Shadowborn Royals - G. Bailey Page 0,31
I don’t quite manage to pick up on.
We walk for what seems like ages, but most likely is only half an hour, before we stop, hearing a strange noise nearby. Gold gently puts me down on a broken cart which is almost floating in the shallow water. Shit, the water is rising fast and I can’t fly. Neither can Gold nor Scott.
We are sitting, well floating, ducks compared to the other prisoners. Gold peeks around the corner, just as a prisoner goes flying across the water in front of us, passed out.
“Thought you said he couldn’t fight?” Gold asks me as Scott steps out of the alleyway and halts, blood dripping down his hands.
He grins at Gold for a moment. “I don’t fight, but that doesn’t mean I won’t defend myself and those I love,” Scott answers, wiping blood from his knuckles. “I believe there are better ways to handle things than violence.”
“Not in a blood trial,” Gold sourly replies as Scott walks over to me.
“What happened to you two?” he asks and I sigh.
“Why don’t we find high ground and I’ll explain as you heal us,” I ask and he nods, picking me up, pressing a kiss to the side of my head as Gold finds us somewhere safe.
Well, as safe as we can get in a sinking city made of magic.
“The water is rising quicker than it should,” Gold points out, looking out the broken window down at the city. We are in one of the three biggest highrises and we have hidden in here for a good five hours. My leg and wing are still hurting, but Scott has done a good job of healing me up. I can fight now, which is all that matters. I move to his side, Scott following and look down. I almost wish I didn’t when I see the water has smothered all the small buildings and is halfway up the tower. Now only five towers are left above water and soon they won’t be.
“What is the aim of this trial?” I mutter.
“An orb. It’s always an orb to get you out,” he explains. “And I think I know how this trial plays out. I heard Eva and Ronan laughing about how the orb will only reveal itself underwater and there is a five in one chance.”
“Five towers?” Scott points out. “We should split up, each of us going to a new tower.”
“It’s too late and far too dangerous for that,” Gold points out and I agree. “See the old telephone cables connecting all the towers?”
I follow his gaze, seeing that some wires have wood panels fixed under them. You could walk across them…possibly. “When the water comes up, if we are in the wrong tower, we should be able to see the right one. The orb will be bright, I’m sure of it,” Gold adds.
“I’m a shit swimmer, guys,” I admit and they both look at me. Like they just remember I’m a shadowborn, I see the pity in their eyes. “But I will be fine. I’ve survived worse than this.”
“We won’t let you drown,” Scott counters, and I look down as my feet feel wet. Glancing out the window, I see the water has risen even faster. “We should climb, water is filling this room already. We have less than an hour, I bet.”
“Let’s move,” Gold agrees. I’m glad we had this time to heal and clean up after Coen. I smile, so thankful that the bastard is dead. One more asshole off my list. Dozens to go. We climb up the broken staircase, using the ivy to climb higher until we get to the roof. The water chases us and by the time we have looked around, the water is covering our feet. Gold and Scott stay by my side as we float in the water, watching the roof, but nothing happens. Suddenly the water sucks us down, throwing us on the roof and shooting higher than we could swim. Oh, my Selena.
Gold grabs my hand, pointing it at another rooftop where some prisoners are swimming into the glowing gold orb, which is big enough to get one person at a time in. Not wasting any time, we all swim to the edge of the building, rolling the telephone cable across to the other building. I grab it a few times as the current threatens to push me away, but I manage to stay on track. My arms burn with every movement after a while. Gold and Scott