Chapter 17

We made our way down the slick corridor as quickly as we could without making too much noise. I could hear the sound the sloshy sound of our footsteps reverberating off of the walls.

I let Tuck lead the way. I figured that he had spent the most time down there so he would know the way better than me.

“What is your plan once we reach Petrona?” Jenna said to me as we careened around a corner.

“I really don’t have a plan. I figured that I would have time to come up with one on the way there.” I smiled but she looked worried.

“Gee, you have really thought this thing through.” She said sarcastically with huff.

“Well, obviously I can’t take out an entire Army plus the Royal Guard by myself. I was thinking that maybe I would just try to go directly for Lilith.” That was the best that I could come up with.

“You would never be able to get to her.” Jenna was shaking her head. “They are all on high alert as it is. She knows that you are out here, and I am sure that she knows that you would come back eventually.”

“I just don’t see any other way.” We trudged on in silence, each of us deep in thought about the upcoming fight.

After a few more minutes of walking through the tunnel, I thought that I heard something up ahead.

“Wait!” I whispered coming to a stop. Tuck and Jenna stopped too. “Did you hear that?”

We listened intently for a few moments.

“Sounds like voices up ahead.” Tuck cupped his hand to his ear.

We help our ground as we waited to see who would approach. Two dark figures appeared before us. They stopped talking as soon as they saw us standing there.

“Well, well. It’s our old friend.” One of them said in a gruff voice.

They drew closer and my stomach twisted into a knot as I realized who was coming at us.

Sty and his big friend Sully walked up to us grinning.

“Well if it isn’t our favorite little princes.” How did they know who I was? They must have known that it was me the day that they tried to kidnap me by the waterfall.

“And look she brought along her boyfriend.” Sty said as he eyed Tuck from head to toe. Tuck stiffened but he didn’t make a move.

“And who this pretty little thing?” Big and ugly asked as he lifted a lock of Jenna’s hair.

“Don’t touch her!” I whirled on them and yelled.

They started laughing their obnoxious laugh.

“We should have never let your mother take you away from us.” Sty snickered.

What was he talking about? What did this have to do with my mother?

“We almost had her Sty.” Sully elbowed his friend in the ribs.

“To bad she hid you away like that, or we could have met a lot sooner.” Sly was speaking right into my face. I could smell his rotten breath and I wanted to retch.

These were the rogue Fae that tried to kidnap me when I was younger? These two were the reason that my parents fled their home? Why they thought they needed to protect me? Why they were now both dead and why Lilith was in control?

My anger started boiling within me as I realized how many lives had been ruined or lost because of the actions of these two men.

I felt my fingers twitch.

“Now, princess. Won’t you come with me and save your friends from a lot of pain and suffering.” It was Sty who spoke but his big and ugly friend Sully snickered.

It was the last straw. I could not stand to see them roaming around free when the people of Drake had to hide. I looked at Jenna and Tuck. Both of them lost their family to the war that started because my parents ran away from these two men and Lilith took over. Enough was enough.

More quickly than anyone could have thought, I reached up and grabbed my sword by the handle. I pulled it from its sheath still strapped to my back and swung it with deadly force.

The next thing I knew, bright red blood was spreading across the cold dark floor. Sty and his buddy lay on the ground. Their chests revealed a large gaping hole. I had nearly cut them in half.

I dropped to the floor on my knees and the sword fell from my hand and clanked loudly against the hard stone. I buried my face in my hands and wept.

I sat like that for a long time. Jenna and Tuck left me alone while they moved the bodies from sight. When they were through Jenna gently held me by my arm and pulled me to my feet.

“We have to get moving Callie.” She said quietly in my ear. I just nodded and began to walk.

I could not believe that I had just killed two people. It was an odd feeling. One that I hoped that I would never have to feel again, but I wasn’t sure about that. I was entering into dangerous territory.

What bothered me the most is that I wasn’t crying for the two men that I had just killed. I was crying for all of the people who had been made to suffer from their actions. They needed to be punished. I didn’t know if this was the best way, but now it was done.

“Are you okay?” Jenna gave me a quick squeeze.

“I am going to be alright.” I whispered and I knew that it had to be true. I had to focus on the battle that was quickly approaching.

A few hours later Tuck found a small alcove off of the main corridor. It was just big enough for the three of us to lie down.

“We should stop here and get some rest.” He said. “You’ve had a long night Callie. You would feel a lot better if you could get some sleep.”

