Fireblood

THIRTY-TWO

I grip the bodice of my wedding dress as I pant sharp, aching breaths. Everything around me happens as if in slow motion, but too quickly at the same time.

Sebastian runs to Hart. He extracts the Rebel dagger. Wires emanate from the open wound, sparking as wisps of smoke coil up from Hart’s chest. Sebastian kneels before his father and cradles his thin, limp body, blood soaking his tunic.

A giant metallic and glass machine beside the throne blares out a loud, steady beep. Sebastian rocks forward and backward, and yet, Hart is still dead—murdered—and not by my hand.

I hear the lift behind me, but I don’t recognize what’s happening until three knights of the Force enter. They run past me toward the other end of the huge, open room. This whole time, my eyes have been trained on Sebastian curling his father to him. As my eyes trail after the knights, I finally look around and gasp.

There are no walls.

I’m standing on top of the castle—in the sky. I glance down at the lake, the court, royal village, the town. I can see all of Karm. Electric-blue grid lines streak the dark sky all around me. Then I look down as fear spikes my blood. There is a floor beneath me. I sink to it, trying to get my bearings.

How long have the Rebels speculated Hart’s secret chamber to be far from the castle? How much time have they wasted searching? All this time it’s been right here. I’ve spent these past weeks with Hart in my very presence, right above me, in his secret chamber in the sky.

I become brave and stand, then walk to the edge of the room. I keep my hands out, fanning the air, and when I reach the edge, my hands hit something solid. A wall. The walls are made of something so clear, so pure it’s as if nothing surrounds us at all.

My mind blanks at the impossibility. My head jerks toward the court grounds. How is it that no one can see this room? Then I think of the birds, lying around the castle, no one able to explain why they simply drop out of the sky. I imagine them smashing into an invisible room.

I take in Hart’s dead body again, registering that part of it is machine. Before I’m able to catalog my own ponderings, a knight approaches Sebastian.

“Your Highness,” the knight says in a low but forceful voice. “Excalibur has been attacked.”

Sebastian’s head whips up, and he stares vacantly at the knight.

The mainframe.

It’s here also. I try to spy the control room as the knight continues. “A disk has been lodged in the computer, and it’s decoding the system.” When Sebastian still looks at him as if he’s speaking a foreign language, the knight points outward. “The barrier is coming down.”

I stare out past our glass encasement, but I don’t see… The air shimmers. Panicked, I look above my head. The sky starts to open up. A splinter of black at first, then the bright blue lines mix with the darkness and begin to melt, peeling down all around me. I spin in slow circles as blackness replaces the once-illuminated sky.

I look to Sebastian, a solid lump fixed in my throat like a stone. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I was meant to have time. He was meant to have a grieving period before the barrier was taken down. And the antidote?

Where is it?

Carrying out the mission seems pointless. How can I convince Sebastian to command an army when he’s wracked with grief? His eyes are on his father, empty. The Rebels are unaware of everything.

And Outside is opening up all around us.

I have to get to Devlan.

The barrier is coming down. Soon, the monsters that roam the wasteland will be coming for us. I dash toward the lift. There’s no time to waste.

“Guards!” Sebastian shouts. “Take her.”

I spin toward him, my shock complete. Before I can process anything, two knights come at me, their V-Batons raised. I back into the lift and smack the buttons. One of the knights lodges his wand between the metal doors as they clamp shut. Lifting the hem of my wedding dress, I unsheathe my dagger and then slam the hilt against the shaft of the prod.

The doors shut.

Slumping against the wall, I nearly collapse. Focus. I right myself and straighten my dress. Thinking better, I sheath the dagger before the doors open.

Glancing around, I step into the corridor. Empty. I stoop and grab an arming sword from one of the fallen knights, then strike the control panel of the lift. It sparks, and the lift’s gears grind. The doors open and close, open and close.

I’m not sure how long that will stall them, so I take out my communicator and press the button. “Devlan.” My voice trembles.

Static.

“Devlan—” I nearly shout.

Only crackling. Shaking, I tune to Xander’s frequency and try him. The same static, as if all the knights have disappeared. Regaining my confidence, I start toward the stairs.

I look back once, then take off toward the main hall. Walking swiftly and stealthily—the sword held by my side, pressed into the skirt of my dress—I pray I can reach the front before the knights make it to the bottom level. As I enter the inner ward, I notice there’re no panicked citizens racing around and no knights of the Force. It’s too quiet.

The alarm must have cleared out the castle. I push the large doors open and run to the front grounds. All around me people are staring, their forms stiff and locked in place, all looking in different directions.

