| |
Silver
With a deep inhale, using the earth’s magic, Silver blew out a hard breath. The flames lighting the candles around Keelen’s inky circle extinguished. Smoke curled up from their wicks toward the ceiling.
“Once we’re through the walls, how are you going to get me to your home?” Silver asked, pressing her hand against the smooth texture. Even now, as she tugged at the magic, she couldn’t push a single digit through.
“You’ll see.” Keelen smirked, motioning with his index finger for her to come to him. “I need you to hold on to me.”
Silver’s gaze roamed over him for a moment, taking in his beauty one more time. Those curled horns—his leathery wings with dark veins, creating a map of their own, running in different directions. She didn’t think her heart could pound any harder as she stared at his half smile.
His arms opened for her to rest in, but she didn’t want to be cradled when entering Valgmyr. Him sprinting her up the stairs to escape danger was one thing—this was another. It would also be more difficult for her to leap from his arms if he was holding her like an infant.
Stepping forward, she grasped his wrists and brought his hands to his sides. Keelen’s hair hung in his eye on one side, and she gently swept the locks behind his ear. She then placed her palms to his warm neck, her breath mingling with his when she leaned closer. Their earlier kiss came to mind, the way his lips had moved against hers, the way he knew how to do everything she could have ever wanted done to her mouth. And she couldn’t stop thinking about it. But she forced the image back down, temporarily hiding it as Keelen gripped her waist and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his narrow hips, his hands sliding down to her buttocks, holding her steady.
Her cheeks heated at his touch, and she rested her head against his shoulder while folding her arms behind his neck. She breathed him in, his woodsy and jasmine scent enveloping her. It was still there, same as before when he’d been a raven.
“Whatever you do, don’t let go of me until I say it’s safe,” Keelen said, shuffling them forward.
“I won’t,” Silver promised. She trusted him with this—she trusted him with everything. Her stomach swarmed with flying imps as she prayed to the gods to let them pass through the portal and easily find Afton. She didn’t know what would come after that, but she needed to bring her sister safely home. There wouldn’t be a goodbye.
A strong gust of air blasted within the room as Keelen swung his wings forward. Her hair blew around her head when he pulled his appendages back and repeated the motion. They drifted upward, his feet completely leaving the floor. The sound of his wings was like true drum beats to her ears while he brought her toward the ceiling. She told herself she was going to keep her eyes trained on their destination, but at the last moment she slammed them shut, bracing for the hard impact in case it didn’t work.
After a few seconds passed, she opened her lids and gasped at the sight before her. No longer were they in the castle, but flying across a dark blue sky. And it wasn’t anywhere in Enare.
Below them were entwined beige limbs, blooming with edelweiss and white roses, even though such flowers didn’t normally grow on those types of branches. The barrier formed a dome, hiding a secret that she couldn’t see yet. Valgmyr.
Outside of the barrier was nothing but the cerulean shade. Not a cloud, not a tree, not any homes, or even a sun. Only the sky, the branches, and the flowers.
Keelen pumped his wings harder, her body vibrating against his with each movement. Her stomach flipped as he descended, heading straight toward the barrier.
“How are we going to get through?” she shouted over the loud cracking of his wings.
“You’ll see.” And she could hear the playfulness in his words.
Despite the fear that they may crash into the branches, she didn’t hold her breath. As soon as she was about to close her eyes again, the limbs unraveled, creating a sizzling sound. They peeled open to a space large enough for them both to fit through.
“This isn’t good,” Keelen said.
“Keep going.” She bit her lip and continued to glance down.
Inside, she had expected to see the emerald greens of the story, yet there were mostly blacks. Above them, the limbs curled and wove back together, sealing shut. There wasn’t even a sliver to peek out through at the blue sky. As they veered toward the ground, the topiaries were just like the tales, only not green. They were the dark shade she’d seen in the distance. The smoky, grassy aroma struck her nose, heavier than at Enare’s castle.
Keelen’s feet touched down, and Silver bit her lip as her gaze met Afton’s. The expression on her sister’s face was enraged, her jaw clenched. In her arms, she held a squirming imp, one hand at its throat, the other around its stomach.
Silver’s gaze flicked to a growling noise—she found several imps holding another form back. The Valgmyr King—Ragan. He looked just the same besides his eyes, horns, and wings like Keelen’s. Her blood boiled as she watched him, but she reeled her anger in, remembering everything Keelen had told her.
