Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 26

Chapter

Twenty-Six

A s it turned out, we were not on our own.

After a short conversation, Legacy and I had managed to come up with something resembling a plan, and Ehuna had agreed to help us out with it. Not because she thought that it was a good plan—because we all knew it wasn't—but because we needed someone the advisors would believe had captured us.

After all, she already had once, so it wasn't exactly a lie, now was it?

"This is a terrible plan," Ehuna muttered, looking down at the ropes around Legacy’s and my wrists.

They weren't overly tight, nor were they loose enough that someone would notice.

"The only terrible part of this plan is Legacy insisting on joining me," I pointed out.

Legacy rolled her eyes, clearly tired of having this same argument over and over. That was unfortunate because I wasn't quite ready to give up just yet.

"Would you stop it?” she hissed. “I already told you, there's no way I'm letting you go alone. It’s too dangerous."

She was probably right about the dangers of me going alone, but there was no way I would admit that. Intentionally allowing myself to be captured was kind of a stupid plan, but I couldn’t come up with anything else in the meantime.

Unfortunately for her, allowing both of us to be captured was an even dumber plan. At least if I went in alone, there was a chance that she could come in and save me if I couldn't save myself. But if she came with me and we couldn't get out, then we were well and truly screwed.

"You two are ridiculous," Ehuna pointed out, helping us both onto horses.

It was hard enough to get on a horse at the best of times, but with my hands bound in front of me, it was even harder. Not to mention that I'd grown so used to riding with Legacy on one horse that I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself right now with my own.

Ehuna was far less gentle with Legacy than she had been with me, which I wasn't sure how to feel about. True, our history meant she was more likely to be kind to me, but despite myself, I did care about Legacy. I didn't want her to be hurt, and even these small slights irritated me to no end.

I didn't know how I truly felt about much of anything at this point.

"We might be ridiculous,” I said, “but we are also doing this for the right reasons. I don't see another way to get inside their camp, and it has the bonus effect of convincing them to trust you. This way, perhaps you and your soldiers will be safe from future attacks."

Ehuna gazed at me, her mouth tight. I knew what she was thinking.

She and her soldiers had only been put in danger because of me, but it wasn't hard to see that she was worried about me. She knew me too well not to be.

"So you would have me give you over to our enemies in exchange for myself?" she asked.

I shook my head, fighting down a smirk. "Of course not. I'm giving myself over because I know you never would."

She mounted her own horse, still muttering under her breath, and I held the reins as best as I could with my bound hands as we set off. We rode in silence as we headed for Tannin, and Ehuna used a tracking spell to be sure we rode in the right direction. To no one's surprise, he and his men were holed up in another fortress.

On our way, I kept an eye on the sky for a certain giant bird, but not even a single cloud marred the blue vastness.

When we finally arrived, I swallowed hard as I stared up at the walls.

One of the archers above shouted down, "State your name and purpose!"

"I am General Ehuna, here to hand prisoners over to Commander Tannin," Ehuna shouted back.

A runner took off at the top of the wall, no doubt to take the message to Tannin.

While we waited, I did my best to look as cowed as possible. We were supposed to be Ehuna's prisoners, and while neither of us had many visible wounds, it wasn't hard to pretend like I was hurting.

My leg still throbbed where the bolt had struck, and my entire body radiated pain and exhaustion from everything we'd been through. The only thing that didn't hurt was my magic, and they couldn't see that. I wore no gauntlets. Neither did Legacy. For now, anyway.

It was only a matter of minutes before Tannin appeared at the top of the wall, motioning for us to come closer. Ehuna tugged on the reins of our horses, which she had held once we were within sight of the fortress.

"General Ehuna, I did not expect you. Nor for you to bring me prisoners," Tannin said.

I gritted my teeth. Of course he hadn't expected Ehuna to come. He had sent men to kill her because of her connection to us. Not that he would admit that to everyone standing here. Nor would it matter if he did. He was in command, and nothing else mattered.

Ehuna would have been perfectly within her rights to call him out, but of course she was smarter than that.

She pulled on the ropes around my wrists and lifted her head to meet Tannin's gaze despite the distance. "Those under my command do not deserve to die for these two. So many lives lost for just two. I could not, in good conscience, allow it."

Above us, Tannin made a loose gesture with his hand, and the tension in the air eased slightly. Weapons retreated into the wall, and a few of the soldiers disappeared, the clatter of their armor nearly eclipsed by the grinding of the gate opening. More soldiers poured out, and they held their weapons loosely at their sides as they dragged Legacy and me from our horses.

As much as I wanted to lash out with my magic and end this right now, that wasn't the plan. We needed to be taken inside, or else the rest of our plan would fall apart before it even began.

Still, that didn't mean I would just go along with it willingly. Tannin would be suspicious if we did, and I was more than happy to put up a fight as the guards dragged us through the gates.

I kicked and elbowed as much as I could with my hands still bound, and I even felt a crunch under my kick, accompanied by a grunt and a cry of pain. At least one broken bone, which I hadn't intended, but it was certainly going to sell our story a bit better.

Tannin waited in the courtyard inside, his expression smug. I made a rude gesture at him, spitting at his feet as the guards dragged us by him. His long robes shuffled on the ground behind us as we headed deeper into the fortress, likely toward the dungeons. The tunnels narrowed so much that Legacy and I, as well as the guards holding us, walked in single file.

The perfect opportunity to lash out and set the next stage of our plan in motion.

I glanced over my shoulder at Legacy, and despite the jostling, I found her looking at me as well. The corner of my lips quirked up in a smile.

We were in agreement, then. Now was the time.

We yanked our bound wrists apart, and reaching deep inside myself, I pulled my magic to the surface and unleashed it. The power surged against the soldiers holding us and slammed them against the walls, pinning them there.

Tannin gasped as the wall of power coiled around us, leaving us standing in our own little room of magic, cramped in the confines of the tunnel while the soldiers stuck to the walls.

"Don't move," I warned.

Tannin yelped as he stepped backward and ran straight into the magic wall. Not enough to do any serious harm, but he would have been better off if he’d listened to what I’d said.

Legacy snatched weapons from one of the soldiers. With a wild, fierce grin, she flipped a dagger around in her palm to hand it to me, holding a sword in the other. "I get the big one, but I can share. I’m generous like that."

I snorted and took the dagger from her loose grip. Both of us turned back toward Tannin, still cowering against the wall of magic that I held with nearly no effort at all.

How had this man caused so much terror and death? He was a coward, and we would make him pay for what he had done.

"So,” I began. “You're going to tell us exactly who you're working with to continue this war."

"And if I don't?" he challenged.

Legacy tilted the sword’s blade up toward him, and he cringed. Her smile looked nearly feral, and I chuckled under my breath.

If nothing else, this was actually sort of entertaining.

"Then we kill you and track down the next of your conspirators to make them tell us.” I shrugged. “Your choice."

Tannin nodded slowly. “Then I think I’ll choose option C.”

“There is no option C,” I shot back.

He flashed out his right-handed gauntlet. His magic surged right into Legacy and knocked her back into me, flattening us both to the ground. Around us, my magic wall dissolved. His soldiers dropped from the tunnel walls, and all of them advanced toward us.

Tannin’s laugh rose up from behind them. “There’s always an option C.”