Destined for Deception ✔️

Chapter 35

It was already deep into the night when a bunch of guards burst into Aaron and Jade's bedroom. Jade woke before they entered the room, either because she heard it or because their minds were so erratic that it had sent her gift into overdrive. Either way, she was awake to see them throw the doors open, and flashbacks of her abduction swept over her.

She shoved Aaron, who shot up instantly, with one of those little snores that wasn't very charming but very funny. Or, well, it would have been funny if she couldn't have read in the guards' minds what they had come to tell them.

The castle was under siege.

She was out of bed in a second. She took her robe and flung it on, blindly looking for her shoes. Bits and pieces of what the guards were saying filtered through into her brain, things like 'not breached yet', 'emergency meeting', 'safety'. Before she knew it, Aaron had wrapped an arm tightly around her and was dragging her along to who knows where.

Jade's thoughts were following each other in such quick succession that she hardly knew what to think at first. It was strange. For something that was so inevitable, she was still caught off guard. She ought to have been smarter. She shouldn't have slept in the same bed as Aaron, shouldn't have let him cut off her magic. She shouldn't have slept at all. She should've been on the look-out for them, so that she might have warned them sooner. Not that that would have made much of a difference.

Her follow-up thought was that she should stop them. Surely with her magic she could take down at least a good portion of the Shadow Walkers. On the other hand, Cerise had at least one shield – which wouldn't be strong enough to protect the entire army – but she might have more. Jade tried to recall how many shields she had met back when Mikayla let her unlock everybody's memories. At least three. If they positioned themselves conveniently, they could protect a large part of Cerise's troops. But not everyone, and Jade was stronger than any shield. She could break through their barriers. It would just take time and effort.

At the same time, she knew that, though she had gotten better at using her magic, she had never fought a large group before. Not like this. She wasn't like Corbin. She didn't know how to flick her wrist so that dozens of people would get knocked out. What choice did she have? She had to try.

They were led into a room somewhere on a high floor of the castle. Jade hadn't been paying attention to the surroundings, so she wasn't exactly sure where she was, but it didn't matter. Soon every part of the castle was going to be riddled with war.

"Aaron! Jade! Thank Goddess." Corinne wrapped her arms around both of them at once, pulling them close. Alder stood around a table with the councilmembers. They were staring at blueprints of the castle, discussing weak spots and possible entryways.

"Can we get out?" Gabriel asked, which wasn't a very heroic statement, but a practical one. The council consisted of men past their prime, and they wouldn't be much help in fighting this war anyway. Still, it seemed wrong to abandon the people in their hour of need.

"We have to assume that Cerise knows where the tunnels are," Alder said. "We're never going to be able to lead people through those passageways. We're locked in, as we knew we would be. It's locking them out that is our objective. Robert, how are we on that?"

"Hard to say, Your Highness. As of right now, there are attacking forces here, here, and here." He pointed at the map as he talked, indicating every side of the castle except the back one, since that was where the cliffs were. On the other hand, there was no saying that Cerise wouldn't let people climb up, or even fly in. Jade wouldn't even be surprised if Cerise had rounded up an army of dragons from somewhere.

"Looks like they are trying to divide our forces, attacking from every side at once. There are people climbing the walls, but most of the troops are focused near the entrance, trying to break down the gates. The prisoners Cerise has released are headed there as well. When they get there, chances are the gates will fall."