Chapter 91 Chapter 91

Chapter 91 Chapter 91
Mirelle’s POV
I could not stop staring at Hagath’s lifeless body lying at Eliath's feet, his sword dripping Hagath’s blood onto the wooden floor. Silent tears fell down my face and I could hear a sob to my far right. A heavy, gloomy mood had descended on the crowd.
For a minute, Eliath's eyes met mine. He stared at me, though I knew he would not recognize me but I hoped he could see all the hate in my heart for him.
Then… he smiled at me.
A sadistic smile.
He averted his eyes and smiled at the crowd. He could see that he had done it. He had broken them, and that made him happy.
I could feel Eragon pulling me out of the crowd, but my ears were ringing. I had failed Hagath. I had failed Erasmus. I had failed Corlin. What would I say to him? How was I going to face Erasmus? He had lost so much for his age.
I felt like vomiting.
“Stop!” I screamed at Eragon and he released my hand.
I ran to a corner of the street and vomited my guts out. I was shaking so hard. When it was finally over, I placed my hands over my mouth and sobbed quietly, my back resting against the wall as I slid down.
“Princess,” Eragon said quietly. “I am so sorry… but we have to go.”
He was right. We had to go. I needed to stand up. We had a kingdom to save, and the faster we did it, the better, before the Unseelie lost all hope.
So I wiped my tears, hardened my resolve, and stood up.
“Let’s go.”
We moved as fast as we could. We got to Uliath's, and he informed us that Fiona and the rest had already taken the horses and were waiting for us at the edge of the forest.
Once we got to the edge of the forest, Eragon whistled like a bird and there was a reply. Fiona stepped out.
“Glad you guys are okay. Where are the rest and the prince consort?”
“They were captured. The prince consort is dead,” Eragon said.
And Fiona staggered back.
“No,” she said and stared at me.
“Did you get Makus?” I asked. I didn't want to talk about it right now or I would break down again.
“Yes, we did. And someone else too.”
“Who?” Eragon asked.
“Come on, let’s go,” she said, and we went deeper into the forest.
“Princess, please prepare your mind…,” she said.
“Why?” I asked.
Then I saw Makus seated on the forest floor, resting against one of the trees, his head bent. He looked… wrong. I ran to him.
“What happened to him?”
“Truth seers,” someone said to my right.
It was Sailine. Sailine was the someone Fiona mentioned.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Not Makus too.
“You are alive?” I asked.
“I guess I am….” He looked at me, a bit confused.
“Why did he use truth seers?”
“Eliath believed Makus knew where the princess and the young prince were. Hr obviously did not, so he used a truth seer to get it out of him.”
“Is there a way to reverse this?”
“No, Princess. The general is gone. He is now a shadow of his former self. But we could not just leave him there.” Fiona said.
“Princess…?” Sailine asked.
“Yes, Sailine,” I said, standing up. “Your bargain made this happen.”
“How…?”
“Let’s leave this place first. All questions can be answered at the rebel camp,” Fiona said.
I helped one of Fiona's crew lift Makus up. He was staring into the distance with a dazed look.
“Makus,” I said, but he did not answer me. He did not even look like someone aware of his surroundings.
Eliath had done a lot of damage to those I had come to love. I would make him suffer for this, one way or another.
Sailine rode with Fiona, and Eragon put Makus on his horse and rode ahead of us while the rest of us followed behind him. The journey back to the rebel camp this time was faster.
Once we got to the village, Eragon and Randal took the horses back while we stayed behind. Once they were done, we went into the dead forest and straight to the mountain. We entered through the hidden exit and Corlin and some of the rebels were waiting for us.
“Corlin,” I said, my tone heavy with grief.
He looked at me and gritted his teeth, almost like he already knew he was about to hear something bad.
“What happened?” he asked reluctantly.
“I am sorry,” I said as I broke into sobs, covering my face with the palms of my hands. “He killed him, Corlin…. He killed him. It was horrible. He was horrible. We failed, we failed. He died saving us, he died….” My words jumbled together.
I heard footsteps. He pulled my hands from my face.
“It's okay, Taliahtie… it's okay,” he said softly.
“It's not.” How was he so calm right now? I was supposed to be comforting him or trying to stop him from going after Eliath.
“Corlin, it's not okay!” I snapped. “He has taken everything!”
“And we will make him pay. Save your tears, sister.”
That made me raise my brow. He had never called me sister.
He placed his palms on my cheeks.
“The pain you are feeling, turn it into a weapon. Don’t let it break you. Make it a weapon of vengeance in your heart. That's what I have learnt to do.”
He paused and looked into my eyes.
“And when the time is right, we will unleash it. The bastard won't know what's coming for him,” he spat.
Then… he hugged me.
I stood still for a moment before hugging him back.

“We have a spy in the enhancer field,” Corlin said.
It had been days since the rescue mission. Makus was still the same, but Sailine had become a major part of Corlin's team. We now had information about the enhancers and what was happening in the palace.
He told us that some of the prisoners, including him, had been tested on by the enhancers and it amplified their powers a thousand times over. He said that the testing phase was over and the Goldies had started using them.
We had to get those enhancers or we might loose.
“Can he get some for us?” I asked.
“Last we heard, he informed us through the pigeon we use that the stones were guarded religiously. While they dig the ground for the stones, they are always being watched, so it's difficult to smuggle any out. And worse, they are not allowed to leave,” Eragon said.
“We might need to get the stones another way….” Corlin stared at us. “Through force,” he said.
Then we heard a loud explosion that shook the place we were in.
I bent and covered my head with my hands and I could see others doing the same.
“What the hell was that?”