Thane glanced back, finding five more soldiers coming up behind them. All of them had their weapons drawn. He held Layala’s arm a little firmer, ready to negotiate until blond hair and a cocky grin stepped through the soldiers, and then he only saw red.
Thane’s sword was out and pressed against Aldrich’s heart in a flash. “Before you do that,” Aldrich said, raising his hands in surrender. “Know that we have Piper, Fennan and dearest Aunt Evalyn being held outside. If you go out there before I do, my soldiers have their orders to kill them.”
“You piece of shit,” Thane snapped, hand shaking with rage. It took every last bit of his restraint to not shove his sword straight through Aldrich’s chest. His hand snapped out and he gripped a handful of Aldrich’s hair, jerking him closer. “How dare you show your face to me. I am the reason you still draw breath. I saved your ass over and over and this is how I am repaid?”
Aldrich had the nerve to allow the corner of his mouth to curve upward. “You made a critical mistake, Thane. You forget I know you. I knew you’d split the Ravens to throw us off your trail, but I was at your side for years. So my gut led me here. Alisara looks good, doesn’t she?”
Thane shoved him into the line of Palenor soldiers and a low growl rumbled in his throat. “The mistake was yours, thinking you could come here, and I wouldn’t tear your heart out of your chest with my bloody bare hands.”
The soldiers around shifted nervously, their breaths shallow and quick. They knew how fiercely a male would protect his mate and they knew Thane’s threats were real. He contemplated his odds of being able to take everyone here down and getting to his friends before the soldiers outside could hurt them.
“Thane, if he has—” Layala started, and Thane cut her off with a glare. She clamped her mouth shut and looked away.
“Well, that’s a first,” Aldrich drawled.
“Watch your filthy mouth.”
Katmor, one of the high-ranking generals, stepped partially in front of Aldrich. A close acquaintance with his father who’d been around Thane since he was but a boy. “High Prince Thane, you must do the honorable thing and face the consequences of your actions. You attempted to assassinate the High King of Palenor. There is to be a tribunal. The War Council has made this decision, not Tenebris.”
Thane slowly shook his head. “I will not go with you.”
“We want to hear your side. Are you going to run forever, hiding in shit holes like this?” He held out his arms gesturing around. “Being a coward who won’t face the repercussions of laws he swore to uphold?”
Thane’s arm twitched to raise his sword, but instead he gripped the handle tighter. It didn’t bother him to be called a coward, he knew he wasn’t, but he didn’t like the way Katmor accused him of things he knew nothing about.
“Don’t speak to him like that,” Layala snapped. “Your High King is a war criminal and the one who should be subject to a tribunal, not blindly followed. He has aligned himself with Mathekis and he will be the fall of this kingdom.”
Katmor turned his fiery gaze on Layala. “Hold your tongue when males are speaking.”
Thane growled quietly. That was not the thing to say to Layala. Before Thane could say anything, Layala threw her hand out and a black vine shot from her palm, wrapping around Katmor’s neck like a serpent.
“You want to say that again?” she snarled. “Males think they can rule over us because of physical strength, but guess who holds the power between me and you, pig?”
Tifapine clung to Layala’s leg but held out her stubby middle finger. “Pig,” she repeated.
“Poor choice of words, Katmor,” Thane said. “You’re the only one who needs to hold his tongue, or I might cut it out.”
The clatter of Katmor’s sword hitting the ground was loud in the quiet shock of the soldiers. He choked for air and clawed at the vine tightening around his neck. “Thane, please,” he gasped.
“It’s not me you should be asking mercy from.”
Katmor’s eyes shifted to Layala as if seeing her for the first time. “Lady Lightbringer,” he wheezed. She must have eased her magic’s hold because he said easier, “Please release me.”
She raised her chin slightly. “I’ll let you go if you get on your knees and ask for my forgiveness.”
“Layala,” Aldrich said slowly. “Remember whose fate rests in your hands.”
Without uttering a word, Layala thrust out her other arm and vine shot forth, coiling around Aldrich’s chest and neck like a boa constrictor. “Your fate by the looks of things.”
One of the soldiers lifted his sword; Thane held up his hand. “Don’t.” With wide eyes, and a back step, the soldier lowered his weapon. “What’s it to be, boys?” Thane’s smile couldn’t have been broader. “Your future queen commands respect.”
