"Concentrate, Mila. You're doing great," Noelani tells me.
I nod, focusing on the book that I'm trying to levitate for the first time. We're in Noelani's office, taking the time to squeeze in a quick magic lesson between two of the mayor's meetings.
I smile as the book begins to lift off of the desk. It's working!
A loud commotion suddenly steals my focus, causing the book to fall and crash to the ground.
"What was that?" I say, looking around the office.
The door slams open. A man stands in the doorway, arm poised with a sleek metal object.
"Get down!" I yell as soon as I realize what it is. I grab Noelani, pulling her behind the couch just as a loud bang resonates through the room.
Noelani flinches. "What was that?" she whispers.
"A gun," I mutter.
A bitter taste fills my mouth. How the Deities do they have a gun? They are banned in all Mega-Cities and impossible to get your hands on unless you have a contact in Government. Who possibly had one on them when they opened the hitchstone?
"We have to get out of here," I tell Noelani. "Use your magic to distract him and we'll run."
Noelani glances around the couch, locating the gunman with ease. He notices her too, but she raises her hand and knocks a burst of magic towards him before he can properly react.
"Let's go," I say, scrambling to my feet and running to the door. It takes me three seconds to realize that Noelani isn't behind me. I whip my head around, spotting her at the desk.
"Come on," I wave her out the door. She ignores me, rifling through her drawers instead.
The gunman gets up, adjusting himself and aiming his weapon at the mayor.
I don't think– I act, throwing my hand out and forcing a wall of magic to slam into the gun. It flies out of his hand and lands somewhere across the room.
Wow.
He scrambles after the weapon, grabbing it and turning it on me. His finger slides over the trigger, seconds away from squeezing.
"No!" Noelani screams. My eyes lock with hers from across the room– she looks terrified, eyes wide and burning into mine with fear.
Is she worried about me or the Promise?
I shake my head, chasing away the thought. It doesn't matter. I need to stay focused.
Noelani's shriek is enough to prevent the man from pulling the trigger. She grabs my arm and pulls me out of her office. I notice that she's carrying something in her arm– the quill we used to sign the Promise.
"I hope you're happy," I grumble. "Deities, Noelani. We almost died. Is that thing really that important?"
"Mila. Shut up," she snaps.
We run to the elevator, pressing the button and waiting for the metal doors to open.
Come on, come on, come on.
Footsteps approach us from the mayor's office.
Fuck.
"We have to go." I grab Noelani and shove her down a random hallway. "Is there another exit?"
We're five stories up. If there isn't another exit, we're screwed.
"There's a staircase in the back," she says. "It's locked."
YOU ARE READING
The Blood of Amietta
FantasyA loner with a bad attitude and a misplaced princess are forced to work together to free themselves from a hitchstone, a magical jail cell powerful enough to trap an entire town. Mila Wilde had no idea what she was getting herself into when she deci...
