Marissa Holsteins's Arc

Chapter 6 of 10

Angelica hauled Marissa toward the door. Boots pounded in the hall outside. King Blake Wilding's voice boomed through the wood. "Open this door! The witch was seen here!" Angelica froze, sword still wet from the fight. Marissa clutched the jar of golden milk. The king filled the doorway when the lock gave. He wore his red robe and crown, and his eyes went straight to the milk. "My bride," he said. "And my milk. Neither leaves." Marissa saw two guards behind him. She saw the window across the room. She could not fight the king, and she could not run past him. Then her eyes fell on the milk machine and its curved hoses. An idea struck her, wild and desperate. The milk held power. The king had drunk one cup and roared with strength. What would happen if she took it all herself? "Angelica, buy me one minute," Marissa said. Angelica understood. She spun and swung her blade at the king's guards, driving them back into the hall. Marissa dropped to the machine. She sealed the cups to her skin, then twisted the dial hard the other way. The hoses reversed. Golden milk poured back into her body. Heat flooded her. Her arms swelled with muscle. Her hooves cracked the stone floor. The room shrank around her. She grew until her head brushed the ceiling. Power sang in her blood. She was not a captive now. She was strong enough to break the walls. Blake shoved past Angelica and stopped short. He stared up at Marissa, mouth open. "What have you become?" he whispered. Marissa ripped the cups free. She grabbed Angelica with one huge hand and pulled her close. Then she turned and drove her shoulder into the outer wall. Stone burst outward. Dust and banners rained down. A hole gaped where the wall had stood, open sky beyond it. "Hold on to me," Marissa said. Angelica gripped her arm. Marissa stepped through the broken wall and leapt. The ground rushed up. Her hooves hit hard and cracked the earth, but she stood. Above, the king shouted from the ragged gap. His guards crowded beside him and did not dare jump. Marissa ran. Each stride carried them far from the castle gate. The red and gold banners shrank behind her. Angelica laughed against her shoulder, breathless. "You did it," she said. "You got us out." Marissa slowed at a treeline and set Angelica down. The power began to fade. Her body shrank back to its own size. Her legs shook. The milk was gone now, all of it burned to fuel the escape. She had no jar, no batch, nothing left to bargain with. "We're free," Marissa said. Then she looked at her empty hands. The king still wanted her milk. The witch still wanted the throne. And she had just spent every drop she owned.