“Go,” I whispered to Lia, tilting my head to the gaping hole behind us. “I’m right behind you.” She met my eyes and gave me a firm nod, then ran to the back of the platform and leapt up and out of the shattered portal. Momentarily relieved, I turned my attention back towards Val and rushed towards her, whipping the greatsword up to rest under her chin. She made no move to block what should have been a deadly blow, but instead closed her eyes, sending another wave of tears down her face.
“I trusted you, and you betrayed me,” I intoned sharply, every word a curse. “If I ever see you again, I will kill you. Make sure that doesn’t happen.” Without waiting for a response, I returned to the throne where Virram sat staring at the shattered window in bewilderment. He spun quickly at my approach, just in time to catch an armored fist on the bridge of his nose. The blow knocked his head against the high-backed golden chair with a dull thump, and he slumped over unconscious. I slid the woven gold crown from his head and secured it to my belt with an overabundant feeling of satisfaction, then followed Lia out of the high window.
I landed on the gentle slope of the grassy hill behind the keep, which was now littered with glimmering crystal shards. Lia was waiting a few yards away down the hill, and I dashed over to meet her. “We have to get to your parents’ house,” I explained, already moving further down the hill. “Virram knows where they live, and knowing him, soldiers may already be on their way there.”
Lia didn’t follow along behind me, and I doubled back to check on her. “Lux...I wanted to kill her.” Her vacant eyes punctuated the haunted expression on her face. “She was our friend, wasn’t she? Why did I do that?”
The same feeling was churning heavily in my own stomach, but my decades of practice in ignoring my emotions kept my head clear. I cupped her face gently and tilted her eyes up to meet mine. “I know how you’re feeling. I’m sorry that you had to deal with that alone, and I promise that we can talk about it as much as you need to once we’re out of here.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “But right now, we have to make sure your parents are safe. Do you have enough energy to make it back to Tolamar?”
She blinked at me quietly for a moment and nodded her head vigorously, patting herself lightly on the cheek. “I can do it.” As sad as I was to force her into repressing her emotions for the time being, it was reassuring to know that she would be focused if we encountered more guards on our trip. Her enhancements flared in sync with mine, and we took off down the hill towards the large lake that sat below the keep. Lia led the way through the manicured park grounds, leaping over hedges and taking hairpin turns through paths I had never walked before.
I reached out in a wide circle with Detection to ensure we weren’t headed into an ambush, scanning down every nearby road and pathway with careful diligence. The main city streets were more crowded than usual as civilians stood shoulder to shoulder in awe of the destruction of their city’s radiant sigil. Their distraction played to our advantage; with our greatly enhanced strength and speed, we wove through the packed streets before most people had a chance to realize we had appeared. When the outer wall of the city came into view, I felt a small burst of amused pride; what would normally have been over a half-hour cart ride had taken us less than ten minutes on foot.
A wave of relief washed over me as the city gates came into view. Some small part of me had feared that word of our misdeeds in the throne room would have somehow already reached the city guards, resulting in a citywide lockdown as their manhunt began. In reality, the gate was wide open, and the single guard on the city side of the wall was fast asleep at his post. We rocketed through, passing by the pair of guards outside as they inspected a small trader’s wagon drawn by a single, one-horned ox. By the time their attention had turned to us, we were already well out of range of being identified.
The run to the Corell residence was a grueling test of both our physical endurance and our prolonged enhancement use. Tolamar sat well away from the Yorian walls, generally a two-to-three-hour trip by wagon. Despite the fact that there were no traces of increased guard activity along the main road, I continued to increase my pace, pushing myself well beyond what I had originally thought to be my limits. Lia continued to match my speed even as her breath came harder and her mana threatened to run dry; I offered to slow down on two separate occasions, but she rebuffed me, choosing to instead strain herself harder than before to keep pace.
I felt a weight lift from my shoulders as our destination came into sight undisturbed and idyllic as ever. My boots scuffed angrily along the stone walkway as I slowed to an appropriately paced jog and threw the front door open. A cry of alarm came from the living room, and I hurried around the corner to find Hana, Marten, and Marin all jumping to their feet to investigate the racket.
“Primes, Lux, you scared us!” Marten laughed, shaking off his alarm. “Marin told us
