his blade.
I darted away, managing to avoid a second hit. Then I lunged for him and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backward. I dived and slammed the hilt of my sword onto his head.
His eyes rolled back, and his body went slack.
Panting, I leapt upward and inspected the scene.
Cass had taken out three of the guards, while Tarron had finally knocked out the big one.
I lunged for the final guard, who raised his hand to throw a blast of magic at me. Green smoke shot from his palm, and I lunged left, rolling on the ground and barely avoiding the hit. I popped upright just in time to see Tarron hit the guy on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. He collapsed forward and landed hard.
I sprinted for the big guard, then fell to my knees beside his burned body. He wasn’t dead, but he was in terrible shape. I’d feel bad for him if his magic didn’t make it really clear what a bastard he was. He stank so bad that it was hard to breathe near him.
“Help me look.” I patted through the guard’s pockets, searching for the key.
Tarron and Cass joined me, searching the dozens of pockets that seemed to be sewn into his clothing.
Finally, my hand closed over a heavy key. “Found it!”
“Not so fast.” My mother’s cold voice echoed from behind me, and I froze.
16
Skin chilled, I looked up.
In the doorway stood the false queen, as horrible and beautiful as ever. Her sharp features were highlighted by her black and white hair. It was fabulously striped and swept up into an elaborate design around her head. Her crown looked like it was made of spiked obsidian, and her gown was made entirely of delicate lace that somehow looked sharp enough to cut.
All of her looked sharp enough to cut.
Tarron’s magic swelled slightly, barely perceptible. He was about to hurl something at the queen when she shrieked and thrust out her hands.
Before we could react, light shot at us so fast that I didn’t have a chance to brace myself. It hit me dead-on, and I collapsed, my vision going black.
I surfaced from unconsciousness groggily, blinking to get my vision back.
My head ached like an elephant had stepped on it, hanging low so that my chin touched my chest. Ropes bound my wrists tightly, and I sat upright in a hard chair.
What the hell?
Through the fog of pain in my head, memories of my mother hitting me with some kind of light blast flashed in my mind.
She’d captured me.
Her magic had moved so fast that none of us had had a chance to defend ourselves. That was new.
Carefully, I controlled my breathing. I couldn't let her know I was awake. I needed this time to take in my surroundings. Through slitted eyes, I peeked left and right. Tarron sat to one side, Cass to the other. Even Aeri and Declan were there, tied to a chair on the far side of Cass.
All were unconscious.
Fear spiked my heartrate. They were unconscious right? Not dead?
No, of course not dead. There’d be no reason to tie them to a chair if they were dead.
But why were we all here?
Leverage.
It’s what I would do. Threaten the loved ones of the person I was trying to coerce. I’d do it right in front of their face too. If I didn’t have a soul. Which my mother didn’t.
We needed to get the hell out of here before she could put whatever evil plan she had into action.
We were in some kind of high tower room—it was circular with windows on all sides. An open door led to another room.
Quietly, I drew in a breath, trying to calm myself. Voices sounded from the other room, and I strained my ears, trying to hear.
“They will wake soon, Your Highness. You should deal with them before they do. They are strong.”
The false queen laughed coldly. “I’m more powerful than ever. There’s nothing they can do to stop me. Anyway, I have them just where I want them.”
Oh yeah, she had something planned.
I swallowed hard, cold sinking deep into my soul. But she was right. Her power was now off the charts. She’d hit me with that magic faster than I could even process, and it’d knocked me out immediately.
There was no beating her here.
We had to escape. Regroup. Figure out a plan.
The Aranthian Crystal.
It was still in my pocket. If I could just reach it….
Freezing the false