I take my time examining the men before me. The air swirls with excitement and fear. “You are brave soldiers who fight to change the future of England. I do not know what the next few hours hold for us all, but what I do know is that your hearts are pure and strong.
“You stand up to tyranny and prejudice. Your names will go down in history, for you will be known as the men who saved England! So brave men, ride with me to right the wrongdoings and return England to her former glory!
“We fight!” I scream, raising my sword in the air. “We do not surrender!”
“We fight! We do not surrender!” the men repeat after me.
“God bless the queen!” Ulf roars, riling the men up.
“God bless the queen!” they repeat with as much enthusiasm.
I look at Ulf and nod in gratitude because no matter what happens, we’ve already won in my eyes.
With a cry, I thump my horse’s flank with my heels, and he takes off into a mad trot toward the castle. The men follow with Ulf by my side. When we are within a mile, Ulf blows the horn—the sign Aedan is waiting for.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two…
One.
An arrow skims past my head, embedding into a poor soul’s chest behind me. He is dead before he knows what hit him.
“Shields up!” I order as I cluck my tongue, coaxing my horse to ride faster.
More arrows soon follow, and after those, arrows with flames. I keep my eyes on the drawbridge because within minutes, it will be wound up. I need to be on the other side of it when it does.
I duck and weave in pattern, dodging the flying arrows. There are so many of them. Soldiers soon come charging out of the castle, swords raised. There are hundreds of them.
Exhilaration courses through me just as it always does when I go into battle. And that is why I will win. I fight with both my head and my heart.
Losing isn’t an option.
I wait until the row of eight trees comes into view to my right, and the moment they do, I lower my arm, hinting to the men in hiding that they’re to attack.
What we lack in numbers, we make up for in warfare. The English soldiers don’t see the men coming as they emerge from the tall grass and shoot with poisoned arrows. Thanks to a concoction the brothers brewed for me, even if the shot isn’t fatal, an arrow simply connecting with the flesh of a soldier will kill them within minutes.
I chose the men who shoot the arrows because they don’t miss.
Soon, soldiers begin to fall, and the battlefield echoes in pained cries.
Ulf and I continue riding as the drawbridge is frantically reclining. Aedan will hopefully be in the sewers, about to broach the surface.
I am betting everything on faith right now.
We are mere meters away from the drawbridge when men swarm Ulf and me. I swing my sword, connecting with their arms and heads, showing no mercy. I don’t see faces. I only see enemies as I kill them all.
Ulf follows suit.
The untrained soldiers don’t stand a chance.
We leave a trail of bloodied men in our wake as we reach the drawbridge in a frantic gallop. I slap down the reins, encouraging my horse to jump higher than ever before as the gap grows smaller and smaller.
He hesitates, but I slap his flank harder with my heels. He leaps high, but my stomach drops because I am not going to make it.
