The first one barks out a laugh. “Like hell you are. You might have been a king once, but not anymore.”
The others laugh. “You’re nothing.”
“We only answer to the Queen. It’s that or death,” one of the males at the back says in a solemn voice.
“You left us a long time ago, and now you want us to go down on one knee?” another one says. A female this time. “It’s not going to happen. Give up. You belong in the dungeon.”
I shake my head. “I can’t do that. I didn’t leave by choice.”
The first guard’s eyes narrow. “Lies.”
They come at me all at once.
I duck under the first sword swing, feeling the blade whistle past my ear. My body moves on pure instinct.
I grab the guard’s wrist as he overextends, twisting hard. He grunts, and his sword falls from his grip. I catch it before it hits the ground, the familiar weight settling in my palm.
Kakara’s cat, but it feels good to hold a blade again.
I spin, using the flat of the sword to block another strike. I don’t want to kill them. I just need to get away.
“Please,” I grunt. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I practically beg.
The closest one kicks me in my side. I stagger sideways, pain lancing through me. Another fist catches me in the jaw, snapping my head back.
I taste blood.
They’re strong and well-trained. And there are too many of them.
I slash out with the sword, not aiming to kill but to create distance. The blade catches one guard’s armor, screeching across the metal. He jumps back, giving me the opening I need.
I kick another guard in the knee. He goes down hard, cursing. I use his falling body as a shield, putting him between me and the others for just a moment.
It’s working. I’m holding them off.
Then I hear the thunder of boots as more arrive. It sounds like more than the four I counted earlier. There are too many.
I turn just as more guards pour onto the road, surrounding me on all sides.
My heart sinks.
“Look at him,” one of the new arrivals says, sneering. “The great Lost King.” He spits on the ground. “You’re no king. You’re a deserter.”
“A coward,” another adds. “You left us to her. Left us to suffer while you hid.”
Their words cut deeper than any blade.
“I didn’t leave by choice,” I tell them. “She cursed me. She took everything from me. My life. My memories…all of it.”
“All lies,” the first guard growls. “You ran. You abandoned us. And now you’ll pay for it.”
They close in, their weapons raised.
“Wait,” I say, backing up. “Please. You don’t understand—”
“We understand perfectly.” A blade flashes toward my throat.
I pull back, the tip almost grazing my flesh.
