Lux [h.s]

sixty-five

Smoke hung heavy in the air when Cora woke up. Her ears were ringing, and she was cold, so cold. She tried to get up, coughing. The slate of ice that had protected her melted, and debris fell on her drenched dress, now as dark as spilled blood. Dust scratched against her throat, and she coughed again. She stepped aside, and her hand found the wall. She couldn't see anything, hear anything. What was going on?

Her memories came back to her, slowly. The solstice celebration, the fay wine, the staircase, Harry—

She shook her head. Not now. Not now. She took a hesitant step forward. What was happening? Shouts filled her ears. Her foot got caught in something, and she fell. She hit the ground hard, right on top of what felt like rocks. No, not rocks—rubble. Pieces of broken building. Something had torn the house apart. The explosion.

A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up. Her vision spun, and for a moment she almost fell down again. "Well, aren't you a pretty thing?" a voice said, close enough to her ear that she could hear it over the noise. She coughed again. She couldn't see through the dust, couldn't understand—

The hand's hold on her tightened. She turned her head, and something caught her eyes. The stranger's uniform, dark blue. Her eyes widened. The king's guard. She tried to pull her arm away—her shout broke into a cough so hard that she almost doubled over.

"Don't worry, darling. We can be much better masters than your current one," the guard said, tugging her into the darkened living room. There was less dust there, and it was easier to breathe. The shouts in the other room grew louder. "When did he catch you?"

She wrenched out of his grasp and took a step back, hitting the wall. What the hell was he talking about? What was going on?

The guard grabbed her face and raised her chin. His touch stung. "You know, you're pretty for a serving girl. Really didn't expect to find someone like you, here."

A serving girl?

Sudden realisation struck her. The king's guard was there to hunt fays. But he didn't know who she was, and she looked human. She batted his hand away. "Don't touch me," she seethed, her voice rough.

"Come on, don't be like that." He tugged at the end of her hair. "No reason to fear. Your king's here to save you."

Cora pushed him away. "Get away from me!"

"I said, don't act like that." He grabbed her arm hard enough to bruise. "You're coming with me." He dragged her away towards the entrance.

"Get away!" She struggled against his grasp, but to no avail. "Let me go!" She tugged back, kicked him, but he didn't let go. He pulled her forward, almost making her fall at his feet. Her arm hurt.

"Shut up!"

"Let go of me!" she bit back, but a cough broke through her chest. She started trembling. She didn't know how to get away. Shouting was pointless. No one could hear her over the chaos. No one was coming. She was alone. Her shoulder stung.

His hold tightened on her, and he hurled her against the wall, knocking her breath out of her chest. She tried to push him away from her, but he wouldn't budge. "Now—" He raised a hand towards her. Her heart thudded in her ears. Fear washed through her in waves.

She punched his chest. "Let me go!"

The guard stilled, and his eyes widened. His grip on her wavered. Something hot and wet drenched Cora's hands, sliding down her arms into the red fabric of her dress, making it stick to her skin. He fell down on his knees. "What...?" he stuttered. He coughed, and blood dripped down his chin. "What—" He grabbed at her gown to keep himself up, but it ripped in his hands, and he fell at her feet, rolling onto his back. A thick shard of ice was sticking out of his chest.