‘Oh shit,’ said the other defender, backing away from the wall.
Roul looked up at the same time a length of rope hit the ground beside him. He backed away, watching as more ropes were thrown down.
Not only were the sea warriors ashore, they were on the wall—preparing to descend.
‘Shoot as many as you can,’ Roul told the other defender as he took off at a run towards the turret, where the weapons were stored.
When he got there, he found Harlan handing out bows and quivers to both defenders and eager merchants.
‘Where’s Eda?’ Harlan asked when he caught sight of Roul.
‘I sent her to the shop.’
‘Let’s hope she stays there.’ Harlan handed him some weapons, then slipped a quiver over his head before snatching up a bow. ‘Ready?’
Roul already had his bow loaded and pointed at the wall. ‘Ready.’
As if on cue, sea warriors descended the ropes like cockroaches, greeted by around fifty defenders and a hundred-plus armed merchant men. The two commanders strode parallel with the wall, shooting the warriors from the ropes before their feet touched the ground. They worked methodically alongside the other defenders, but more warriors spilled from the embrasures, and soon there were too many.
Roul was about to ask Harlan where the rest of their army was but then realised he already knew. If the sea warriors were on the wall, they could be anywhere. The harsh reality was that merchants were the last priority. Food was number one. Without it, the entire kingdom would perish.
Harlan cursed loudly when an axe flew past his head. Soon it would be time to abandon their bows and draw their swords.
Roul looked behind him to the merchants. They would be no match for the warriors in hand-to-hand combat. ‘Return to your families!’
‘Where are the rest of the defenders?’ one merchant shouted back.
‘On their way,’ Roul lied. ‘Go. Quickly now.’
Thankfully, the merchants listened.
The first clash of weapons sounded farther along the line. Warriors surged forwards, shields raised and battle axes and swords ready. They descended on the defenders with a roar.
Roul drew his sword. The fighting had officially begun. He cut down anyone who came for him. There was nothing methodical about their approach now. They were outnumbered and had no choice but to take the fight moment by moment.
They were simply buying time.
* * *
‘I thought Commander Thornton told you to wait here inside the shop,’ Birtle said, following Eda to the door.
She looked back at the old man, who was rubbing his papery hands together. He was too old to fight warriors, and she could not bear to sit idle while the sound of fighting grew louder. She tapped her bow, the one she kept hidden under her old bed. ‘I’m just going to climb up onto a rooftop and pluck off a few strays, make sure they don’t make it all the way down to this end of the village.’
His watery eyes studied her. ‘Your family will never forgive me if anything should happen to you on my watch.’
The fact that he felt she was underhisprotection in that moment made her heart swell. ‘My family knows better than to blame others for my actions. I’ll be back before you know it.’
She stepped through the door and tugged it shut before he could object, loading her bow as she looked both ways down the abandoned street. Satisfied it was safe, she stepped off the veranda and headed in the direction of the square.
When she neared the end of the street, she slipped between the shops and used the alleyways to get closer to the fighting. She froze when she caught sight of the sea warriors. There were hundreds of them. Hundreds of themalreadyinside the borough.
Where were the rest of the defenders?
While she was watching, a group of warriors broke away from the fight and headed for the village. There was not one defender on the ground in the position to go after them—so Eda did. She climbed a wall into someone’s courtyard, then crept to the edge of the shadows. She stilled when she caught sight of the queen’s carriage parked outside of the goldsmith’s shopfront. Queen Fayre had told Eda she had business to tend to in the borough. Those had been her final words before leaving her standing in the middle of the street. It was possible she had not gotten out in time.
The four warriors circled the carriage, peering inside it and saying things she could not hear. They reached inside and kneaded the expensive red curtains, then looked in the direction of the shop. They knew the carriage did not belong to anyone who lived inside this borough. Its elaborate details and lush trimmings screamed royalty.
There was every possibility that Queen Fayre was trapped inside the shop.
