Marked by the Dark Lord (The Twisted Court Book 1) by Riley Storm

Author:Riley Storm [Storm, Riley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: High House Press
Published: 2023-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mila

“Shit, shit, shit,” I cursed, turning and hurrying in the other direction.

I knew what that light portended and what would come charging out from it. My shoes slapped hard against the rocky ground, but all that mattered at the moment was speed. I had to gain ground on the stupid Gray Knights before they got organized and came after me.

“Come on,” I hissed, looking at my hands, trying to summon the fire from within, the energy that might help me somehow escape from their clutches.

The roar of the falls grew louder as, instead of heading for the elevator that would take me up, I went deeper into the tunnel, toward the platforms that emerged alongside the towering funnel of water. The walls were white and painted there, the floor slicker than before from mist that worked its way into the corridors.

Behind me, the minotaurs were deploying, not worried about being found down there at that time of day. How they had found me so quickly was a different question, one I would ask later after I had escaped their clutches.

“Halt!” a voice barked from somewhere behind me.

Did they ever expect people who were running away to listen? It made no sense to me. I just put my head down and ran faster. There was only one hope of escape now. One way out.

My clothing did a poor job repelling the water, the fabric sticking to my skin as it was quickly drenched by the unceasing torrent pouring over the edge high above me. Up ahead, the tunnel abruptly ended. A gate rose halfway up the wall, blocking the way, with four or six feet of floor on the far side before it suddenly dropped away.

“This is stupid, Mila,” I hissed, pulling myself over the barricade as fast as I could, careful to monitor my footing. “Really, really stupid.”

Footsteps could be heard over the tremendous crashing roar of the water as it raced by, not five feet from me. I was truly behind the Falls, about a third of the way up from the base. I wasn’t on a platform farther down where I could safely climb over the side and run.

It was a true waterfall.

“Come on,” I hissed, pushing at the spot in my mind where I’d felt the magic or whatever it was on previous occasions. “Please.”

“That’s far enough,” a commanding voice ordered as a minotaur strode out of the mists.

I backed away until my foot slipped on the very edge of the lip, halting my progress. The minotaur smiled. He must have thought I was trapped, not understanding just how badly I wanted to be free again.

“I’m not going back,” I stated. “I won’t.”

“You can’t escape us,” he said.

I pushed harder at my mind, anger at my situation building. I did not want to feel helpless. I wanted to feel strong. To be respected. Not laughed at. The heat of my fury stirred, the fires of anger stirring in my belly. I stoked it more. Adding my hatred of the injustices cast upon me, of person after person deciding how my life would be run.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.