Still, Ragan had lied. Hid truths. Taken her sister.
“Not yet,” Keelen whispered, holding her tight.
She stared at the imps, recalling the way they’d held her down, knocked her out with their magic, their blank white eyes boring into her. The Valgmyr energy swirled within her, yet it didn’t feel tainted like before. She tried to tap into it, draw out her claws and teeth, but she couldn’t.
“Rory!” Ragan yelled, trying to break free from the hissing creatures. “What the fuck are you doing? Get her out of here!”
“Get behind me,” Keelen said, releasing her.
Silver untangled her body from him, and he quickly hauled her behind his back.
“Why is she here?” Afton seethed, taking a hand from the imp and thrusting it in their direction. Keelen grunted and fell to his knees, his body quaking, his eyes rolling back.
Oh no. Silver knew what Afton was doing. Same as what she’d done with the rats in the tunnel—break his insides apart, then burst every blood vessel and organ he had until he was dead.
“Stop!” Silver screamed and rushed for her sister, coming to a halt in between Afton’s palm and Keelen.
Afton yanked back her hand before an ounce of magic could harm Silver. Her expression switched to one of confusion. “He brought you here...”
“It’s Keelen,” Silver rushed the words out. “He’s Keelen. Don’t hurt him. He brought me here because I asked him to. So we could try and bring you home.”
“Keelen? Keelen is Rory?” Afton’s nostrils flared as she turned to Ragan, both her hands gripping the imp tight again. “Did you know he was her guard?”
“No.” Ragan shook his head, still struggling to break free of the imps. “I didn’t know. He never said anything to me, and he didn’t look anything like my brother.”
“He’s good, and he didn’t remember his past until Ragan took you from Enare,” Silver said, turning to Keelen who was on all fours, his chest heaving, his eyes meeting hers. “I love him.”
Afton made a choking noise in her throat, as though it was the most foolish thing Silver had ever said. She continued to stare at Afton, letting her see she meant it. Her sister’s face fell and she blew out a breath, like she seemed to understand.
Silver realized something in that moment. She’d known Afton loved Ragan when he’d pretended to be a servant, she’d known her sister continued to do so even when he was Thorin, and after what Keelen had told her about his brother, she should have known there would still be a possibility.
“You love Ragan,” Silver said softly, her arms falling to her sides. “And you didn’t need me to come.”
Her sister nodded.
Leaves rustled and imps flocked out of the topiaries, their wings flapping in a brutal manner. Afton held her hand up toward them, and they stopped mid-air, their wings still pumping. “Go near her, and I’ll make it so your insides won’t ever heal.”
Silver met Afton’s fiery gaze. “What do we do now?”
“You need to go home,” Afton said. “Back to Ketill. Take Enare under your wing and rule them both. Be their queen, while I take care of our land from down here.”
“That’s why you truly want to stay here? In this prison?” she asked, incredulous.
“No, Silver.” Afton’s voice came out gentle, a sound she’d never heard from her before. “Haven’t you realized yet that everything I do is for you? I would be protecting Ketill, therefore protecting you.”
Silver’s heart swelled—she loved her sister just as fiercely, but how could she be away from her forever?
“I don’t know if they’ll let her leave.” Keelen was now standing and moving beside Silver.
Afton scowled at him and started to open her mouth to say something, when an ear-piercing scream tore from her throat. Her wretched sounds filled Silver’s ears, and Afton’s grip released on the imp as she dropped to her knees. Silver darted toward her sister, tears filling her eyes. She frantically looked from Ragan to Keelen, trying to find an answer.
“What’s wrong with her?” Keelen shouted at his brother, anger rolling off him in waves.
“The energy didn’t seep all the way down into her, only attached,” Ragan said through gritted teeth, while trying to yank himself from the imps’ hold. “And now it’s loosening.”
The imps surrounding them hadn’t moved, their blazing orbs only continued to watch.
“If she dies”—Keelen’s eyes widened—“that means they’ll take Silver. And if the same thing happens to her, then she’ll die and nothing in Valgmyr will change. They’ll keep bringing new bodies here.”
Silver’s heart plummeted—not for herself, but because Afton could die.
Keelen looked at Silver with something akin to desperation before turning toward the imps. “I think I know what to do.”
