Chapter 298 The chase

Chapter 298: Chapter 298 The chase

Kaelen’s POV

We had finally made it to the tunnel entrance.

I stood there, with my legs shaking beneath me, and my arms burning from carrying Talia all through. Seraphina was beside me, with her hand still gripping my arm for support. The dungeon was behind us, and the tunnel was ahead of us now.

I looked down at Talia’s face, that was pale and still. She had led us here, she had found this tunnel with her Silvertongue instincts, and it had brought us to her mother. Now, it would bring us out.

"Kaelen," Seraphina said. "This is the tunnel that you both came through?"

I nodded. "This is it. We need to go through it. It will take us outside, past the Ashen Lands."

She looked at the dark opening, and I saw the fear in her eyes. "What if it does not lead out?" She coughed out violently.

"I do not know if I can make it through this tunnel," Seraphina said, with her voice trembling as she looked at the darkness ahead. "I have been in a cage for fifteen years, child. My legs are weak, and my body is broken. What if I slow you down? Or what if I am the reason we do not make it out?" Seraphina looked at me. “I think you should go without me.”

"It will," I said. "Your ancestors built it for escape, and it brought us to you. So it will lead us out. I thought you know about this tunnel?" I asked.

Seraphina shook her head. "Not this one, there is another one. But I do not know if it still works."

I nodded. "That explains it. But we will go through this one, and we will come out outside, far away from Malachai’s palace. And I am not leaving you behind, not after all of Talia’s sacrifices."

Seraphina nodded slowly. "Then let us go quickly. As they might notice that I am missing very soon."

I nodded, took a breath, and I stepped into the tunnel.

The tunnel stretched before us, dark and endless.

I had been walking for what felt like hours. My legs were shaking, my arms were burning, and the silver was still eating away at my skin. But I did not stop. I could not stop until we got to safety.

Talia was still unconscious in my arms, with her body burning with fever. Her breathing was shallow, and I could feel her heartbeat against my chest. It was weak, but it was there, and she was still fighting.

Seraphina walked quickly beside me, with her hand on my arm for support. She was weak, but she was moving, and she was free.

"Kaelen," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "How much further?"

I looked ahead, but I could not see the end of the tunnel. "I do not know. But we have to keep going."

Then I heard a loud sound.

The sound echoed through the tunnel, distant but unmistakable. They were warning alarms, and it was loud and shrill, bouncing off the stone walls.

Seraphina’s eyes widened. "They know."

I nodded, and I felt the fear rising in my chest. "They know you are gone."

The alarms grew louder, and I heard shouts in the distance. There were guards. Many of them, and they were coming.

"We need to run," I said.

"I still feel that I should stay back. I cannot allow her to be captured, child," Seraphina said, her voice breaking as she looked at Talia’s unconscious face. "If they catch us, they will take Talia back. They will put her in that cage instead of me, and I cannot let that happen, not after everything she sacrificed to free me." Seraphina looked at me. "You can barely walk even."

"I can run," I said, increasing my footsteps. “Let us go. No one will capture my woman.”

I shifted Talia in my arms, and I forced my legs to move faster. The pain was sharp, but I ignored it, because I had to get them out.

The shouts grew louder. I could hear the guards’ footsteps echoing through the tunnel, and getting closer.

"The tunnel!" a guard shouted. "They found the tunnel!"

"How did they know about it?" another voice yelled. "No one has used that tunnel in centuries!"

"The Silvertongue," a third voice said. "She must have shown them. The woman’s magic is stronger than we thought."

"The king will have our heads if they escape!" the first guard shouted. "Move faster! Do not let them reach the end!"

I heard their footsteps pounding against the stone, faster now. They were desperate. They knew that if we reached the end of the tunnel, we would be free.

"After them!" another voice yelled. "Do not let them get away!"

"They are coming," Seraphina said, with her voice trembling.

I looked back, and I saw the flicker of torches in the darkness, which meant that they were getting close. Too close, if I might add.

"Run," I said to Seraphina. "Run!"

We ran through the tunnel, and I felt my lungs burning. The silver was choking me, but I did not stop. I could not stop, or else we would all die here.

Talia’s body was heavy in my arms, but I held on. I held on, and I ran.

The guards’ voices grew louder. I could hear them shouting to each other, with their footsteps pounding against the stone.

"There they are!" a voice yelled. "After them!"

"Talia, wake up," I said, with my voice desperate as I ran. "I need you to wake up, because I cannot carry you and fight them off at the same time. Please, Talia. Please open your eyes."

But Talia did not move, except for the shaking from my movements.

I looked ahead, but I could not see the end of the tunnel. It was still dark, and still endless, and we were not even close to getting to the end.

"Kaelen," Seraphina gasped. "I cannot... I cannot keep going."

"I know you are tired, Seraphina," I said, with my voice firm but gentle. "But your daughter gave everything to free you, and I am not going to let her sacrifice be in vain. So you are going to keep moving, even if I have to carry you both out of this tunnel." I grabbed her arm. "You have to keep moving please. Because we are not stopping."

The guards were right behind us.

"Hey, wolf!" a guard shouted from behind us. "Stop running! The king wants the woman alive, but he said nothing about you. Put her down, and we will let you go."

I could hear their breathing, their shouts, and their footsteps, and I knew that they were gaining on us.

I pushed forward, and I held Talia tighter. The tunnel stretched before us, dark and endless. But I did not stop, not even for a minute.

I could not stop until we were safe.