His shock keeps him held in place even as his knees wobble beneath him. Wrapping my free arm around his torso, I slowly lower him to the ground just as he releases his sword, the clang of metal hitting the stone making me wince. But Sunis rattles herown chains in a moment of serendipitous luck, drowning out the alert that the guard is dead.
Searching for the other guard, I catch a glint of his silver armor near Bali’s head and crouch back down, pulling a short dagger from its place at my vest. I have never been perfectly precise with throwing blades as I’ve always preferred an up close and personal kill. But my luck with not being spotted will run out soon enough, so I wait until the guard with the missing ear is close enough that the margin of error should be fairly low, then stand and send the blade sailing through the air.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t embed itself in his neck like I’m aiming for but in hiseye. “Fuck,” I growl, boots pounding against the stone as I run, Navin’s crimson tipped sword held firm in my grasp. It takes a moment for him to realize what’s happened, his hand reaching up to pat at his face and the blood now streaming down it. His mouth opens to scream, the first note of his panic filling the distance between us before I’m there, metal slicing through his throat without resistance. He cuts off with a gurgle of blood as he falls to his knees, my arms reaching out to catch him before laying him down.
Heart pounding in my chest, I move closer to Bali and watch as two guards break from the group, mumbling something about the king. With six remaining, I plan out my route of attack, edging to the water basin next to one of the stakes holding Bali’s chains. The sound of fabric rustling plays to my left, and I spin with my blade lifted on instinct only to see the same blade held up across a broad chest mirrored back at me.
“I told you to fucking wait.”Navin. I take in the blood already painting his sword and the small flecks of it that dot the front of his chest as he tugs his mask down. “Gods above, Myla, what are you doing?” he whisper-yells, guiding us down into a crouch.
I pull down my mask so he can hear my whisper. “They are going to attempt to make Sunis bond. I need to get her out before they bring in more mages.”
“Father is already in the next compound picking out mages to come,” he says, shaking his head as his gaze moves to the guards spread out in front of Sunis. His eyes narrow. “Fuck, that is Commander Anya. He’s one of the morebrutalof the King’s Riders—”
“Do not worry about him,” I cut in, angling my body so I can see them all more clearly. “There are these eight plus another few at the front—”
“I took care of them.”
My brows rise at the challenging look he sends me. “I took care of two over there,” I say, tossing a thumb over my shoulder. “We need to kill them and unlock Sunis’s chains.”
“Anya likely has the keys as the one in command, but he’s not going to be easy to best.” Tense silence passes as we observe the guards. I’m fully prepared for Navin to warn that this is too much of a risk, and begin to form my own plan on how to take the guards down. Instead, he says, “You attack from the right, and I’ll come in from the left. Kill quickly to get to the commander but keep him alive.”
I smile as I tug my mask back up, my nerve endings alight with the anticipation of the kill. “I can handle all of them alone if need be.”
He moves his own mask into place. “I was able to sneak up on you.”
“That’s different,” I murmur, annoyed. “You trained me.”
He lets out a quiet snort. “Sunis, huh?”Fuck. I hadn’t realized I let her name slip with him. When I don’t answer, he gives another quiet laugh. “It’s a cute name. Don’t die.”
With that, we separate, Navin darting left as I take a path to the right, my steps quick. Rotating my blade, I lift my arm highas I make my way to the guard closest to me, the unsuspecting male only able to glance over his shoulder before I drive my sword in the gap between his front and back armor pieces. It doesn’t kill him right away, and his shout plunges the room into chaos as my presence is made known.
Drawing the sword out, I slide it against his neck, the sight of blood spurting from the wound all I see before I’m moving on. The next guard has a dark beard that frames his jaw, and he rushes at me with fervor, raising his arms over his head as he prepares to strike. I duck and spin, kicking him in his chest before he has a chance to bring the sword down. Another guard appears, his eyes feral as shouts sound a few feet away, announcing Navin’s arrival on the other side.
