His Red Queen

Chapter Thirty-five

I push Maven to the ground, falling on top of him in a heap of limbs. Sentinels surround us, closing in like moths drawn to a flame. My heart hammers so hard I am afraid it will combust. More shots ring out and I cover my ears with my head. The sentinels pull Maven and me up, forcing us to go with them towards the treasury.

"I am going to kill them," Maven growls as he pulls me along with him. His other hand is full of wild flame, begging to burn. Wanting revenge.

Lightning crackles in my hand. "Let's just get out of here." From my peripheral vision, I can see the chaos. People are running, screaming. Some are dying or dead.

In the corner of my eye I notice a golden braid, a scarred face, and enough weapons on one person to supply an entire legion. Farley is here. The others are bound to be here, also, ready to fight for themselves.

I've betrayed them once; I will not make that mistake again.

Maven barks orders at his guards as we reach the treasury. Once we go in there, it's nothing but undertrains and who knows what. The second I step in there, we're fleeing. I might never get this chance again.

Maven shoves his way through the doors, his grip on my wrist like a manacle, bringing me along with him.

I stop in my tracks. "Do you trust me?" I shout over the din.

Maven's eyes go wide. "What?"

"Let me go out there." I wrench my hand from his grip and hand him my crown. He opens his mouth to protest but I cut him off. "Go, get out of here. I'll be right back."

He cups my face and presses his lips to mine. His kiss is longing, desperate. When he's done, his eyes narrow. "Come back to me." A command.

"I will."

I run like hell out into Caesar's Square. It has become a bloodbath. Silvers and Reds alike are fighting one another. A nymph is drowning a group of Reds and an oblivion is making ashes of others.

Even though I am the queen, no one pays much mind to me. I feel the lightning everywhere. It runs along my bones, sings through my veins, and begs to be released. In the middle of the square, I send it upward at the storm clouds brewing in the gray sky. A flash of purple follows the rumble of thunder.

Somewhere off in the distance, blue lighting strikes as if in response. From the west, green, and the right, white. Others like me.

Adrenaline rushes through me and I let more lightning go. But no one looks at me. No one can tell it is me.

In front of me, red hair flashes in my vision, then disappears. "What?" I throw a bit of lighting towards the glimmer in the air. It's enough to zap but not harm or kill.

The lightning hits an invisible wall, then Elane Haven Materializes. She whips her head around to me. "Nice to see you too," she purrs, then grabs my hand.

I kick her in the shin and she staggers away, slamming into another Silver who regards her with not so much as a glance. "What are you doing here?" I spit.

"I'm trying to help you."

"Bullshit."

She disappears again but I can hear her soft, feminine voice clearly. "I'll shield you. Run towards the bridge and do not touch anyone."

I listen to her when I see Farley going in the same direction. I run as fast as I can, slip under people's arms, dodge the fallen.

"What are you getting out of this?" I pant once I make it onto the bridge, which if I can see clearly, is swaying though it is supposed to be indestructible.