She swung her belt at him, unable to get to her feet. She had put up a good fight. At least she would die in a manner she was proud of and be remembered. That was something.
Just as she was resigning herself to her fate, she heard the thud of arrows hitting flesh. Her attackers stilled, and Eda saw the arrows protruding from them. Chest and stomach. They each took a few unsteady steps backwards as they surveyed the damage.
Eda snuck a glance over her shoulder and saw Queen Fayre now tucked safely between two defenders beneath the portcullis, gesturing for her to come.
Scurrying to her feet, Eda sprinted for the gate.
CHAPTER15
Finally, more defenders arrived, a hundred of them emerging through the royal borough gate and joining the fight. Their uniforms were still clean, their energy fresh. Roul’s uniform was washed red, and his arms and legs shook with exhaustion. He snuck a glance at Harlan, whose face was blood-splattered and slick with sweat. He looked ready to fall down.
It all felt easier once the other defenders joined the fight. The warriors’ attention was divided between the old fight and the new. Their distraction was welcomed, and the soldiers fought and killed until there was no one left to fight or kill.
When the last sea warrior finally collapsed to the ground, the defenders stood looking around at the mass grave, chests heaving and feet shuffling on the bloodied street. The air was metallic, as nauseating as the visual.
‘The other boroughs?’ Harlan asked a nearby defender. They knew nothing of what was happening elsewhere, and his first concern was Blake and Luella.
The defender wiped blood from his eye. ‘Last I heard they were secure, Commander.’
Harlan exhaled. ‘I want this borough checked. Every house, every nook. There may still be warriors inside.’ He looked to Roul.
‘Go,’ Roul said. ‘Make sure they’re all right. I’ll go to the shop and check on Eda.’
Harlan nodded. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ Then he jogged off.
‘Get the injured to the infirmary,’ Roul instructed one of the defenders. He bent, wiping the blade of his sword on a warrior corpse before sheathing it. Then he made his way towards the shops, where merchants were slowly opening their shutters and doors, emerging cautiously to survey the damage. But every shop appeared to be intact.
The day had delivered surprise after surprise. He had woken prepared for another day of training and had instead watched Eda almost die at the hands of a criminal, then fought a battle no one had seen coming.
And then there was the kiss.
The kiss that had followed the almost kiss. The kiss she had insisted on and he had been terrified of. The kind of kiss that marked a person. He had known it would. He had been drawn to her long before that moment, long before she felt it. That was why he had said no. He knew tasting her would be another anchor to this place, another anchor to her. But she had pushed, and his objections had been pitiful.
He stopped when he spotted the queen’s carriage parked outside one of the shops. The driver circled the horse, checking it for injury. Only then did it occur to Roul that Queen Fayre might never have made it out of the borough in time. He jogged over, slowing when he noticed the corpses trailing up to the door. ‘Where’s the queen?’
‘At the castle—I hope. I was told to hide, so I hid.’ The driver scrubbed a hand down his face. ‘They killed the goldsmith, but his wife managed to hide in time. She says a woman came for the queen before they broke the door in.’
‘A woman?’
The driver nodded. ‘I’m heading to the castle now if you want me to take you.’ His eyes moved over Roul’s bloodied uniform. ‘Or to the infirmary perhaps?’
Roul should have accepted the offer of a ride to the castle, but instead he turned away and broke into a run towards the Suttones’ shop located at the other end of the village. When he arrived, he found the door locked. He pounded on it. ‘Eda! Open up!’
There was an eternal wait as someone fumbled with the latch before finally tugging it open. Roul’s stomach fell when he caught sight of Birtle’s face. ‘Where is she?’
The old man held on to the doorframe, his head dropping slightly on an exhale. ‘She wanted to help. Said she would only shoot from a rooftop. Promised she would come back.’
Roul was already walking away. He stepped down onto the street, not bothering to check the rooftops, because he knew Eda was the woman who had come for the queen. She would have seen the carriage, and she would have done what Eda did. Shelovedto play the hero. And now he needed to find out if she had been successful.
He moved as fast as he could manage back through the village, across the square to the guard at the gate. ‘Is Queen Fayre inside?’
The guard straightened. ‘Yes, Commander. She’s unharmed as far as I’m aware.’
‘Was there a woman with her?’
The defender waved a stretcher through before replying. ‘We held the gate for a woman at Her Majesty’s request. I haven’t seen her since, so she’s likely still inside.’
Roul was hanging on his every word. ‘What do you mean, you held the gate? Did they not arrive together?’
