The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash 4)

The castle’s walls started to tremble as the thick iron doors began lowering on the main floor. Two more knights stepped out from the hall’s shallow alcoves, swords already drawn, and gaiters lowered to pool at their chins. “We have orders not to kill you,” one said, stepping forward. “But that does not mean we won’t hurt you.”

I didn’t even dignify that with a response as I prowled forward, vampry blood dripping from the tip of my dagger. My will stretched outside of me. Shadow-tinged aura spilled out. The knights lifted from the floor as if giant hands had grabbed them by their ankles, slamming them into the stone floor and then high above, against the ceiling. Stone and bone cracked, shattering beneath the armor.

Doors flung open at the end of the hall. A half-dozen knights rushed from the tower, halting as sharp screams of alarm echoed from distant parts of the castle. Some glanced behind them. Others bared their fangs, charging toward me.

All of them were in my way.

And time was precious.

I kept my emotions and thoughts locked down. I didn’t think about what I must do—what I would do. There would be time later to dwell on the carnage I was about to unleash—and already had.

The shadowy, silvery webbing raced across the floor, climbing the walls and ceiling. It fell upon the knights, seeping inside them and finding the joints in their bones, the fibers in their muscles and organs, vital even to vamprys. There was no chance for them to do anything with the swords they’d drawn, to shout out a warning to others. Or to even scream.

I tore them apart from the inside, not allowing myself to think about how similar it was to what Isbeth had done. They collapsed into themselves, falling to the floor in piles of limp armor and empty skin.

All but one.

A Revenant was among them, standing beyond the ruined bodies. I started forward, pulling the eather back in.

His dark laugh was muffled. “Harbinger.”

“Good evening.”

He charged me, and I dipped low, grabbing a fallen sword from the ground. A hand grasped my shoulder through the cloak as I twisted. The Revenant jumped back, expecting me to kick, but that wasn’t what I’d planned. I shot to my feet, spinning as I drew the sword through the air in a wide arc, bringing the blade across the Revenant’s gaiter-covered neck, severing the spine and the head.

As the Revenant fell, I really wished there was time to see exactly how they regrew their heads, but there wasn’t. I entered the stairway, leaving a hallway of death behind.

Racing down the wide, spiraling stairs of the turret, I started to count the seconds. Hopefully, my memory served me correctly, and this stairwell emptied near the kitchens and breezeways. If I were wrong, there would be a lot more space to travel…

And a lot more death.

On the third-floor landing, the door swung open, banging off the wall as Kieran walked through. Blood dotted his face and throat, but I picked up no sign of pain from him.

“You did that?” he demanded. “The mist?”

I nodded. “I didn’t know if it would work.”

He stared as I came down several more steps. “You summoned the mist, Poppy.”

“I know.”

“I know of only two things that can do that. The Craven,” he said, his eyes wide, “and the Primals.”

“Well, now you know of three things. Where’s Reaver?” I asked, knowing that the draken would’ve answered my will.

“Wherever those screams were coming from,” he answered, lifting the hood of his cloak.

Oh, dear.

“We need to talk about the whole mist thing later.” Kieran started down the stairs. “How much time do you think we have before we’re locked in?”

“Less than a minute.”

“We’d better hurry then,” Kieran said as a door flew open on the floor below, blown off its hinges.

My brows rose as Reaver entered the stairwell. His face and clothing weren’t sprinkled with blood. They were drenched in it as he looked up at us from the floor below.

Kieran sighed. “Well, I’m glad that wasn’t one of my shirts.”

The draken smiled, revealing blood-smeared teeth. “Sorry,” he replied as I sheathed the dagger. “I’m a messy eater.”

I decided that was something else I would think about later as we joined him, and Kieran hastily filled him in on the plans.

“About damn time we’re making a move,” Reaver said. “I was beginning to wonder if we were going to move in.”

I snorted at that.

“There’s going to be a lot of guards,” Kieran warned as we arrived at the main floor.

“I’ll handle it,” I said, not allowing myself to think about what that meant. If we didn’t get out of the castle before it locked down, I would have to blow through walls and people—walls that protected the mortals that served within Wayfair. Maybe the knights would simply step aside. Stranger things had happened.