Katmor slowly lowered, one knee hitting the ground, then two. Aldrich’s red face began to turn a dark shade of purple before he followed the general’s action. He looked up at her, his fingers dug into the vine strangling him and a white milky substance oozed around his nails. The satisfaction this brought Thane was beyond words.
“Please forgive my disrespect,” Katmor said.
Aldrich pressed his lips together like a stubborn mule.
“You’re both going to walk outside,” Thane said, and lifted his finger, pointing down the hall, “and tell your soldiers to let them go.” Neither of them moved.
Thane laughed. Katmor always was a stubborn bastard, and he likely believed that Thane would be more merciful than Tenebris. Aldrich knew better. When it came to Layala, mercy wasn’t in his vocabulary. “Snap their necks if you wish.”
“Wait—wait.” Katmor crawled forward to clutch at Thane’s pant leg, his ragged breath growing weaker. Aldrich’s bloodshot eyes were fixed on Layala as if she might give him grace if he didn’t break from his stare. He was in for a rude awakening.
The magical vines slowly twisted more until Katmor couldn’t pull in a breath at all. “Thane,” he wheezed. Her magic eased off. It appeared Layala wanted to give him a chance to live.
Layala shrieked and the vines went slack, falling to the ground. Thane whipped around to one of the soldiers with a handful of her hair and a sword pressed against her throat with enough pressure it indented her skin.
“Help the general!” the soldier shouted. “Save Aldrich.”
It took a lot for Thane to truly lose his temper and a blade at her throat snapped what little patience he had left. His magic flared like a lightning strike through him, coursing through his limbs with a buzz of energy. He thought about breaking the bones in that soldier’s hand, and not a moment later, a snap and sickening crunch followed. The soldier cried out in pain, his sword clanked to the ground and Layala shoved away from him. Shaking, the soldier held his wrist, eyes fixed on his fingers curling in the wrong directions, and Thane snapped his forearm, too. He screamed louder as his arm sagged. He stumbled back into the wall mouth agape in horror. The other soldiers backed off several steps, including Katmor and Aldrich scooting backward. “No one ever learns, do they? I put the word out long ago that I would kill anyone who touched her.”
“Thane, wait,” Katmor blurted, reaching for him like he could stop what was coming.
The soldier’s head twisted with a quick jerk, and he collapsed, never to rise again.
With a snarl, Thane whirled around. The soldiers charged in attack, and blind with fury, he slashed his sword across the chest of the closest soldier. A chilling wail followed, and then another, and another. Warm blood arced through the air, splattering on his cheek. Screams barely pierced his senses. The ringing of metal on metal an all too familiar tune. His swords hacked and slashed, finding their way through armor, crunching through bone. Not one of them would make it out of this corridor, alive.
Only when no one fought against him, and unmoving bodies in useless armor littered the floor, and his boot splashed in a puddle of scarlet liquid, did he notice Layala staring at him with wide, surprised blue eyes. She’d never witnessed him like this, never seen him lose himself to war up close. He’d hidden this side of himself from her, afraid she’d reject him.
He breathed heavily and pulled away from her stunned expression. Fear tugged at his insides. Would she run from him now, repulsed by his wicked side? It was strange he worried more about what she might think than what he did, slaughtering his own kind like they were nothing but hogs. But it was them or her, and it was no choice at all.
He moved a body with his foot, searching among them. When he didn’t see that traitorous head of blond hair, he said, “Where the hell is Aldrich?”
“I—I,” she stuttered, “I don’t know.” She shook her head, snapping out of her stare and looked down the hall. “He must have snuck away. Oh, shit!” Terror flashed across her face, and she took off in a sprint.
Thane took off after her, his heavy breath coming faster with each step until she burst through the door at the end and blinding sunlight lit up the windowless corridor. They stood side by side, looking up and down the congested street. There were no soldiers holding their friends captive. No soldiers at all. Drops of blood led to the right and disappeared among the many people roaming from one seller’s canopy to the next.
Some onlookers gave Thane confused stares. A woman grabbed her two children’s arms and dragged them from him as quickly as possible. Thane grunted and swiped his hand down the side of his face; it came away covered in crimson.
“He was bluffing,” Thane said with a snarl. “He never had them. And the little bastard got away.”
Thane dipped his hands into a small basin of hot water and splashed his face. The scent of Layala’s arousal still lingered in the air, refreshing and nostalgic like rain hitting the ground after a hot summer day. An involuntary shiver wracked his body as he rubbed water over his arms to wash away the still-wet blood.
