Astin was not going to play nice anymore.
Reaching for the knife strapped to his calf, he shot to his feet, throwing it at the soldier who had killed his mother. It struck him just above his steel chest plate. The moment the knife left his hand, Astin was reaching for his bow. The other soldiers drew their weapons now, but they were no match for a defender. Astin released five consecutive arrows—and he did not miss. The men cried out, two slipping from their saddles and slamming into the ground. None of them would be any help to his stepfather now.
Cooper’s breaths came a little faster. He should have stayed on his horse. He looked around, weighing up his options.
‘There’s nowhere you can go right now that I won’t follow, you sack of shit.’
Astin dropped the bow and walked towards him, eyes flicking to the soldiers to make sure none of them were going to try anything cunning. But it was Cooper who tried to be clever. He drew a knife, deluded enough to think Astin was going to let him use it. Astin punched it from his hand and grabbed Cooper by his tunic, throwing him to the ground. His stepfather wheezed as the air was knocked from his lungs. Astin dropped a knee onto Cooper’s chest and drew his sword. Cooper struggled for a moment, then fell still when he felt the blade against his neck.
‘Go on, then. Do it,’ his stepfather growled, sending a spray of spit in Astin’s direction. ‘You’ll finally get to feel like a man.’
Astin looked into his eyes, hoping to see remorse, or at the very least fear. But all he saw was hate. ‘You think I need to hurt you to feel like a man? That’s where you went wrong in life. Hurting people doesn’t make you a man, it makes you an arsehole.’
Cooper strained beneath him, but he was no match for Astin.
‘Get it done!’ he shouted.
Astin stared down at him, not speaking for the longest time. Then, removing the blade from his neck, he took hold of Cooper’s wrist, pinning him in place. ‘You don’t get an easy death. First, you must pay for her death,’ he said, nodding towards his mother. ‘Then all the cruelty, every beating.’ He leaned closer. ‘And every time you forced yourself on my sister.’ He squeezed the wrists tighter. ‘Then you’ll pay for every merchant who has died because you gave away their food.’
Finally, some fear in his stepfather’s eyes.
A horn sounded, a deep noise that vibrated around them. The sound of fighting carried on the breeze.
‘You might have missed your chance,’ Cooper said, his lips turning up. ‘Here come the English.’
Astin looked to the road as a stampede of feet whispered along the ground to them. ‘It’s you who’s missed your chance.’ He looked his stepfather in the eye. ‘Because here come the merchants.’
Panic filled Cooper’s face, and he turned his head in an effort to see. Hundreds of merchants appeared on the horizon, clutching swords and homemade weapons. Astin rolled his stepfather onto his stomach, removing Cooper’s belt and binding his hands together behind his back.
‘Presley, Rose,’ he called. ‘We need to leave—now.’
Chapter 39
‘Stay close,’ Astin told Presley as he helped the girls onto one of the horses. ‘We need to get to the merchant gate as quickly as possible.’
Presley nodded and tucked Rose against her chest before gathering the reins. The moment Astin landed in the saddle they were off, riding through the paddocks in order to avoid the roads where the fighting was underway. When they reached the gate, they found a crowd gathered there, women and children pressed against the portcullis, begging to be let through. The defender Astin had spoken to earlier stood on the other side, hand resting on the hilt of his sword and feet shuffling in the dirt.
‘Why is he not opening the gate?’ Presley asked as she pulled up their horses.
That was a very good question. Dismounting, Astin pushed through the crowd until he reached the gate. ‘Raise the portcullis,’ he instructed the defender.
The guard shook his head. ‘There are English soldiers in the borough. The gate remains in place.’
‘You can’t leave women and children trapped in a war zone.’ Astin punched the wood. ‘Raise it!’
The defender still appeared conflicted until the warden’s voice sounded from atop the wall.
‘Get that gate up!’
Astin let out a relieved breath as the portcullis finally went up. He returned to his sister and niece, shoulders clipping shoulders as people moved in the opposite direction to safety.
‘Astin!’ Presley called. Rose was still in her arms, clinging to her neck.
He made his way over to them. ‘Stay inside until the borough’s secure. Understand?’
‘Where are you going?’ she asked, eyes searching his.
‘East wall.’
