, my body burning with exhaustion. Lettie and Arianna scramble after us, their eyes wide with shock.

“There’s another way out to the stables,” I pant, but my legs are already beginning to slow, the world tilting slightly.

Lettie curses under her breath and ducks under my arm, draping it over her shoulders. My mother does the same on my other side, supporting my weight as I stumble forward.

“Stay with us, Callie,” Arianna pleads, her voice breaking.

The sound of heavy boots pounding against the stone floors sends a fresh wave of panic through me. The guards are recovering—fast.

My mother swears under her breath, then suddenly shoves me into Lettie’s arms.

“What—?” I try to protest, but my tongue feels thick, my limbs unbearably heavy.

“Keep her safe,” my mother orders. “I’ll draw them away.”

“No!” I try to reach for her, but my arm won’t obey me. I can only watch through blurred vision as she turns on her heel and sprints back toward the approaching guards.

She doesn’t look back.

Lettie and Arianna haul me down the hall, urgency driving their every step. My body feels like it’s made of lead, my mind sluggish, but I know—deep down—I know.

My mother is sacrificing herself for me.

I want to scream, to fight, but the last of my strength drains from me. Darkness creeps at the edges of my vision as we slip through one of the castle’s many hidden passageways.

The cold night air hits me as we burst into the stables.

Elric is already there, waiting. His expression hardens as he sees us. “Where’s Violet?” he demands.

Lettie doesn’t answer—she just shakes her head.

Elric curses and lifts me onto Relin’s back. I barely register the movement.

Tears slide down my cheeks.

Mother is gone.

And I might never see her again.