The Island

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Kirklyn

I woke up in the morning, looking up at where Zain was sleeping peacefully. I smiled as he let out a light snore, tucking myself further into him.

I stayed there until somebody outside our tent yelled at us to wake up, and I remembered what day it was.

"Zain!" I shook him gently, "We're getting Zoie today,"

"Five more minutes" he grumbled, covering his eyes with his arm.

"Dude." I said, rolling my eyes, "That's not how this works, we're getting Tillie back."

He grumbled more, plucking my pillow and shoving it on his face. "Fine, I'll just walk into Marks Fortress alone,"

He sat up suddenly, pointing a finger at me as he growled, "Don't you dare"

I chuckled as he got up, and followed him to were our armour sat.

Slipping it on, I watched as he made the wings appear, making my breath cloud in front of me, smirked as we walked out together, close enough to brush hands. I pulled myself onto a horse, Zain walking beside me, handing me small sack on a piece of string.

"What's this?" I asked, bending so he could tie it around my neck,

"I learned how to create things with my powers," he said, smiling up at me, "It's a signal, when you find Tillie, or need my help, open the pouch, and it will find me."

I bent over further, kissing him on the lips as I whispered "Don't get yourself killed"

He smiled into my mouth, "Only if you don't"

Poma rode up to my other side, glancing at our hands as I sat up.

"We have fifty soldiers. Do you think it's enough?" She asked, looking around at the preparing horde.

"It has to be."

We started riding, Zain leading us from the sky, I could feel a vision threatening to push through the wall I had built after what happened in the forest, I refused to let it through as it backed down.

We reached the beginning of the cave Jasper had described, frost already coating the entrance, and soldiers. Dropping down from our horses, Poma and I crept through the tunnel to the valley, keeping our hand on our weapons as we came to the valley, ducking into the shadows with Zain. He'd gotten rid of the wings and now has a normal sword in his hand. I reached for his hand as he looked at the Fortress, buried into the mountain.

Who knew how deep it went, how deep Tillie was.

"Find her" Zain whispered into his hands, opening them to reveal a butterfly, fluttering to the mass of stone. We waited one minute before shouting started from the pass, our soldiers pouring in, filling the space.

Every clue we'd left was a false one.

We made it look like we were planning to attack in two days, rather than today. Confused guards and enemy soldiers drew their weapons, caught off guard.

Then I saw it, the platform and noose from one of my visions.

Who had they used it for?

We attacked people who stood in our way, working ourselves to the front doors, following the shimmering butterfly as it flew down the dark stairs.

I opened every cell door until I reached one with guards posted outside of it.

I released the pouch, and another creature flew out, a bird this time, and fluttered up the stairs I'd walked down.

Zain was by my side within the minute, his sword dripping blood, panting lightly.

"She's in that one" I whispered, pointing to the guards, before I could blink, the guards started turning blue, then they collapsed, shattering as the hit the ground.

I ran to the door, picking up the key from where it sat in the broken ice. Ignoring what Zian had just done.

"Tillie." I heard Zian whisper beside me, gripping my hand at what we saw.

Tillie, in chains, bleeding. I didn't need to see her feet to know she was turning into a Demented, sweat was dripping down her brow, even though the room was cold. She didn't wake up when we walked into the room, until Zains butterfly landed on her arm.

She flinched at the contact, blinking away the blood at her eyes, murmuring into the gag at her mouth. She stared at us, wide-eyed and crying, looking at the cruel chains on her hands. Zain threw his power at the cuffs of the chains, making them shatter. Her hands smacked the ground, making her grunt at the pain. She unlatched the one on her neck herself.

The metal around her mouth started glowing red hot, dripping down her face.

"Get away," she rasped out, backing further into the room, away from us,

"Tillie, it-"

"Run," she said as the chains on her wings turning to molten metal, fire burning in her eyes.

Zain barely had time to create an ice wall before she exploded, fire filling the room, I felt him grip me into him as she burned, releasing all the power she'd been holding in for three months.

The flames died down, but Tillie was still red hot, the skin on her feet slowly turning back to normal. The pants and shirt she was in were bloody and torn, and she gripped her arm as she stumbled toward us, stopping suddenly and staring at the door.

"I told you, you're not leaving," a voice said from where she was looking

"Zoie, please" I heard the heartbreak in Tillies voice as Zoie curled her hands into fists, shadows swirling around her.

Zain was blasted back into a wall, and I felt something lift me up off the ground and wrap around my throat.

"Zoie, stop!" She shouted, reaching for her, no longer red hot, but holding her other hand behind her back.

"I told you, you belong to me," Zoie said, walking toward Tillie, her eyes soft, "They can't have you."

"They're my friends, they were saving me." Tillie caved when Zoie held her face in a hand, her eyes fluttering closed as their lips touched.