He glanced in that direction, then gestured towards the castle. ‘Better get you inside.’
Borin was now marching towards the merchant gate, his bodyguard following at his heel.
‘Let’s go,’ Roul said.
The women looked at each other, then followed the king.
‘You’re only going to piss him off,’ Roul called to them.
The girls ignored him and continued on. As they drew closer, Lyndal saw there was a decent crowd gathered at the gate, pushing and shouting. Two defenders stood at the front, shoving them back.
‘What in heaven’s name is going on here?’ the king shouted. ‘Get those merchants back from the gate at once.’ He turned when he heard Lyndal approaching behind him. ‘What are you doing here?’
She was so used to his rude tone now that it barely registered. ‘Seeing if there’s anything I can do to help.’
He scowled, turning back to the merchants.
A woman pushed between the guards and flung herself at the gate. ‘Is it true?’ she screamed, eyes on the king. ‘Did you sell our food to outside the wall?’
Borin paled. ‘Take your crazy accusations elsewhere, and get off my gate.’
Lyndal’s heart slowed. They knew. It had only been a matter of time before people found out the truth, and that time was now.
‘You come here!’ the woman screamed. ‘You come out here and look at what you’ve done.’
Lyndal rose up onto her toes to see what the woman was referring to, and her chest squeezed when she spotted three dead children laid out at the defenders’ feet. Her heels dropped to the ground, and she turned to Roul. ‘I need you to go inside and tell Queen Fayre what’s happening out here. Take my sister with you. She’s safest with you.’
‘I’m not allowed to leave you unguarded,’ Roul said.
Lyndal pointed to the defenders on their side of the gate. ‘Do I look unguarded? Go. Queen Fayre will know what to do.’
I’m not leaving you,Eda signed, but Lyndal was already walking off in the direction of the gate, where a defender had drawn his weapon. He was hitting the woman through the latticed wood with the hilt of his sword.
‘For the love of Belenus,’ Borin shouted. ‘Get back.’
‘Stop hitting her,’ Lyndal called to the defender. ‘Can’t you see she’s grieving? She’s unarmed.’
‘He killed them!’ the woman said, her bloodied knuckles around the wood. ‘He’s going to kill us all.’
Borin marched forwards. ‘You dare slander my good name.’
Lyndal moved closer to the gate, hands going over the woman’s icy fingers. ‘I’m so sorry for your loss.’ When she heard the king approaching behind her, she whispered. ‘Move back. They’re going to hurt you if you don’t move back.’
Misery-filled eyes locked with hers. ‘This is our fight, not yours.’
Lyndal flinched when a spray of something warm hit her face. She wiped at her cheek, then looked down at her fingers.
Blood.
It was not until her eyes returned to the woman that she noticed the blade through her throat. Lyndal followed it all the way up to Borin’s twisted face. She gasped when he yanked it free, then watched as the woman slumped against the gate and slid to the ground.
Lyndal blinked, unable to move.
Then noise poured in. Screaming, cursing, weeping. The merchants on the other side were holding their heads in disbelief.
‘She was unarmed,’ Lyndal said, her voice barely carrying.
Borin brought his face close to hers. ‘This is what comes of your interference.’