We spread out our blankets and laid down. Jenna wrapped her arms around me as I lay curled into a ball. I looked back at her and noticed Tuck had his arms around Jenna. They smiled at me and I couldn’t help but laugh.

It wasn’t long before I could feel Jenna’s arms around me go limp and I could tell by the steady sound of their breathing that they had both fallen asleep.

I couldn’t help but think back to the night that I spent with Kailen’s arms wrapped around me as I slept. It seemed so long ago now. I still could not believe that he turned out to be so different than I was sure that he was that night. I thought that we had really shared something special. He helped me to remember a tiny little part of my life that I had long since forgotten.

I reached up and pulled the little gold coin from beneath my shirt. I stroked it gently between my thumb and forefinger. I had not taken it off in over ten years. I will always be with you in your heart. Those words seemed to lose their meaning now.

A single tear made a trail down my cheek. I wasn’t sure if I had loved him. I really had not known him long enough to say that I did, but I kind of hoped that what we shared would turn into something. I just wished that I knew what went wrong.

I know that he said that we belonged in two separate worlds, but I really did not think that was true. His family had been the ones to help my parents when they took me away. They must have been close to my family at some point.

Thinking of my family brought my thoughts back to Brokk. He was definitely another love gone wrong. I reached down and slid the heavy gold ring from my pocket. Maybe I was just a little too eager to fall in love, I thought as I stared at it in the dim cavern light. The way things stand right now, I have a necklace and a ring, but no guy. It’s kind of funny in a pathetic sort of way if you think about it.

After some time while lost in my thoughts, I finally managed to fall asleep. I woke several hours later to find that my friends were already awake. They were whispering quietly to each other a few feet away from me. I kept very still while I listened to them talk.

“Do you think that we are doing the right thing?” I heard Tuck ask.

“Yes, she knows what she needs to do. I just don’t think she needs to try to take on a whole city alone.” Jenna whispered in reply.

“I don’t either. I’m glad that we came. I just hope that the three of us can pull this off.”

“Me too.” Jenna turned to sit up.

They were right about one thing, there was no way that I could take on the whole city and the guards. The one thing that she was wrong about was that I had no idea what I needed to do. I still wasn’t sure that I even wanted to be queen. I just wanted to help all of the outcasts. I waited for a few minutes and when they no longer spoke, I started getting up too. We quickly dressed packed away our things and headed out.

“We should make it to Drake in a few hours.” Tuck advised us as he looked at our surroundings.

I‘m not really sure how he could tell. Everything looked the same to me. Dark, rocky, and slick.

“I hope that no one sees us.” I whispered. The last thing that I needed was to run into Kailen. Not because I didn’t want to see him, but because I knew that he would try to stop me.

“We will have to be especially careful. There may be a lot of people coming and going at this time of the day. Especially if they have already begun to gear up for a battle. They may be on high alert.” Tuck warned.

“Petrona is not far from Drake. We should try to come up with what we are going to do once we get there.” Jenna looked at me as she said that. “We can’t just walk into town swinging a blade.”

“No, you are right. We have to be careful. If the guards see me, they will know something is going on. I can’t just go walking down the middle of the street. I wouldn’t make it ten feet.”

“Maybe we should go in at night?” Tuck suggested.

“That’s a good idea, but there will still be guards posted everywhere.” I just didn’t see any other way to do it. At least at night there may not be as many guards.

We walked on, each deep in thought as different strategies played out in our heads. We thought of everything from wearing disguises to going in while hanging to the bottom of one of the merchant’s carts.

None of these ideas were enough to eliminate the guard all together. Jenna wished that we had more manpower, but I didn’t want any more people to get hurt for this cause. This was something that I needed to do without causing an all out war if at all possible.

I would definitely have to come up with something good and I would have to do it soon. It wouldn’t be long until we made it to Drake and I needed a plan before then. The last time that anyone had run into the guards they were in Drake. Apparently, they were becoming regulars there. The thought of them stealing from the villagers and destroying their homes stirred my anger once again.

Lilith would definitely have to be dealt with but the Guard needed to be stopped as well. I just might have to start thinking more seriously about becoming the queen once Lilith was out of the picture.

The thought of it scared me to death, but the fate of the people in and around Petrona worried me more. There was no longer any question of whether I wanted to be queen or not, I needed to be.

My new found purpose is all the inspiration that I needed to propel me the rest of the way through the tunnel. I could feel my adrenaline kicked in and I was prepared to do whatever it took to finish this once and for all.