Oliver cheered for me when I disarmed two guards at once.
Just when I began to think we could win, a burly guard rushed me. My legs buckled beneath me and I flew backwards, over the back of a kneeling man. I landed with a thud on the unforgiving ground. My satchel dug into my hip and poor Shiksa fled for the safety of the trees. Kicking my legs up and out, I flipped over my back and jumped to my feet once again.
“Give up, girl,” a guard snarled at me. “We have you surrounded.”
“And yet, you are outmatched.” I flicked the blade of my new opponent into the air, high over his head. Guards dove out of the way as the sword came soaring back down.
I spun around to meet my latest challenger. He was a tall young man with a grave expression. “Woman, see reason,” he began as I swung out at him before he could make the first move. Our swords met midair, singing through the clearing with that sharp clank of metal on metal.
As we moved around the clearing, battling until sweat dripped down my temple, I glanced at Arrick who fought just as vigilantly. If he did not give up, how could I?
I remembered my training with Father Garius. Endless hours of practice and discipline. I remembered my favorite line from one of the thousands of texts on war I had to read. “Your muscles will grow tired. Your mind will whisper to give up. Your enemy will try to convince you to quit. But in your heart you will know the truth. You will know you are just one move from victory.”
I let my mind become a tunnel of focused energy. I moved faster than I ever had before, my body darting to the left and then to the right with precise motions. The guard struggled to keep up with me, his hands faltering at just the right moment for the tip of my blade to reach his throat. “My good sir,” I hissed, “see reason.”
I enjoyed the widening of his eyes for only a moment before Arrick’s shout of frustration shook the mighty trees.
He knelt in the middle of the clearing surrounded by guards, their swords pointed at his head. His sword rested on the ground at his feet, but his arms were held out to the side.
I stared in horror, waiting for the kill command. And that was my downfall. Had I not been more concerned with Arrick’s life than my own, I would have noticed the guard sneaking up on me.
A massive hand wrapped around my waist and wrist, wrestling the sword from me in seconds. I fought back, bucking my body against the anchor of his and nailing his nose with the back of my head.
He dropped me with a shout of pain. I rolled out of the way as blood spurted from his nose. My sword had been taken, but I could still fight. I scrambled to my feet and lifted my arms, readying for hand-to-hand combat.
I would get out of this. And I would see that Arrick made it out as well.
“Enough!” Haeman yelled and I felt his words directed at Arrick. “Enough of this foolishness. The king has demanded your presence. You will cease this pointless bickering and go to court!” To his men, he commanded, “Take them to the wagon and lock them in manacles. I have no more patience.”
Men closed in around me. Someone started to drag Oliver from his mount. Arrick watched me with anxiety bright in his gaze.
I glanced around the clearing, sure there was some way to escape. There was nothing but trees and branches and two royal armies. They would soon search us. And in doing so, they would find that one thing I was so frantic to keep hidden.
Wait.The crown.
My fingers played along the edges of my satchel. If they took the Crown of Nine from me, I would have no claim to it. But if I…
I lifted my chin and held myself with whatever regal air I was capable of. “Stand back!” I commanded. The men were so surprised by my command that they obeyed. I resisted the urge to smile. “Unhand my friends, now,” I told them. This time they ignored me. “Unhandmy friends and let us go.”
My hand disappeared into the depths of my pack, diving straight to the hidden compartment at the bottom.
“Give up, m’lady,” Haeman groaned. “You have lost. Do not be a sore sport. I’m sure that once the prince is—”
But I was not listening. Once I had decided on my actions, my limbs had begun to tremble and I quaked with fear, but also with purpose.
Arrick’s voice rang out above the others, but I paid no attention when he shouted, “Tessana, don’t!”
I shut out the doubts that screamed through my head and pulled the Crown of One Hundred Kings from my satchel, holding it high for all to see.
There was an audible gasp as the men around me shrank back from the sight of the lost diadem. Whispers rippled through the clearing.
With unsteady hands, I set the crown on top of my head and blinked away tears that had an origin I could not define. “I am Tessana Allisand of the house of Exentia, the rightful heir to the Elysian throne and the Seat of Power over these Nine Kingdoms. You will do as I say, or I will strike each and every one of you down.” My voice only wavered once, but my hands continued to quake as I dropped them back to my sides.
I hadn’t realized my eyes had shut until the crown settled low on my forehead and the weight of it rocked through me like a powerful storm.
There was power in this gold, in these gems. It buzzed through me, bringing my blood to life. I opened my eyes and found the guards around me agape. Even Oliver’s mouth hung open.
“But you are dead,” Haemon whispered.
