Arwick (A Light Of Roria Sequel)

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Addisyn

I had managed to rip a large section of my tunic off before tying it above where Jake had been struck by the arrow. He looked at me with baffled eyes, like he couldn't understand why I had stayed beside him or wouldn't even glance toward our king's way, but the pain had kept him from asking a question I didn't want to answer.

"Do you know why your king lies in shackles before me?" Kane asked without expecting a reply. "Because he has requested I spare the lives of those who were to attempt to take my throne room." His voice was almost humorous. "And do you know what he has offered on your behalf?" This time he tilted his head back and laughed. "His own life."

"No!" Emunah screamed, sprinting forward.

Kane ripped Selah to his feet, forcing him to face us, his blade over Selah's throat. "You take another step and I will slit his throat."

Emunah came to a crashing halt, releasing her sword in the process. "No!"

"Sister, do not fret," Aziel began. "He has no power over our king. We need only to wait," he said with confidence, certain Selah would make his move.

I closed my eyes, still pressed against the floor. The ache was growing so rapidly I feared I might pass out. I couldn't remember when the tears had turned into audible weeping, but I couldn't have stopped it even if I had wished to.

"Sire!" a man behind me cried out as he entered. "Our men began to shout of Selah's capture just as you commanded, and those who survived immediately surrendered, along with their leaders. We also retrieved the dark fairy."

A group of dark soldiers dragged both my mother and King Moses into the throne room, their eyes growing hysterical at the scene before them. Following close behind was Staci. She never once glanced my way, nor had she looked toward any of us. Instead, she kept her gaze fixed on Kane. But I did not need to see her eyes to sense the tremendous pain she was in. Staci was nothing more than a lost soul desperate for relief.

"At last." Kane's smile grew large. "You must be King Moses and Queen Priscilla. I have been patiently waiting for your very eyes to witness this. Staci"—he smirked, gesturing her forward—"our time to leave is at hand." Kane looked toward each of us like he'd been waiting for to deliver such a blow. "If it had not been for her, I may not have been able to prepare so quickly for your arrival."

"After all Addisyn has done, you would betray her so?" Elijah said with a bitter tongue but was given no reply.

"The attack was under my command," Moses started. "Whatever punishment you see fit, I shall take in his stead."

"Moses." It was the first thing Selah had said since we entered. His voice was as calm and commanding as ever. Finally glancing their way, I looked to each of them. For a moment they stared at him expectantly, but I sensed what they didn't. Divinity was telling me Selah's time had come. The air in my lungs disappeared as I reached forward, a part of me desperate to prevent his death. "Do not fear. It is almost finished," Selah said to each of us with peace in his eyes.

A violent scream suddenly filled the air as Kane thrusted his sword deep into Selah's flesh. I could see everyone's face. Shock. Agony. Unbelief. Their screams were as painful as the burn in my heart. Despite the pain in his leg, Jake finally stood, staggering his way toward Kane, ready to fight alongside the others, but Kane had already placed the relic in the stone behind him, disappearing through the portal, along with Ahaz and Staci.

The remaining soldiers began to surround us, but I could not bring myself to stand. Each of them placed themselves between Selah and the soldier, ready to fight until their last breath, just as Jake cried out for Eliora to return. "Eliora, kill every last one of them!"

She burst through the castle doors, blasting the dark soldiers with her powerful ice. Her tail whipped around with enough force to break bones, biting into their flesh as they lay across the floor. She was unstoppable, moving with the very vengeance Jake felt in his heart.

Climbing onto her back, Jake had long forgotten the pain in his leg and shoulder commanding Eliora to exit the way she'd entered, ready to demolish the forces that must have remained outside the castle.

I looked toward Selah. His lifeless body was somehow just as powerful as it had been when I'd met him. My mother and King Moses were knelt beside him, while Aziel and Emunah raced toward the exit, determined to join the fight that Jake had gone to finish.

I was still pressed against the floor when Elijah sat beside me. "You knew," he said, his voice cracking.

I could feel his pain blending with my own, our shared heartache pulling us together until we had no choice but hold each other. "Yes," I admitted for the first time aloud, crying so hard I wondered if I would ever stop.