Layala shoved clothes into a brown leather bag and looked up at him. He was afraid he’d see revulsion there, or maybe even fear after what he’d just done. He’d wiped out those soldiers—his soldiers swift and without remorse, no matter how they begged. But her soft gaze told a story of understanding—of knowing. “Where do you think the others are? And do you think it was Alisara who told Aldrich? He mentioned her by name.”
He glanced out the window. A raven perched on the ledge, digging its beak into its wing feathers. It was strange and ironic the creatures seemed to follow him wherever he went. “Maker only knows where the others went. I’m hoping word of the raid on this place will have spread and they’re already at the stables or headed there. And no, I don’t think Alisara did. She was in the room with us when the fight broke out. Aldrich was already on his way here. He only said that to get a rise out of us.”
Tif hiccupped loudly, drawing his attention. She tipped a bottle of wine, pouring the maroon liquid into a thimble. Maker, that girl was going to be his undoing. She was as vexing as a toddler but with the capabilities of an adult. “Put that down.”
She froze like she’d been caught stealing and grinned. “Just one teensy weensy sip? I need to drown out what I just witnessed, although I’m already drunk so I might not remember in the morning. Is it morning?”
“I think you’ve had enough teensy weensy sips.” At least this wasn’t the first encounter of violence Tif witnessed, or she might be even more dramatic. He snatched the bottle and set it on the other side of the room. “Aren’t you supposed to be a lady’s maid? You should be packing.”
“Oh.” She tipped her thimble back and sucked it down. “Right. Better get to my duty. Mama always said slackers better be good packers because they’ll be packed up and moved out.” She tapped a finger against her red bulbous nose. “You know, maybe that’s why she kicked me out of the hole. I always thought it was because I wasn’t a good baker. Although I do make a mean lemon zest cookie. Even she can’t deny that.”
“I thought you left because you had dreams of being an elven lady’s maid,” Layala said, slipping the strap of the bag around her shoulder.
“I did. She said I was always dreaming and not working when she threw my bag out the front entrance and sent me right after.” Tif shrugged. “Left—kicked out, same difference. Truthfully, I’m glad she did. Look at what I’ve got to do because of her.”
Thane threw open the door. “Let’s go.”
They hurried down the creaky stairs. The bodies were still in piles on the floor, but someone had lined them up and put white sheets over them. It was a real prick move to start a fight and leave a bunch of bodies for his friend Kail to clean up. He stopped outside the doorway that led into the main dining area. An apology and a hefty payment were in order. But what he saw inside froze his momentum and he stepped back, pressing himself against the wall.
Layala’s brows pulled closer. “What’s wrong?”
He held a finger to his lips and pressed his arm across her chest to ease her against the wall behind him. Slowly, he slid until he could see inside. There were only two people in the room now. A scaled, taloned hand wrapped around Kail’s neck. Varlett’s golden hair was tied back and her usually brown skin was replaced by shiny black dragon scales. She was partially shifted, and a three-inch poisonous talon stroked under Kail’s chin. Shit. In this form, Thane didn’t stand a chance of penetrating those scales with his sword. And if outside the woods weeks ago was any indication, she was impervious to his magical attacks or at the very least, she had a resilient shield. Layala’s vines hadn’t gotten through, and she’d escaped the thorny cage easily.
“I know they were here. I can smell them, even over the stench of this place. They were at this table. What did they want?”
“They left after the fight. And they only wanted a place to lay low.” Kail’s voice was shaky.
“I’m only going to ask one more time.” Her talon pressed into the soft flesh just below his jaw. “What did they want? They could have gone anywhere yet they chose to come here.”
Thane gripped the doorframe harder. Don’t tell her. Don’t tell her.
His throat bobbed and he sighed. “They wanted to know where to find the All Seeing Stone.”
Her amber cat-like eyes narrowed. “Mmm of course. Who has it? I know a little worm like you has heard. And before you consider lying, know I can taste lies.”
Kail closed his eyes, pausing a beat before answering. “Lord Brunard.”
Varlett smiled. “What a good little boy.” She patted his cheek lightly then her long nails scraped along the tabletop as she stood. “You’ve really let this place go, Kail.” Her heeled boots clicked loudly on her way outside. The door slammed shut behind her and Kail sagged into the booth and let out a long breath.
“She’s going after the stone,” Layala whispered beside him. “We need to get to it before she can. If we don’t, we’ll never find out how to get rid of the curse.”
“That will be difficult considering she can fly.”
