With the Lord Commander.
Why has she not shared her worries?
Short of calling the Briny God with the Sacred Stone, he would bet his life that Sigvid is alive and well.
Even if Queen Avina is the only person restraining the Beast from charging into Kaldrgataness.
What cuts deepest is her despair that Calder would ever harm Sigvid.
One of Lavinia’s guard's throats suddenly rips open, spraying blood onto the Queen of Skalor. Two more guards fling their heads back and drop to the floor. The soldier on the dais beside Aura spins, looking for the mysterious attacker, but an unseen force slices his neck open, too.
Suddenly, Aura vanishes, and he suspects they have uncovered the missing Thora.
Calder slams his fist into the soldier beside him, freezing all those who seek to restrain him.
A bloodied and vicious Thora suddenly appears at his side, tugging a hissing Aura beside her. The Lady Commander withdraws a throwing knife from a man's neck with a snarl.
“Move!” Calder yells, signaling Edmund and Gunni to join them, and the group rushes out of the longhouse.
More Royal Guards approach from up the street, closing in on the five of them.
“To my ship!”
The few townspeople who had been in the longhouse rush out onto the pier armed with weapons lifted from Lavinia’s guards.
Calder frees Freyja from his back when he catches Lavinia’s handmaidens hurrying her toward her ship docked on the opposite side of the pier from their crew.
A gentle touch stays his hand. “We need you more!” Aura cries over the clanking and groans from the fighting.
He pivots between her and the women undocking Lavinia’s ship.
This isn’t over, Mother.
They advance toward the far end of the dock, where more of the Queen’s warriors stream onto the decking.
“Princesses! Invisible!” He shouts, clutching Aura’s hand.
She whispers her request quickly, which Briny and Maeve must grant instantly.
Theseidrfalls chilly against his skin, as if a cold rain douses his body. Her shimmering hand reaches out to clutch Edmund. The invisibility power of the Sacred Stone extends to the three of them as they run down the pier.
Up ahead, Thora and Gunni vanish as she uses her Keeperseidrto conceal them both.
At last, they reach the end of the wharf to find theWicked Wyvernswaying against the calm waves of the Bay of Souls.
Aura releases him and Edmund from her concealment. While Edmund joins Thora and Gunni defending the dock, Calder helps Aura into the vessel, despite her complaints that she can manage on her own.
He isn’t taking any chances.
Calder jumps aboard when he is confident they have evaded the troops. Deftly, he unties the sail and places the oars in the water.
When he turns around, Gunni, Thora, and Edmund remain on the dock with their weapons raised, but they do not move towards theWicked Wyvern.
“What in the Abyss are you doing?” He demands. “Get aboard!”
Gunni wraps his arm around Thora’s waist and kisses her cheek. “We discussed this earlier. Our group is too large for discreet travel. I’m sorry, my Jarl, but you and Princess Aura must begin the journey. We will handle things here.”
“Don’t worry, cousin. I am too beautiful to die.” Edmund laughs, spinning one of his axes in his hand.
