“No,” they agree. Their electric blue eyes hold mine, assessing. “You’re not. Which is why I’m still deciding whether that makes you very dangerous or unexpectedly useful.”
“Useful to whom?” I ask.
“To anyone tired of systems that survive only by sacrificing those beneath them.”
We slow as the music reaches its final pattern. Commander Kaelix releases my hand last, as if confirming something in the way I hold their gaze.
They bow with clear formality. “Thank you for the conversation, Lady Cyra.”
“Thank you, Commander. And thank you for avoiding my toes.”
A short laugh escapes them, unguarded and quick, before they recover their poise. The sound surprises me more than anything else that’s happened tonight.
As they return to their entourage, I feel their attention slide back to me once, assessing again, and this time with more interest than suspicion.
I’m making my way back toward Ren when the world explodes into chaos.
I don’t see them all at first – three figures in black emerging from the floating garden alcoves, their faces hidden behind combat masks. The attack comes from multiple directions at once, and the garden erupts into screams and confusion as guests realize this isn’t part of the entertainment.
The first blade nearly takes my head off.
I drop instinctively, the weapon whistling through the space where my neck was a heartbeat before. The golden train of my gown pools around me as I crouch, completely vulnerable in the elaborate dress.
The second assassin comes from my left, moving toward my exposed flank. I’m still off-balance, tangled in silk and fabric, when the third circles behind me.
That’s when Ren explodes from the crowd like a force of nature.
She moves with inhuman speed, her black leather a stark contrast to the elaborate gowns around her. The first assassin never sees her coming – her blade takes him in the throat before he can bring his weapon to bear. Blood sprays across white marble.
“Get down!” she shouts, already spinning to assess the remaining threats.
I flatten myself against the garden floor as steel and force fields ring out above me. The second assassin adjusts, coming at me from a different angle while Ren is recovering from her strike.
That’s when Lord Castor crashes into the fight like a battering ram.
His war hammer swings in a brutal arc, catching the second assassin in the ribs with a sickening crunch. The assassin staggers sideways, gasping, and Lord Castor follows through, bringing the hammer down again – this time connecting with the assassin’s skull. The man drops without a sound.
“Told you I had your back, Princess!” Lord Castor roars, already pivoting to find the next threat.
The third assassin hesitates, seeing his companions fall so quickly.He makes a desperate calculation and lunges for me anyway, blade extended toward my throat.
Zevran intercepts him.
He comes from the side, tackling the assassin with enough force to send them both crashing into a decorative fountain. Water explodes upward as they grapple, the assassin’s blade skittering across wet stone. Zevran gets on top, pinning the man’s weapon arm, then drives his fist into the assassin’s face once, twice, three times with brutal force.
The assassin bucks Zevran off, rolls to his feet, and produces a second blade from his boot. He comes at Zevran in a flurry of strikes, forcing him backward.
Both Lord Castor and Ren move to help, but a fourth assassin – one we didn’t see – emerges from behind a topiary and engages them.
The third assassin sees his opening. With Zevran momentarily off-balance and the others occupied, he turns back toward me.
His blade cuts through the air toward my heart?—
—and stops mid-swing as shadows pour from the alcoves.
Lucien steps out of the darkness, his shadow magic wrapping around the remaining assassin like black ribbons. The assassin struggles, clawing at the darkness that coils around his throat, his limbs, lifting him off the ground. Lucien’s eyes have gone terrifyingly hollow – empty voids where his dark gaze used to be. His face contorts into pure fury as the shadows tighten.
The assassin goes limp.
