Wicked Chase

♛ Chapter Thirty-Two

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Ronan and I found Alastair and Archie on our back down from the tower. I didn't realise that I was shaking until Alastair had rushed forward towards me, gripped my arms and leaned forward so that his silvery grey eyes were in level with mine. "Genevieve, what's wrong?"

I felt him shaking slightly and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "We need to go now," I managed to get out, before my eyes shot open and I regained control over my nerves. "Ronan can explain on our way back to Deidrif."

"Deidrif?" Archie echoed, cocking an eyebrow and I turned to him. "But the fight is here."

"It's not," Ronan said, his livid green eyes alight with anger and heat. "The fight has never been in Fallonailes. It has always been in Deidrif. Thorin fooled us all, as he always does."

I reached over and slipped my hand into my father's, giving him a watery smile and a nod. "Come on, Ronan, we've got to find Caspian...what was his name, again?"

"Caspian Wintry?" Alastair asked, his grey eyes widening by the slightest bit but the movement could have easily been passed off as a blink of an eye. "What do we need him for?"

"His magic," Ronan replied before he stepped to the side, pulled on my hand that was in his grasp and tugged me along. He walked forward, down the long eerie corridor and the rest of us followed, listening to what he had to say. "Caspian Wintry is known for his magic. He has a special ability that lets him harness magic so that he could bend the element of water to his will and we need that. He agreed to fight alongside us to avenge his friend's death and he'd want Thorin dead as much as we all do right now. It's only fair if he helps in bringing my brother to justice. And we also need Caspian's magic to break the barrier that was created."

Ronan stopped in front of the large ark door that looked stunning in this dim light. It was made of wood and carved to look like there were small plants growing up the piece of wood, intricate designs gracing the middle section of the door.

My father turned to face us, his hand letting go of mine as he brought it to his hip, catching the hilt of his sword with his right hand. "It's bloody and brutal out there. We came through it and now we can go through it," he said, his voice serious and grave. He cast me a glance and it didn't hold any emotion and yet I could tell the reason he looked at me was because he wasn't worried about if every one of us was going to get across the border. He was worried about me getting across, alive.

"We can use the Tunnels!" Archie chimed in, wiping his forehead to get rid of the sweat that had gathered there. His slightly dark skin glinted with the sheen of sweat as his lips lifted up into a brief smile.

"But we need to get Caspian," my father mused before his face hardened and he sucked in a sharp breath of air. His sudden inhale made my eyes widen with surprise. What was he thinking? What was he going to do?

He looked at Alastair through his livid green eyes that shone with determination. "You're her guard, Alastair," he said before clamping his hand down on Alastair's shoulder and Alastair didn't look the least bit surprised. He didn't even protest to say that King Ronan should be safe, too. No, instead he looked at my father, his expression ever so serious, the stubble on his jaw distracting me from what my father was saying. As my father spoke I couldn't help but admire the view of Alastair in this light. Dim light always worked well on him to bring out his sharp features.

"The Tunnels are longer but you'll reach there before we do," my father was saying as I snapped my attention back to him, silently scolding myself because now was not the time to think about loved ones when we were at war. When you are at war, survival is what you must be thinking about. "Since we need to get past the war and get Caspian, Archie and I will take much longer to reach Deidrif's walls."