Blake touched his arm, and he stilled. ‘Lyndal can’t hold her.’
Harlan’s mouth flattened into a thin line. He hesitated, then carefully placed Eda on her back. Blake made sure not to buckle under the weight.
‘Don’t venture too far into the crowd in case there’s panic,’ Harlan said, voice low.
She searched his eyes. ‘Why would there be panic?’
He tucked the cloaks around Eda. ‘This will all be over soon. Just try to be invisible until then.’ He marched off before Blake could reply.
She watched him until he disappeared into the turret, then looked around. Defenders had formed a circle around them. Dread swirled in her empty stomach.
Candace rubbed Eda’s back and gestured to the prince, who had emerged from his guards and was preparing to speak. ‘Here we go.’
All eyes were on him now, except Blake’s. Her gaze travelled the length of the wall, looking for Harlan.
‘It is time to bring an end to the suffering of my people,’ Prince Borin began. ‘I have been very patient, praying those responsible for the death of my father,yourking, would be handed over so we could all move forwards together.’ He paused, eyes sweeping the crowd. ‘But it seems you are quite determined to protect the identity of those responsible.’
Blake and Lyndal exchanged a look of concern. Did he really think people would say nothing while their loved ones died?
‘Look at the bodies piled beneath me,’ the prince continued. ‘That is the cost of your deceit.’
The crowd remained silent. Not one person standing before him had the energy to disagree. They just blinked against the rain. A servant stepped forwards with a piece of stretched canvas and raised it above the prince, shielding him from the weather.
‘Since you all seem intent on wallowing in your own suffering, it falls to me to move the process along and get the answers we all seek.’
Blake adjusted her grip on her sister.
‘What’s he doing?’ Lyndal whispered when the prince gestured to one of his guards.
‘I don’t know.’
The defender loaded his bow, approached the embrasure, and took aim at the crowd. Astin shifted beside the prince, appearing uncomfortable. No one in the crowd moved, because no one was expecting what happened next.
The prince nodded once, and the defender released the arrow, shooting a middle-aged man through the chest. The woman standing at his side screamed into her hands as he collapsed to the ground. Nearby merchants reared back as if his death were contagious. A ripple of panic surged through the crowd, people knocking into one another. Blake gripped Eda tighter and looked around. The line of defenders surrounding them meant there was no way out.
‘One death every minute until the killer is brought to me,’ Prince Borin shouted, his face turning red. ‘How many of your friends and family are you prepared to watch die for this treasonous cause?’
People looked between one another with helpless expressions. No one knew what to do.
Lyndal positioned herself in front of their mother, fighting back tears.
‘He can’t just kill people,’ she said, head shaking with denial.
But the prince gestured again, and the archer shifted his bow to another part of the crowd. Screams rang out when another arrow whistled through the air and struck a woman in the neck. The crowd surged towards the port gate this time, which was still closed.
‘God save us,’ Candace cried, pressing her eyes shut.
Lyndal’s grip tightened on her. ‘He’s going to kill us all.’
Blake watched as the archer drew another arrow and aimed it at the centre of the square. At any moment it could be one of them. Was Blake just supposed to stand there and do nothing?
‘Be invisible,’ Harlan had told her.
Had he known what was about to happen?
Blake lowered Eda to the ground and passed her to Lyndal and her mother. ‘You have to take her.’
More screaming as another arrow was released into the crowd.
