With a shout, Reyna jumped back, heart hammering. The figure swung again with a strength that caught Reyna off-guard. In fact, everything about this new arrival made her unsteady. He wore the dark leather armor of the prince’s guard. His emblem had even been etched into the front. A thick golden helmet hid his face from view, but he was clearly someone loyal to the Air Court.
She ducked low, placing a hand on the stone floor to steady herself. She needed a moment to think. While she had plenty of training with the blade, a small dagger was all she had. His reach would far exceed hers, and his thick armor would help protect him from her blade.
But she was quick and she was smart and she had fought far worse than this.
More footsteps filled the air, only these came from directly behind Reyna.
“I appreciate the escape route, princess,” Ula shouted on her way past.
Reyna ground her teeth. Out of the corner of her eye, a blur of grey streaked past. There was nothing she could do. Not when the prince’s guard loomed over her with a sword.
The guard raised his sword high, the sharp end held right over her head. And then he threw all of his weight behind his blow. Reyna threw herself sideways, rolling on the floor. She shot out an arm as she moved, her blade slicing through his right leg.
She smiled when he screamed.
Jumping to her feet, she threw another blow toward his left side. The tip of her blade deflected off his armor. Frowning, she jumped a few steps back, just as he swung his sword wide.
She rushed him half a second later, holding the end of her hilt tight against her stomach with the end of the dagger sticking outward. With a roar, she slammed into the guard, chest against chest, her blade pointed up halfway toward the ceiling. It slid through his armor and into his gut with a horrible, squelching crunch.
His sword clattered to the ground as his eyes went wide. Gritting her teeth, she twisted the blade sideways, cutting through his flesh. And then she ripped it from his gut, pushing back his body with her boot.
He fell hard, blood splattering the stone walls.
“Princess Reyna?” Thane’s shocked voice echoed all around her.
She glanced up to see him standing halfway down the corridor, the flickering sconces highlighting the horror on his face. Now, her betrothed finally saw her for who she really was.
She smiled. “Sorry. He tried to kill me.”
30
Imogen
“Explain yourself,” the High Queen of the Air Court demanded. She perched on her throne, narrowing her eyes at the cluster of idiots before her. The past few hours had been a flurry of activity that had beaten away the more pressing matters on her agenda. The bloody ice fae girl had caused trouble again. It did not surprise her in the least.
Reyna stood below the dais, her silver eyes flashing with determination. The rest of the courtiers were busy at morning mass, all except Prince Thane, Lord Bowen, Princess Eislyn, and that warrior who was always lurking around. They all stood around Reyna, clearly uncomfortable. Court had yet to begin for the day. The tables were empty. The banners had not yet been replaced with a clean set. Still, it was a shock to see a princess standing inside the Great Hall wearing nothing more than blood-soaked silken trousers.
This one is far too fiery. Much like me.
“I was attacked and I defended myself,” the princess replied.
“A prisoner has escaped, and one of my guards is dead.”
A strange look passed across Reyna’s face. “Your guard tried to kill me. And that prisoner plotted to assassinate me.”
“Aye.” The High Queen leaned forward. “And your actions resulted in her escape.”
Imogen had heard all about the night’s activities. It seemed her son and his precious warrior friend had been particularly busy at dawn. The Lorcan lad had set a trap, luring the assassin into the Witchlight Woods. In the end, he had caught the culprit, and then he’d thrown her into the dungeons just as he should.
And then Reyna ruined it all.
“What did you hope to accomplish?” Imogen asked.
Reyna lifted her chin. “I wanted to find out who gave her the order to kill me.”
A hush fell across the Great Hall. With pursed lips, Imogen sat back in the chair of twisting vines. She heard the implication beneath Reyna’s words, even if she did not say it outright. Everyone in the entire castle knew by now what the girl thought, that Imogen wanted her dead.
It was clever, voicing the truth here in front of several witnesses. If the others did not have questions before, they certainly would now. Ula had been Reyna’s lady’s maid. She never left the castle. If someone had hired her, it would not be a great leap to conclude it had been Imogen herself.
