Destined for Deception ✔️

Chapter 38

By the time Ryleigh and the others got to the castle, the gates had been breached already. People were fighting everywhere, from the bottom of the hill, to the higher floors of the castle.

"Alright. You know what to do. The second anyone gets any wind of Cerise, link me. Try not to go off on your own."

"Isn't that exactly that you're about to do?" Acton asked, right before he swung his arm, using his magic to throw aside a Shadow Walker soldier that was heading right for them.

"Well, yes, but you know me. Lone wolf. Now, be careful. The Royal Wolf soldiers might not know the difference between us and the other Shadow Walkers, so be prepared to get attacked by literally everyone. Good luck." She tipped two fingers to her temple, then ran off.

She knew she was shamelessly giving advice that she herself wasn't going to take, but a partner was only going to slow her down. Perhaps if Parker had been available, she would have let him tag along, but no one else. She couldn't afford to get slowed down. Besides, she wasn't going to share her moment. Cerise was hers and hers alone.

Her fingers itched to get into the fight, but she had different priorities. And so she ducked, avoided, ran, rather than meeting trouble head-on, which was her instinct. She used her magic to confuse people when they managed to get too close, and all in all she got to the castle without having to throw a single punch.

She kept repeating her objective in her head. Cerise, Cerise, Cerise. She couldn't afford to get side-tracked. No fighting for fun. Only fighting for necessity and to get closer to Cerise. Cerise, Cerise, Cerise. I'm coming for you, Mom.

She entered the castle and sprinted through the entrance hall. The doors were wide open – or, rather, the doors had been ripped off their hinges. Everywhere she looked, the floor was covered in a carpet of bodies. A good ninety-five percent of the dead soldiers were Royal Wolves, but then Shadow Walkers didn't die easily.

Fortunately for her, all the Royal Wolves knew what she looked like, so none of Alder's men attacked her when she passed them. The Shadow Walkers, however, weren't so kind. A ball of fire narrowly passed over her head and shot straight through the far wall, the debris splattering everywhere and covering her in dust. She looked over her shoulder at the unnecessarily angry pyromancer and only just managed to throw herself sideways before another ball shot past.

She released the entirety of her magic on the mage, which meant that she wasn't spinning any false memories for him, but rather just overwhelming him. It was a distraction that wouldn't work long, so she picked herself up off the floor and continued.

Once she made it to the stairs, things quieted down. The fight was centralised on the ground floor, in the yard outside, the entrance hall, and the great hall. It made sense that most of the Shadow Walkers hadn't bothered penetrating further, as their objective was probably simply to kill as many as they could, while Cerise did the dirty work.

That, however, didn't mean there wasn't anyone there. Right before Ryleigh could turn a corner, a Royal Soldier came flying past her, smacking into the wall beside her with such force that she could hear all his bones shatter.

Best to find a different route.

She turned and bailed, running with all her might. She cut another corner, and pressed herself against the wall, her breathing heavy. Her gift needed at least a few seconds to make a good memory, and telekinesis worked instantly, so she didn't stand much of a chance.

She held her breath and listened. Footsteps neared her, and the person's memories told stories of a life with Cerise, so it was the Shadow Walker himself who was nearing her. Ryleigh gripped her hand around her knife, drawing it silently.