Red Ruse

Chapter Twenty Two

Mare

The air crackles with my rage, Shade two steps behind. The tingle of violence is all too familiar, an old friend welcoming me into its arms. "Front of the line." I gesture to Nix and Cameron. "You're our best chance."

Something grips my wrist, and I snarl, turning around. Lupa stares at me, trembling, but still standing. "I'll go first." Her breath comes out ragged and uneven. "I'm the most dangerous."

Gwendolyn balks. "Absolutely not." She tugs her backwards. "You're too young."

She bristles, gesturing to Cameron. "And she isn't?"

"That's different." Her voice takes on a strained tone. "You're a lady."

"And a whisper."

I sniff. If it were up to me, I'd throw her on the line like everyone else. But I don't have as much say as I'd like, and so I push forward, letting them bicker behind me. "Lady Samos." My voice holds no warmth. "You brought your daughter here. Use her or don't. But don't hold up the line."

Gwendolyn grabs Lupa and hauls her in her arms. "You handle them." My stomach sinks, but she continues. "I need to talk some sense into her."

My teeth gnash. It seems everyone is intent on abandoning me, no matter how I try to prove my worth. My grip tightens on the railing. "Give it your all." I draw back, fingers twitching. "Or die trying."

On one side, Ada loads her gun. On the other, Nix puts an arm around Cameron. "You sound Silver."

"Good." The word comes out in a rasp. "It means we'll win this thing."

One by one, I focus on the lights.

One by one, I make them explode.

Glass rains down on us, but I don't stop, striding forward even as shards crack beneath my heel. One sticks in my arm, and I grit my teeth. Pain made me strong. Pain made me whole. Pain made everything else go away, if only for a minute or two. Shouts ring out, some ahead, some behind, but all echoing through the pitch black. My sparks are all that remain, lighting the vast cavern below. Doors upon doors, guards upon guards, they fight amongst each other for Evangeline's crown.

I clench a fist.

Lightning rips through the air, striking the nearest magnetron, ash flaking off limbs and contaminating the air. I cough despite myself, despite the mission, despite all that depends on me staying strong. Firelight flickers in my periphery. I whir around to glare at Wolliver.

But nothing is burning at his fingertips.

I whip around, barely breathing. A ring of fire has risen from the stone floor, encircling three figures staring back at me. My grip tightens on the railing. "Evangeline." Sparks fly off into the ether. "Surrender before I make you."

The air is thick with the clash of knives, so loud I can barely think. The flames rise higher, circle widening, and I catch flickers of the faces within. Julian. Evangeline. Cal.

Maven's voice brushes against my ear again. The measures, Mare.

I waver, hands trembling. I've never had to fight him, but I know what he's capable of, how he defeated two Silvers in Training with a bored expression. He was a cold-blooded killer. One I could not help but feel guilt over.

"Wolliver." Weak as I am, my voice doesn't betray me. "Close the circle."

His hands flail before he finds his stance, sweat beading at his forehead as he closes his eyes. "I can't–" He draws back. "He's too strong."

I shock the railing, and he flinches, retreating to the back of the line. I haven't trained them long enough, not for this. "Gwendolyn!" My voice echoes off the stone, lost in the screech of metal against metal. "Get your ass over here!"

Nothing. I scan the cavern below, making note of the metal scaffolding and how it tears and twists into spears. At this rate, it'll collapse.

"Cameron." I reach for her, stopping just short of gripping her shoulder. "Ca–The traitor prince is below us. Can you smother him with your ability?"

She yanks away, shaking her head. Her braids cast shadows in my sparks, thin ribbons that cut the light to slithers. "I don't–" Cameron clutches her chest. "I barely know how to use it."

I snap to Ada, reaching for the gun at my waist. "We need her closer." Cool. I need to stay cool, even as my hands shake and the rest of me riots. "Can you tell which guards are on our side?"

Her brow furrows as the air starts to burn, a metallic scent that grows stronger by the second. I jerk my head towards the source, coughing. All I see is the ring of fire. All I hear is the crackle of smoke.

Ada leans over the railing. "Lory." Her finger points, brown and slender. "Look."

A new recruit, Lory had enhanced senses, sharp eyes and ears that caught all within the palace. She peers down, squinting. "The fire . . . " Her nose wrinkles, and she draws back. "It's–"

The walkway begins to buckle, and I pull them back. "We need Gwendolyn."

Lory grips my shoulder. "And air." Light reflects off her amber eyes. "He's–"

Behind us, someone screams.

I whip around to Wolliver's body dangling off a blade, to a silken silhouette and Iral house colors. Ara Iral stares me in the eye. Instantly, she grabs a body, one that bucks and kicks in her grip. Shade meets my eyes for the briefest of seconds before they disappear, plunging somewhere in the dark ether.

The walkway groans, and I stagger forward. "No time." I scan the doors as I run, each one opened or in the process of opening. "Get to the ground." My eyes flare. "Or die trying."