I scowled at him, and his smile deepened.
The king finally snapped from his frozen stance. "Something's not right." He whirled around and pointed at me. "You saved my life. Come with me."
"Father, I don't think—" The crown prince protested.
"It was not my guards who stopped that blade," the king declared, striding toward the gate.
Ferris peeled his brother's hand off his tunic. "What's not right?" He asked, darting after his father.
Blinking in surprise, I gripped my sword hilt and hurried after Aenir's royal family.
A few guards surrounded us as we departed the gates. Rain pelted their helmets and streamed down the steel. I caught my reflection in one as the lightning flashed again.
My hood was down, and my braid had fallen loose. The king must have known I was a woman.
He'd spoken to me like he hadn't cared.
As though he'd sensed my thoughts, the king's pale-green eyes landed on my face. "I did not think they allowed women into the Shatterblades."
"They don't," I said.
His eyebrows shot up, then he smiled.
Fire sputtered in the torches, fighting against the rain. Buried in the storm, I saw the governor of Kentoro standing in the center of the road, barking orders.
He wiped the rain from his eyes. "My lord, it's not safe out here."
"Where's Killian?" The king demanded.
"I don't know." The governor shook his head. “We found three more assassins. One's dead; the other two bolted."
Drawing my blade, I moved to the king's side, scanning the rain-drenched streets for movement.
Two elk came thundering down the southern road. Expecting trouble, I raised my sword, ignoring the sting in my bleeding arm.
One of the elk riders hung back, but the other threw themselves off their mount and tore off their hood. A mess of long white hair spilled loose, drenched from the storm.
The crown prince stepped forward. "Mare?"
Mare lowered into an unsteady curtsy. "Prince Laiserian. Your majesty." Her voice shook. "What's happening? The city looked like it was on fire. Have they reached this far?"
The king's eyes widened. "They?" He snapped. "What happened in Galasvar?"
The violet lightning in the sky intensified the woman's strange purple eyes. Deep, murky.
Something in my heart tugged, like I was meant to go to her.
"It . . . I—it's gone," Mare stuttered. "Monsters from Ceortha swarmed the streets. W-we're the only ones who survived."
The governor jabbed a finger toward her. "Nonsense! Nothing like that has happened in all our history?—"
"Go to Galasvar," Mare shouted, voice quivering. "And tell that to their corpses!"
The king stiffened. "Tell me everything."
Straightening her back, Mare launched into her tale of blood and death, of monsters attacking like legions of trained men.
Ferris bumped into my side, leaning his head against mine to whisper, "You might want to lower your sword."
