Something in his eyes darkened, but he nodded and they began their walk back to the inn, Finn shuffling tiredly between them.
The music and laughter faded as they moved from the brightly lit square, leaving the streets feeling dark and strangely cold. Perhaps that’s why unease prickled her skin when Vera saw the cluster of men gathered in front of the inn.
Drink sloshed in bottles and mugs as they chatted and drank, and she was a little surprised to hear them speaking Devendran.
A chill skated down her spine as they drew closer to the inn, and she recognized the men as the same ones they’d encountered on the road yesterday. The gray-haired man wasn’t among them now, but there was no mistaking the others in the light that spilled from the inn’s front windows. There were four of them.
Her breath caught as the men twisted to face them. A couple of them straightened in their seats, while others came to their feet.
Venn tensed beside her, but he didn’t stop walking toward the inn door.
“Hey,” the man in the forefront said. “Zennorian. It’s you.”
“Still with our women and children, I see,” another said, his words slurring.
One of the men stepped in front of Venn, halting him. “Where are you going so quickly?”
“Let us pass.” Venn’s voice was low, but braced with steel.
“Why?” the man blocking him asked. “So you can hide behind the woman and her children again?”
Tension cracked the air, making it hard for Vera to breathe. She saw Finn clutch the hilt of his belted dagger, and she quickly set a hand on his shoulder, stilling him.
Venn’s hold on Sarah was tight, his jaw hard as he regarded the larger man in front of him. “Don’t do this. You’re drunk and you’re angry, but you don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“Wrong.” The man rolled his fist, and his knuckles popped ominously. “I want to hurtyou.”
Venn eyed the other men who had eased closer to flank their friend. “At least let the woman and children go inside.”
Oh, fates no. Venn was a royal bodyguard, but he was dangerously outnumbered.
“No.” Vera’s heart thudded almost painfully as she shifted, putting herself between Venn and the threatening group of men.
Venn hissed her name and his hand flashed out to grab her arm, but Vera dug in her heels, refusing to be pulled back.
She glared at the drunken men, praying that her trembling knees would be hidden by her skirt. “He’s a Devendran, just like you. There’s no need—”
“He’s not just like me,” the man countered, his breath soured by ale. “Do you know what the Zennorians stole from me? My wife. My children.” He glared past Vera, his rage focused on Venn. “With the fates as my witness, I’ll make at least one of them pay.”
Venn’s grip on Vera’s arm flexed, but she remained where she was. “I’m sorry about your family,” she told the man. “But Venn did nothing to you—or to them.”
“Wrong. He breathes. That’s enough.” The man’s expression hardened as he glared at her. “Get out of my way, girl.”
“Vera,” Venn said, his voice hard. “Take the children inside. Now.”
She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Sarah was blinking awake as Venn eased her to the ground, his eyes never leaving the man in front of Vera.
Finn quickly snatched Sarah’s hand as the little girl frowned at the men. “What’s going on?”
Indecision tore through Vera, making her gut lurch. If she ran with the children, Venn would be left alone with these men. They would hurt him—it didn’t matter how skilled he was, or if in the end he could beat them. She couldn’t just leave. But the children were too vulnerable, and maybe she could get help inside . . .
She didn’t get a chance to make a decision. One of the men on their left made a grab for Venn, and Finn dove forward, his knife flashing in the silver moonlight.
The blade caught the man’s hand, and he wrenched back with a curse.
That was all it took.
One of the other men roared, and yet another kicked at Finn.
