Knightqueen - Page 87

He blinked, pushing through the pain in his head. His chest ached as well, like he’d been stabbed with hot metal. As he sat up, the world swam.

Ashtin, Nea, and Kaden were crouched in front of him, their faces grim.

“You’re hurt,” Kaden said. “Took a hard knock to the head, and probably have a few broken ribs.”

Sten didn’t care. He pushed to his feet. Gul, it was hard work to get upright. “Where’s Carys?”

“A lone Gek’Dragar got away with the Blue Death,” Nea said. “She’s gone to stop him.”

“And you let her go alone?” Sten tried to steady himself, and when he swayed, he bit out a curse.

Ashtin grabbed his arm. “She gave us no choice.” His tone was grumpy. “She locked us in with an energy field.”

Sten blinked. He turned his head and saw a shimmer of gold around them. He reached out and touched it. It sizzled under his fingers.

“She was…different,” Ashtin said.

“She was pulling extra energy from somewhere,” Nea said. “She was glowing gold.”

Kaden nodded. “She was supercharged.”

“I don’t care if she has more power. She’s not doing this alone.” Sten couldn’t lose her. He loved her. And being the idiot he was, he still hadn’t told her.

He turned to face the energy field. “Help me break this. The four of us should be able to do it.”

All four of them pressed their hands to the energy field. Sten pushed all his frustration and fear into it, energy pouring out of him. The others added their energy, and he felt it crackle through the air, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

A second later, the shield shattered. He watched as it dissipated.

Sten took off at a jog, racing into the trees. He heard the others following behind him.

It wasn’t long before he saw Carys’ delicate footprints. And nearby, the larger ones of the Gek’Dragar.

A wave of dizziness washed over him. He knew he was hurt, but he locked it down. He had to get to Carys. He would get to Carys.

The trees grew thicker. He smelled gnarron bark and rotting vegetation. Then he raced out of the trees and stumbled to a halt.

They were on a cliff high above the River Camlann. Across the river was Aravena. In the distance, the castle gleamed under the sunlight.

Sten swiveled. Where was Carys?

“Why did the Gek’Dragar come this way?” Kaden mused. “If he’d travelled east, he’d have a more direct route to the city.”

Sten scanned along the purple waters of the river down below. That’s when his gaze fell on a pumping station. There was a narrow, rocky path leading down to the white buildings perched on the water’s edge. Water passed through the station to be purified. He froze. “The Blue Death isn’t airborne.”

“What?” Ashtin said.

“The Blue Death. The Ti-Lore weren’t sure what the Gek’Dragar had done to it, they just suspected they’d made it airborne. But that wasn’t it, they engineered it for water.”

Ashtin frowned, then his gaze turned to the river. “Gul.”

“The Gek’Dragar wants to put the Blue Death in the river.” Which was the main water source for the entire capital city. “It will flow into the city, destroy Aravena, and all the planet’s leaders. Then it will keep flowing to the ocean and beyond.”

“Then the rest of the planet would be easy to conquer,” Nea said quietly.

Without another word, Sten whirled and headed for the path leading down to the pumping station at the water’s edge.

Hold on, Carys. I’m coming.