A few sentinels pitch their heads up to look at the high parapets of Honor Tower, probably imagining swinging there by their necks.
I have a modicum of sympathy for them. Once, I was a Golden Sentinel myself, so I know that half of them are just farmers who had a bad crop and needed coin.
There’s a tense moment where no one quite seems to know what to do. One sentinel starts to shrug out of his bow strap, as if to surrender, but no sooner does he lift the strap over his head than General Mallik swipes a crossbow from a nearby fighter and aims it square at his chest.
He lets a bolt loose, killing the man.
At the same time, Rian lunges at the gate again, trying to get his bound hands through the bars to grab Gaez. Mallik acts fast, turning the crossbow on Rian.
Kendan dives forward to grab Rian by the scruff and haul him out of range. It all happens fast. To most people, it would be a blur, but my senses let me see everything in painstaking detail.
Mallik grins wickedly as his eyes dart from Rian to Kendan—then swings the crossbow to target the elder brother instead.
“Fuck!” I shout, slamming my elbow into Rian, which causes him to tumble sidewise into Kendan, knocking Kendan out of the crossbow’s primary trajectory.
Instead of hitting his heart, it lodges in his right shoulder instead.
Kendan drops to one knee, clutching his arm, grimacing in pain—but he’s a trained soldier, too. He knows how to take a hit. And he’s smart enough not to lean against the gates for support, where he’d get a knife in his side.
“Kendan?” Rian’s voice rises an octave. “Brother!” He drops to his knee.
“The Lord of the Iron Banner is injured!” one of our soldiers yells, and from one breath to the next, everyone has a weapon at the ready.
Fuuuuck, I think to myself. This was not supposed to go down like this.
“Hold!” I shout, lifting my hand to command the soldiers not to attack through the gate. Once fighting starts, I know, it won’t stop until half of us are dead. “Hold, by order of your king! Archers, at the ready. Swordsman, get into position.”
The soldiers stir at the command; it’s been years since they had clear military leadership, if not decades, other than to march in parades.
But they quickly fall into step, taking up the positions.
Gods, they almost look…inspired.
“Now listen, you bastards.” I draw my sword and thrust it in the Cold Coins’ direction. “I’ll give you to the count of three to seriously rethink your plan going forward. Until now, you’ve been stray dogs loose in the city. But the fae have risen, and they’ll be in our kingdom faster than you can fuck a whore. I’m here now, and I’m done playing games. Surrender.”
The Cold Coins don’t bat an eye to hear such language from a king. Gaez merely uses his short sword to scratch an itch on his chin as he belches out a bubble of cheap brandy. “I’ll take my chances with the fae rather than bow a knee to the likes of Wolf Bowborn.”
A silent groan rattles in my chest.
So, he wants to do this the hard way? Well, fuck it. When has it evernotbeen the hard way?
I mentally scan through my assets in the courtyard, from the number of soldiers to the weaponry to the horses, ready to give a formation command.
When…
“You bowed tome, asshole, under penalty of death. Remember that?” Rian’s voice cuts like a knife. There’s a layer of playfulness, the Valvere charm, but beneath it, all I hear is pure seething fury.
I know what happens when Rian uses that tone.
“Fuck,” I bite out, whipping around toward where Rian crouches on the ground next to his wounded brother.
Rian is crouched, making himself look small, but I see the glint of metal in his fist.
It’s the crossbow bolt from Kendan’s shoulder.
I step forward to stop him from doing something stupid, but I’m not fast enough.
Rian raises his bound fists, the bolt hidden between his fingers, and throws it with perfect, calculated aim.
