Chapter 302 The climb

Chapter 302: Chapter 302 The climb

Talia’s POV

The guard’s voice echoed through the tunnel like a crack of thunder.

"STOP!"

I looked back, and I saw them. There were three guards at the bottom of the tunnel, with their torches flickering in the darkness. Their eyes were fixed on us, and their hands were reaching for their weapons.

"Kaelen," I said. "They are here."

I could see Kaelen’s body tense as he turned to face them, positioning himself between me and the guards. His hand instinctively moved to where his sword should have been, but it was gone. We must had lost it somewhere in the chaos of the escape. His hands were empty, but he raised them anyway.

"Kaelen, you cannot fight them without your sword," I said, pushing myself up.

"Then I will fight them with my bare hands," he said.

"Kaelen..." I called, trying to stop him from the dangerous decision I knew he had just made.

"Talia," he said. "You need to climb. Now."

I tried to stand, but my legs would not hold me. I collapsed back against the wall, and I felt the cold stone against my back.

"I cannot," I said. "I cannot even stand."

Seraphina’s voice came from above. "Talia! Take my hand!"

I looked up, and I saw my mother leaning down from the gap in the wall. Her hand was reaching for me, with her fingers stretched as far as they could go.

"Reach for me, Talia," she said. "I will pull you up."

I tried to lift my arm, but it was too heavy. The blood magic had drained everything from me.

"I cannot," I said. "I cannot reach."

Kaelen looked at me, and I saw the desperation in his eyes. "Talia, you have to try."

"I am trying," I said. "But I cannot."

The guards were getting closer. I could hear their footsteps, their shouts, and their heavy breathing.

"Kaelen," I said. "You need to go. Leave me."

He shook his head. "No, Talia. I cannot do that."

"Kaelen..." My voice broke as I stretched my hands out to him.

"Talia," he said. "I am not leaving you."

He looked up at Seraphina. "I am going to lift her, so you pull her up."

Seraphina nodded. "I am ready."

Kaelen knelt beside me, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. "Talia, I am going to lift you. When I do, you reach for your mother."

I shook my head. "I cannot."

"You can," he said. "You have to."

"Kaelen..." I tried to argue.

"Talia," he said. "I have not come this far to lose you now. Reach for your mother."

I looked at my mother’s hand, reaching down from the light. I looked at Kaelen’s face, filled with love and desperation, and I looked at the guards, getting closer.

I reached up.

Kaelen lifted me, and I felt my body rising toward the gap. My fingers brushed against my mother’s hand, and she grabbed my wrist.

"I have you, my brave girl." she said. "I have you."

She pulled, and I felt myself being lifted toward the light.

The guards were at the bottom of the tunnel now. I could hear their shouts, and their footsteps.

"Kaelen!" I screamed. "Climb! Now!"

He reached up, and he grabbed the edge of the gap. He pulled himself up, and I saw him scrambling up toward the top.

But the guards were right behind him.

"Kaelen!" I screamed as much as my voice could carry.

He was almost there, almost at the gap, and almost out to us at the top.

Then I saw a guard run towards him and grab his ankle, and I screamed.

I lunged forward, grabbing Kaelen’s arm with both hands. My body was screaming in protest, but I did not let go. I pulled with everything I had left.

"Mother, help me!" I screamed.

Seraphina grabbed Kaelen’s other arm, and together we pulled. The guard below was pulling Kaelen down, and I could feel the strain in my arms.

"Pull!" I yelled. "Pull!"

I looked down, and I saw the guard’s face twisted with effort. He was strong, and he was pulling Kaelen back into the darkness.

"Talia," Kaelen grunted. "I cannot... I cannot hold on."

"Yes, you can," I said. "You have to."

Seraphina looked around frantically, and I saw her eyes land on a large stone nearby. She let go of Kaelen’s arm, and she grabbed the stone.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Watch my daughter," she said.

She raised the stone above her head, and she threw it down at the guard. The stone struck his shoulder, and he screamed. His grip on Kaelen’s ankle loosened, and he stumbled backward.

"Now!" I shouted.

I pulled with everything I had, and I felt Kaelen’s body rising. Seraphina grabbed his arm again, and together we dragged him up.

Kaelen scrambled over the edge, and I collapsed beside him, with my chest heaving. I looked down, and I saw another guard rushing toward the gap, with his hand reaching for Kaelen’s leg.

It was inches away, but Kaelen was already up, and he was already safe.

The guard’s fingers brushed against the stone, but he could not reach us.

I let out a breath I did not know I was holding.

Kaelen looked at me. “ Thank you so much.” He looked at my mother. “Thank you, lady Seraphina.”

My mother nodded. “We have to keep going. Here is not the place to rest, because malachai’s and his guards do not rest.”

I nodded, and Kaelen nodded too.

We stood immediately, and ran through the tunnel, and I could hear the guards behind us. Their footsteps were pounding against the stone, and their shouts echoed through the darkness.

"After them!" a voice yelled. "Do not let them escape!"

Kaelen grabbed my hand, pulling me forward. "Keep going, Talia. We are almost there."

But the guards were fast. They were too fast.

I looked back, and I saw them splitting up. Some of them were following us from behind, but others were taking a different path. I realized that they were trying to cut us off.

"Kaelen," I said. "They are splitting up."

He looked back, and I saw the fear in his eyes. "They are going to surround us."

We rounded a corner, and I saw them. Guards were coming out from a side tunnel ahead. Which meant that they had found another way, and they were blocking our path.

I stopped running, and Kaelen stopped beside me. "Talia, what are you doing?"

I looked at the guards approaching. There were too many, and I was too weak. Kaelen was too tired, and my mother was too fragile.

But I was a Silvertongue, and I do not back down. So I stepped forward.

"Talia," Kaelen said. "What are you doing?"

I did not answer. I just opened my mouth, and looked straight at the guards, with the anger that was burning in my chest.

"Stop," I commanded, and my voice cracked.