And when it does, we charge forward, shouting battle cries and screaming to the heavens. Our soldiers cut down everyone in their path. Blood and mud slashes through the air. Men and women scream in pain, clutching wounds and dismembered limbs. Buildings are set on fire. Horses lose their riders and flee in panic, trampling people to death. It is chaos. Everywhere. And I can only hope the innocent are safe, for I cannot tell. It all looks like madness and death.
Amidst the turmoil, Fen leads me and his brothers to the side of the castle, to a secret passage behind a waterfall few but him know of. He taps on a rock embedded in a stone wall, and a doorway opens. Quickly, we rush inside, and Fen closes the passage behind us. Dim torches light our way, as we run through cramped tunnels and over small stairs. When we reach a dead end, Fen taps another rock in the wall, and the way before us opens. I cast an illusion on us all, muffling our steps, and we creep into the castle.
I know this place.
The dungeons.
The Warden sits at a table, eating a loaf of bread, his hands still bloody from his nasty work of torture. He starts to turn, about to see us, but then Fen leaps forward, and in one movement takes off his head. "One of Levi’s" he says, spitting on the dead corpse.
"We need to make haste," says Dean. "Before Levi realizes we are in the castle and tries to flee." I nod, and we move for the stairs. But something catches my eye.
A man in the corner, broken and bloodied, his back shredded into ribbons of flesh and skin.
Marco!
I run to his side and break the chains that bind him with my sword. "Fetch him some water. Now!"
Asher obliges, brining me a jug from the table, and I pour the cold water down Marco’s throat.
He gulps down what he can, then turns away, signaling he is finished. His face is bruised and purple. Barely recognizable. When he looks at me, he smiles. His voice is barely a whisper. "Arianna… you came back…"
I nod, stroking his hair in soothing motions. "Yes. You’re safe now."
"Levi… he… after I helped…"
"I know." Levi did this to him. Because he helped me escape. Tears well in my eyes for the man before me. For the pain he's endured. Levi must never cause such pain again. No matter what happens, today I capture the mad prince.
Marco tilts his head to the side. "There… friends…"
I follow his gaze to the back of the dungeon, where large steel cages stand covered in shadows. "Make sure he’s comfortable," I say to Asher, and then I run to the Warden’s corpse, grab the keys off his belt, and open the cell in the back.
Inside, I find a woman. Dirty and bloody. Curled into a small ball. Shaking and murmuring nonsense. I step closer to offer water. And then I see who she really is. "Kayla?"
Kayla scrambles back, her eyes wild and bloodshot. "No. No. No! Don’t punish me again. Not again. I’ve been good. I swear I’ve been good."
I sit down, bringing myself to her level. "Kayla, it’s me. Arianna."
She brushes her messy hair out of her eyes, squinting. "Arianna? Arianna!" She jumps forward, grabbing me and holding me tight, weeping against my chest. "I saw your head on a spike. You were dead. You were dead!"
I grab her shoulders and make her look at me. "It was only an illusion. I’m here. I’m alive. You’re safe."
She nods, then looks away, to the cage. No. The cage beside hers. She reaches for the bars. "Tavian. Tavian!"
I don’t know who she speaks of, but I understand what she means. I run outside and unlock the second cage. A man lies within, unmoving, his back bloody, his gut covered in recent wounds stitched back together. I check his pulse. "He’s alive!"
Kayla falls to his side, clutching him dearly. "Oh, thank the Spirits. Tavian. Tavian, please wake up."
Someone grabs my shoulder from behind. Fen. "We must go. Before it’s too late." He glances at Kalya. "I am glad you are safe, sister."
She looks back at him. "Go. Make Levi pay."
***
When we reach upstairs, it's chaos. The slaves have taken advantage of the rebellion and attack the guards using kitchen knives. Brooms. Anything they can grab. Some manage to kill a vampire and take their sword. Baron joins the fray, tearing out the throat of a soldier. Viscously striking at anyone he deems an enemy.
Our party carves our way through the hallways, avoiding as much combat as possible. Sometimes soldiers rush to fight us, but then they see Fen, drenched in the blood of his enemies, Dean, with the thrill of battle in his eyes, and Asher, swift despite new wounds. They see me, clad in the colors of midnight, a dragon upon my shoulder. And then the soldiers flee.
A group of Fae block the path ahead. And I recognize Kara with her golden hair and Julian with her green eyes, the Fae girls who tended to my needs in Stonehill and later at Sky Castle. They fight off their attacker, a man soaked in blood, a sword in his hand. Before he can strike I rush forward.
And cut off his arm.
The girls scream. Then they see me. And their eyes fill with hope.
"Go," I say. "Find a room and bar the door. Don’t come out until you hear no more battle." They nod and disappear down the hallway.
Something nudges at my feet.
I look down and see Kal, laying against the wall, clutching his belly.
"How bad is it?" I ask, already examining the wound.