My heart bangs against my chest as I spin and take in the sight. The once-blue sky has melted away. The dark, foreign sky of Outside replaces it. Lightning as I’ve never witnessed flashes in mud-colored clouds, making the sky look more like a dirt field, layered with patches of gray and brown clay. A small ball of light peeks through the murky clouds as they travel quickly across it. The sun, I realize. And in the distance, beyond the bright green grass, past the stone wall and the pines reaching upward, black mountains roll along a dusky skyline.

I back away slowly, leaving the bewildered citizens, and head toward the side of the castle. Pressing my back to the rough wall, I try my communicator again, this time successfully.

“Fallon,” she answers my page.

“What happened?” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

Silence, then, “We’re trying to figure that out.” Her voice is calm and steady, and that scares me more than if she was panicking.

I suck in a breath. “Where’s Devlan? Have you spoken with him?”

More static. “The alarm triggered their emergency frequency. Their transmission is shut down to us. They can only communicate with each other at this point.” She pauses. “Zara. We tracked your movement, but we waited as you instructed. Who else did you take to Hart’s chamber?”

My forehead creases. “Only Sebastian. But, we didn’t go in at first. We left—” I don’t finish. We don’t have time to go over this right now. “Fallon, I have to find Devlan.”

“I know.” Crackling. “And tell Xander…tell him to contact me when you find him.” I now hear the worry in her voice. “We’re grouped and on our way.”

I nod to myself, bolstering the assurance of her words. “I’ll contact you when I find them.” I stuff the device back into my bodice.

The Rebels are on their way here. I understand why immediately. Court has a wall.

I peek around the corner. All of Karm has gathered in Court for the wedding. There’s a chance some are still in town and the country, but most are here.

I pray Hadley and her family are here, too, and that they are safe.

My eyes trail over the stone wall. I’m not sure what type of monsters will cross into Karm now that the barrier’s down, but whatever they are, they might not be able to climb.

I need to shut the gate.

The Rebels will come through the opening near the meadow, but the gate needs to be closed to keep Outside from finding its way into Court.

Bringing my communicator out once more, I page Fallon. When she responds, I say, “Block the opening at the meadow once you’re through.” Then I take off toward the back of the castle. I need to make my way around, along the edge, so I’m not spotted by the Force.

I stop short when I see rows of knights lined up on the tournament field. Has Sebastian come to his senses? He’s seen Outside with his own eyes now. Maybe he’s taken command and is already gearing up for battle. It won’t be enough, though. The Rebels will be needed.

Only, Sebastian ordered my arrest. He thinks I had something to do with killing his father—which I’m not sure I didn’t. I saw the Rebel crest on the dagger, and Sebastian saw it, too. How can I sway him to join the Rebels now?

Xander might be one of our only plants Sebastian will trust. Maybe Larkin, as he’s a member of his Round Table, but I don’t trust him. If I locate Devlan, I can find Xander. They still have communication between themselves. They might even be together out on the field.

My heart and mind conflict with each other, one telling me to shut the gate and chance being caught by the Force, the other demanding I seek Devlan.

Duty first. It’s what Devlan would choose. I have to trust my instincts.

After I shut the gate, I’ll find Devlan, and we’ll regroup with the Rebels. Once Sebastian sees the monsters invading Karm, he’ll have no choice. He’ll have to band with us.

I search the field one last time for any of the Rebel plants, then back away and move silently toward the front of the castle. The sky overhead crackles with thunder. Flashes of lightning spark, spiderwebbing the dense clouds.

The two guards from Hart’s chamber are searching for me, and probably every member of the Force has been given the order to capture me by now. I run for the shelter of the treeline, hoping to make my way to the gatehouse undetected. After I get this one thing accomplished, I can slow down long enough to think.

After I enter the thick brush, I make quick work of slicing off the train of my dress and discarding the excess. Then I take determined steps. My thoughts plague me, and I stumble a couple of times, nearly forgetting my destination.

The barrier is gone. I have clear access to my father. I could ride Sterlyn right out into the open and find Morgana—the compound—but I know how reckless that would be. I need to stop and center myself. We need a convoy to go after them all at once. Because when the cannibals discover we’re taking away their food supply, King Hart’s treaty is through. I can’t face Outside on my own, no matter how badly I want to go after my father.

I’ll do him no good if I do.

As I round the wooded area near the gatehouse, a snap sends my senses into high alert. I freeze.

Something in the bushes rustles, and I whip around.

A knight in crimson and black approaches me. “Larkin?”