I tug a dagger from my vest and launch it in the direction of the newest male coming for me, elation soaring when the blade hits him directly in the throat. He falls, and I turn and lift my sword above me, blocking the swing of the guard I had kicked. “You’re no mage,” he says, gritting his teeth as he dances back, sliding a hand down to where a short sword is strapped to his belt.
I stop him with a flick of my third dagger, the blade implanting itself at his wrist with a wet thud. His screams echo out as I spin, adjusting my hold on the hilt so that the sword is angled straight down. Then I drive the blade right into his torso at his shoulder, watching his eyes widen in fear before his lids fall and he goes limp. Kicking him away as I draw my blade out, my chest heaves with exertion as I turn and find Navin engaged in a battle with Commander Anya.
My brother is as quick as I am, his movements graceful and fluid. A male with a gift for killing who wants to avoid it at all costs. But the commander is a worthy foe, and when his blade catches the outside of Navin’s arm, I run towards them to help.
Sunis lets out a wailing sort of growl, one higher pitched as it rattles the cavern around us. But I don’t spare her a look, not as I watch the commander send his fist into Navin’s jaw, tugging his mask down while silver arcs the air. I remind myself that Navin wants him alive, but as my brother stumbles backwards, I find that I’d rather see a commander my father lovesdead. I don’t need him to be alive to take the keys to Sunis’s chains.
I’m sure I’ve got him as I run towards his exposed back, but then he turns sharply and blocks my incoming attack, his strength evident in the return swing of his sword. I leap back and then charge forward again, engaging in a dance with him that causes metal to sing as our blades meet. Navin enters the fray again, his cloak snapping at his heels as we work in tandem to bring him down.
“Does the king know his son is a traitor?” Anya grunts, breaths labored.
“He won’t ever find out,” Navin answers, driving his sword forward. Anya dodges it, dropping and sending a kick my way before silver flashes and Navin arches back to avoid being sliced open. I find my balance again, sweat dripping down my spine as I lunge forward, only for my blade to slide against Anya’s armor.
“It won’t stop what is coming. You know this.” The last part is said to Navin. My brother growls as he dances forward, his brow gleaming as shorter strands of hair stick to it. I pivot and reach for the remaining blade in my vest, ready to draw this asshole’s blood. “The gods are finally showing us that we have reached their good graces again. The stain of your sister will no longer be something we suffer for.”
Navin shouts as he swings his blade, and before I can get my dagger flipped and ready to throw, he is backing the commander up, fury etched in his expression in a way I so rarely see from him. “Fuck you, and fuck what you think abouther.” His movements are quick, and then his sword is painted in the bloodof Commander Anya, the male standing for only a few seconds before he tips over and collapses to the ground.
Navin shuts his eyes as he exhales roughly, running a blood-stained hand through his hair. But I’m already kneeling at the commander’s body, searching for the keys. I finally find them tucked into the pockets of his trousers. Together, Navin and I run towards Sunis, knowing that I have no way to communicate with her efficiently without the bond. That knowledge doesn’t stop me from yelling her name, and her eyes immediately fall to mine, narrowing into slits as she growls beneath her metal muzzle.
Though she still pulls at the chains, she lets me get near enough to get a good look at the first cuff. The iron bands around the width of her ankle completely, locking in place by way of four latches. I go to reach for the first one and Sunis growls low in her throat, prompting my gaze back to hers. “I’m going to free you,” I tell her, presuming it yet again pointless but surprised when she doesn’t move her foot away from me. There are four keys on the ring, and only by pure luck do I happen to guess the right one. It slides easily into the first lock, the click ringing out as it pops open.
I move down the line of latches, and once I unlock the last one, I unclasp them and begin to pull on the cuff before Sunis realizes that leg has been freed and shakes it the rest of the way off, nearly hitting me in the process.
When she sets her foot back down, it’s a tentative movement but my search doesn’t show any injury. I make quick work of the cuff on her other front leg before moving to the ones in the back until all that remains is the cage over her snout. As if understanding this is the last barrier to her freedom, Sunis’s head lowers to a height I can reach just as a flurry of new voices infiltrate the enclosure.
