Chapter 189: Testing Limits
They will be fine. They will be fine. Evanna squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, sighing loudly and ignoring the way the walking corpses by her sides watched her. If it wasn’t their rotting bodies that were freakish, then it was the vacant golden stares. The Princess didn’t bother trying to escape, the revenants may not be powerful, but there was strength in numbers. Plus, she needed some time to determine her next course of action.
It was hard, however, to push aside the rising angst she felt towards Arawn’s situation. But the elven Prince was strong and quick-witted. If anyone was able to subdue Conrad, it was him. Right now, she needed to focus on herself and how to get herself out of her own situation.
The group of walking corpses and skeletons surrounding Evanna stopped, prompting her to follow suit and search the dark woods expecting to see Conrad. Her stomach dropped as her mind raced with thoughts of Arawn. But instead of the Demon Prince appearing before them, a crow with golden eyes flew over their heads. Evanna watched it like the living-dead beside her, but she then looked to the front after another chill crawled across her skin. Conrad’s men ran into the small clearing, their panting making it apparent they were following the crow.
Upon seeing the revenants, their eyes widened. The moment their attention landed on Evanna, the living-dead collapsed to the ground, except for the closest skeleton that pushed the Princess towards the men. As soon as she was within their reach, the skeleton also flopped to the ground, once more lifeless like the others.
Drew, Conrad’s closest friend out of the group of burly men, lightly grabbed her wrist, but like the others, his attention was focused on the fallen rotting corpses behind her. Yet, instead of fear on their faces, the men seemed more intrigued with the dead. They were undoubtedly the Prince’s men; they knew of his powers and were not afraid of him like others.
But during this moment of curiosity, Evanna used their distraction to call upon her gift. This night had been full of bizarre incidents, from a fantastical kiss and a proposal to corpses chasing her, Conrad revealing more of his deadly powers that she forgot one of her newest but most natural gifts. The gift of Ilerium. At first, she didn’t want to reveal such powers, but this wasn’t the time to debate over whether Conrad’s men should also learn of her secret.
Evanna couldn’t be weak against them, though. They were Conrad’s best and most feared warriors. She could fight against someone like Erland, but she had no chance against all five men at once. Now seemed a perfect time to test her limits and strengthen her gifts.
Drew was the first to notice Evanna’s hand turning before the ground shook, and five monstrous leafy stems grew out from beneath the men’s feet. He was the first to grab the hilt of his sword, but all at once, the plants dove towards them, wrapping around their feet, yanking them into the air.
"What the- Woah!"