The Bell of Freedom (King and human romance)✔

Chapter Forty-Eight

I can't see anything and it's driving me crazy. I want to respect Cain's order but I'm also desperate to know what's going on. It's a bad idea to leave the trees but my curiosity is getting the better of me. The dynamics of the field are fascinating. Who do the guards fight for now? The one that holds the blade or has Cain's return made them all switch back? Whatever happens, a human wouldn't stand a chance around it. I walk for a while until a creature's body flies right in front of me, his large frame hitting several trees until he lands on the floor.

Blake lands at the edge of the trees, he looks at me for a moment before turning his attention to the creature in the woods. The creature absconds, fleeing out of sight.

"What are you doing?" Blake says. "The King needs to focus right now and creeping your way closer to Saffron isn't going to help that."

"I know," I say. "I just. . . I just had to see it. Is she looking for me?"

"Aurora, the moment she sees you, you're dead. Go back to the hill."

"I can't stay there."

I walk closer to him, ignoring his startled expression as I gently pass around his body. I take a long look at the clearing in the distance. Cain has his back to me but he is standing quite close while Saffron stands a few meters from him. The guards are divided, hundreds of them hover in the air as they split themselves between the two leaders. Cain seems to have more of them on his side, including Marina, but the King and Queen are the only ones with two feet on the ground.

The silence is nerve-wracking. Though I can tell that Blake wants to go and join Cain's army, he doesn't leave my side. The creatures are so still, like floating statues. They are waiting for orders like they cannot think for themselves. I'm not sure what happened to my blade, the last I saw of it a creature was picking it up from the ground, testing it for Saffron. I remember vaguely what he looked like and my eyes search the sky for a sign of his navy-blue jacket. I see him on Cain's side but I can't tell if he's holding it or if he's dropped it somewhere.

I tremble back into the woods as Saffron looks directly at me. Having her eyes on me is a feeling I cannot describe. Even from a mile away, she still has a presence that brings stultifying fear. Her young disguise would only fool those that haven't been close to her, her eyes are still as hollow and powerful as if a giant was looming over you. There are hundreds of creatures between herself and me, including Cain, and she's looking for an escape route. She isn't interested in him; she's only interested in me.

"Blake," I say. "How does the blade work?"

"What?" he says, startled by my question at such a strange timing.

"I know it takes their souls but that's only after they're dead, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"You have to pierce their heart to kill them and take their souls," I say. "But I weakened her."

"What are you talking about?"

I'm talking to myself more than him. I stare at the creature that had my blade. Is it possible that I extracted souls from Saffron when I stabbed her? While she was still alive? Is that what that blade does—takes souls? She had to break into the nannery and consume more lives to be able to regain her strength, as though she was weaker because she was left without them.

"That creature," I say, pointing my finger into the air. "He has a blade and I need it back."

"What blade? Saffron has the blade, I saw it."

"I need you to trust me. Please."

Blake is confused, he looks back to the field just as something bright and explosive bursts through the air.