Chapter 3 KILL

Roland's voice cracked over the screaming crowd.

I couldn't breathe.

My right arm was locked in the air. The muscles felt rigid and burning, as if someone had injected hot coals straight into my veins. Up on the balcony, the archer kicked his legs wildly, and his hands tore at his own throat in a desperate bid for air.

"I—I don't..." I stammered. My voice was barely a whisper against the deafening chaos of the hall. "Stop it. Please, just stop!"

I wasn't talking to him. I was begging my own body to listen to me.

The dark magic hummed beneath my skin. It felt thick and suffocating. I grabbed my right wrist with my left hand and pulled down with all my strength.

"Let him go," I sobbed, digging my nails into my own flesh.

The magic fought back. It resisted me with a heavy, stubborn weight, but I gritted my teeth and forced my fingers to uncurl one by one.

The pain shot up my arm into my shoulder. I didn't care. I finally wrenched my arm down to my side.

The archer crashed onto the balcony floor with a sickening thud. He gasped for air, coughing violently as he rolled onto his side.

The moment the spell broke, the royal guards at the bottom of the dais snapped out of their shock.

"Kill her!" a guard in silver armor roared, raising his broadsword high above his head.

A blast of blinding golden light shot from his free hand. I threw myself to the left and hit the hard marble stairs just as the magic slammed into the spot where I had been standing.

The impact shattered the stone. Sharp fragments flew into the air, and one of the pieces sliced a hot line across my cheek.

I ignored the sting and scrambled to my feet.

More guards charged the stairs. Their heavy boots pounded against the stone, and I didn't wait to see if they would cast another spell. I turned and sprinted toward the back of the grand hall.

The crowd of Light Fae nobility was a frantic, screaming mess. People shoved each other out of the way. They tripped over expensive silk gowns and velvet capes in their desperation to get away from me. A woman in a blue dress fell to her knees right in front of me, and I jumped over her, barely keeping my balance.

I used the chaos to my advantage. I ducked under a nobleman's arm and shoved past a crying ward, keeping my eyes locked on the heavy oak doors.

"Close the gates!" someone yelled from the upper balcony.

The massive doors were already swinging shut. The royal guards stationed near the exit pushed their weight against the thick wood to seal me inside.

I pushed my legs harder. My lungs burned with every breath. I wasn't going to make it, and the gap was closing too fast.

"Get out of my way!" I screamed at a group of terrified nobles huddled near the exit.

They scrambled back, giving me a narrow path. I threw my shoulder forward and squeezed through the gap just as the heavy doors slammed together. The booming thud shook the floor beneath my boots.

I stumbled out into the bright sunlight of the city square. My momentum carried me forward until I tripped over the cobblestones.

I hit the ground hard, scraping my hands and knees on the rough stone.

Loud bronze alarm bells began to ring from the abbey towers. The high-pitched, frantic chiming signaled a severe threat to the dominion.

I pushed myself up and ignored the bleeding scrapes on my palms. I had to keep moving, because if I stayed in the open square, the outer patrols would find me in seconds.

I ran down the main street. My worn leather shoes slapped against the stones. The vendors and citizens in the market turned to look at me.

Their faces twisted in confusion when they saw my torn gray uniform and the fresh blood on my face.

"Hey! Stop right there!" a deep voice shouted from an intersecting alley.

I didn't turn around to see who it was. I took a sharp left and darted down a narrow side street lined with tall stone buildings.

The shadows here were deeper, but it wasn't enough to hide me.

Suddenly, a hand shot out from a dark alcove between two bakeries. Rough fingers clamped down on my bicep.

I yelped and tried to wrench my arm away. I raised my free hand to summon whatever dark magic had saved me in the hall.

"Quiet!" a familiar voice hissed.

I blinked. My vision adjusted to the dim light of the alcove, and Roland Ashcroft stood in front of me.

He looked over his shoulder at the main street. His chest heaved under his fine Luminary robes.

"Roland?" I choked out.

My magic sputtered and died immediately. The relief was so sudden and overwhelming that my knees actually buckled.

He caught my waist to keep me upright.

"What the hell is happening?" I stammered, grabbing the front of his robes. "I swear I didn't mean to do it. The orb just... it went black. I'm not a monster, Roland."

He pressed a hand over my mouth. "Keep your voice down, Lenora. The guards are swarming the district."

I nodded frantically. Tears ran hot and fast down my cheeks. I pulled his hand away and struggled to catch my breath.

"They are going to kill me," I whispered. "The archer... I nearly strangled him. I don't know how I did it."

"I know," Roland said quickly, and his eyes darted back to the street. "Listen to me very carefully. You cannot stay in this city. The High Sovereign will declare a hunt within the hour."

"Where do I go? I don't have any money. I don't even know anyone outside the abbey."

"I will help you," he promised. He tightened his grip on my arm. "You have been my ward for nineteen years. I am not going to let them slaughter you in the streets like an animal."