of his face. When he got one knee on the edge, he pushed himself over, then rolled onto his back, breathing hard.
At least he was breathing.
As debris rained on them, Jackson knelt at his side, ripped off his glove, and pressed his hand to the head wound. He’d heal it enough for Ranger to make the trip back to Cymmera, but they had to get out of there.
“We have to go.” Dakota slid his sword into its sheath and crouched beside Jackson. “Is he all right?”
“Yeah. Come on.” Jackson stood and held out a hand to Ranger.
Something struck his back, driving him to his knees.
He spun, trying to cover Ranger and gain his feet.
A savage stood at the top of the rock they’d used for cover, a boulder held over his head. Roaring, he hurled the boulder at them.
Vaughn threw himself at Jackson, and the two tumbled toward the crumbling cliff.
Jackson yanked the knife from his boot and slammed it into the ice, halting their forward motion as the boulder rolled past them and over the edge. Breathing hard, cursing the condensation that would give away their position, he pulled himself up and sat.
The ground behind them gave way, plummeted through the thick layer of ice, and shattered it into chunks. He and Vaughn knelt on a small island suspended on a thin post of land high above an angry sea.
Dakota and Ranger had separated and each balanced precariously on their own islands.
With a loud crack, the land beneath Jackson and Vaughn gave way. Jackson leaped toward a more solid stretch of mountain he had no real hope of reaching.
Ophidian flew beneath him.
He crashed onto the dragon’s back, knocking the wind from his lungs. He reached over his head, grabbed one of the spikes protruding from Ophidian’s back, and turned over to search for Vaughn.
Ophidian dove and caught Vaughn seconds before he would have hit the waves hurling slabs of ice into the remaining pedestals.
Dakota and Ranger’s dragons landed just long enough for them to climb on as their island toppled.
The rest of the Death Dealer team flew into formation behind Jackson.
When Vaughn’s dragon paralleled Ophidian, Vaughn leaped onto his back.
The quake intensified as the Death Dealers crested the peak and dove toward the valley. Whatever Thaddeus was doing down there, it was time to end it.
The cave entrance stood empty, Thaddeus nowhere to be found.
Accustomed to the weather, the savages ran full speed down the mountain, plowing deep furrows through the snow.
The prisoners were already using their axes to free each other.
The Death Dealers could see to them after they’d gotten Thaddeus, and with any luck at all, found Chayce there with him.
Jackson and his men raced toward the cave entrance.
An explosion shattered the entire side of the mountain, propelling fragments of rocks, trees, and earth toward the prisoners and the Death Dealers.
Chapter 3
“Close the grate behind you,” Mia whispered.
Ryleigh fumbled with her foot until she found the grate and shoved it back into place.
Chayce could have seen them disappear behind the thrones. If he knew about the tunnel, it’d be easy enough to intercept them.
She crawled past the first few curves before she risked a soft whisper. “How did you know about this tunnel?”
They moved quickly through the darkness, the moldy odor tickling her throat. She tried to muffle a cough, the effort emphasizing the pain in her side.
“Elijah. He showed it to me a while ago. When we opened the throne room door and saw what was happening, he told me to go now. I knew immediately what he meant.” Her shaky inhale echoed back to Ryleigh. “I knew what was about to happen.”
“Elijah foresaw this?”
“Yes.” As they rounded a sharp turn, a small square of light appeared. “And so did I.”
Silence descended, heavy in the stillness of the dark tunnel. Claustrophobia threatened to suffocate her as she followed blindly behind Mia.
They reached another grate, and Mia shoved it open and crawled out onto the kitchen floor.
Ryleigh followed, shock forcing her to function on autopilot.
Mia had mentioned knowing things once before, but Ryleigh hadn’t been ready to accept the fact she might actually see the future. She couldn’t deal with that right now.
Jackson was gone. Elijah was dead. Cymmera was under attack. This was not the first time Ryleigh had dealt with a war in Cymmera, but last time she thought Elijah might be a traitor. This time she suffered not only with the grief of his death, but the fact he’d sacrificed his life to save her. She choked on the guilt.
Screams came from the hallway. She swung around and searched for something to use as a weapon.
The kitchen doors cracked open. Lucas poked his head in and looked around, then gestured behind him. He swung the door wide and held it open, his sword held ready.
A Guardsman strode through with a toddler tucked beneath one arm. He wrestled a boy of about seven or eight into the kitchen.
The child screamed wildly for his mother, clawed the Guardsman’s arm, kicked him, and tried to squirm free of his hold.
He only adjusted his grip on the smaller child, held the boy tighter, and dragged him across the kitchen.
If they didn’t take a minute to quiet the boy down, he’d surely draw the attention of the savages. Why didn’t they wait for his mother or stop and comfort him? Ryleigh started toward him.
Lucas’s glare stopped her. He shook his head.
Understanding dawned. She’d hoped the Cymmeran soldiers would be able to confine the attack to the throne room. Apparently, they hadn’t been able to gain control.
Women and children rushed into the kitchen behind two more Guardsmen. Most of the children remained eerily quiet, but each time one of them made a sound, one of the women quickly hushed them.
Blood flowed down the side of one woman’s face.
Another guided her children across the kitchen, cradling her obviously broken arm against her body.
Why would Chayce have ordered an attack against women and children? She had to make sense of all of this, to think. But first she had to find a safe place to shelter the survivors. “How bad, Lucas?”
He let the door fall shut behind the last of the victims and strode toward her. “It’s bad. We’re under attack. An army of beasts has invaded the city and portions of the castle. Right now, we are still clear to evacuate parts of the castle. We have to hurry, though, Your Majesty.”
How many people lived in the city? She couldn’t remember. Was she supposed to sacrifice them all? “All right. Evacuate everyone to the human realm.”
“I’d love to. Unfortunately, I can’t.”
Noah hurried through the door followed by Payton carrying Hannah, and Kiara carrying Sadie.
Oh. Right. Noah had once been human and had died in the human realm. He could no more return there than could Payton. Supposedly. “Okay. Evacuate to the mountains. Let’s just get everyone out before it’s too late. We can figure out where to go later.”
Lucas waved the two guards forward.
They nodded and jogged toward the back door.
When they gave the go ahead, Lucas