The Faerie Curses

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Unlikely and Unwanted Reunions

"Move faster," The guard growled at me. "Sprite lover."

"You think that I'm ashamed of that?" I smirked as he prodded me with the tip of his spear. We were descending down the steps, winding further and further away from my cell at the top of the tower.

"You should be." He seethed in reply. "They're monsters, the lot of them. You're just too much of a naive child to see that."

"You know that I won't die soon enough for your queen to watch," I told the guard, ignoring his comment. "The Master ensured that my heart won't fail until I've watched him kill everything that I care about." I swallowed hard against the memories of Winter Academy, the moonlit Grimwood, every place that I had ever breathed in. I could practically smell the ashes whispering in the air as they crumbled into cinders.

"Well then," the guard grunted wickedly, his yellowing teeth the only thing visible in the dark. "The queen could always speed up the process."

"An execution."

I had been expecting this. My hands didn't even shake in their handcuffs. "That's why you're really taking me to Mab. So she can kill me herself and not give The Master the satisfaction of having claimed my life." A grim smile surfaced on my lips. "The woman has too much pride for her own good. Then again, so did I. Until now."

We had reached the bottom of the tower. A single knight was stationed at the exit, and his wings fluttered authoritatively.

"Sir," he addressed the guard. "You are not permitted to step through this door."

The guard's fingers dug into the skin on my arm. "Under whose authority?" He spat.

The knight's eyes flashed behind his helmet. "Mine."

My jaw dropped as the knight drew his sword and lunged forward, spinning on the balls of his feet and slashing the blade clean through the guard's leg. The technique was flawless, the way his stance shifted and planted. I had witnessed that move only a few times before.

The guard howled in agony, releasing his hold on me. He collapsed to the cold floor as he clutched his severed limb. Blood spurted onto the stones, coating them in slick scarlet.

"After all," The knight whispered, clutching the guard's shirtfront. "I made a promise to someone who believed in me. And I'm sure as hell not going to let her down."

Something in me sparked to life, and I staggered backwards in dizzied joy.

"That's good to know," The guard gasped as the knight's hand closed around his throat. "Because you're going to hell."

His hand shot down to his hip at his sheathed dagger. Before I could scream in warning, the knight twisted the guard's wrist until a sickening snap echoed through the tower. I watched, transfixed, as the guard crumbled into an unconscious heap.

The knight turned away from the guard, his armor shining in the gloom of the dungeon. My face broke into a wide grin.

"Your reflexes have gotten better." I smirked.

He shrugged. "It seems like all I do these days is fight guys that try and take you away from me."

I laughed as Diandre swung his sword at my shakles. The chains snapped like twigs, freeing my hands and wrists. I took this as an opportunity to throw my arms around him, and I snorted as his shoulders stiffened the way that they always did when I was close to him. The glamor over Diandre's body flickered as I embraced him so hard I felt my eyes blinking away tears. The armor and helmet blinked away into golden flecks of magic along with his wings as he held me in his arms.