Page 98 of The Dead Queen

All around us, archers draw their bowstrings and soldiers unsheathe bronze swords.

Tristan’s eyes meet mine, urgency blazing. Hunter’s lips tighten into a thin line. He nods, a silent understanding forming between them. Then he draws his sword and steps forward, facing his father with a stance I’m sure he’s practiced a thousand times in the training yard.

“We will not.”

“Wonderful,” Malen says flatly. “We’ve travelled too far from the palace to go back without a little fun.” He nods to his men and they begin inching toward us.

“Run,” Hunter says to me, bracing himself for the fight.

“Not without you.” Panic rises in my chest.

He doesn’t take his eyes off the approaching enemy. “I love you, Sienna. Let me do this for you.”

Tristan grabs my hand, pulling, but I can’t leave my only friend.

“Hunter, no. Come with us!”

“You will have a crown someday.” Hunter’s eyes burn with intensity. “And I’ll do my part to get it for you.” He turns and charges toward the oncoming soldiers.

In a flash, our world turns black with shadow. I blink several times before I realize Tristan blanketed us in darkness. I can’t see Hunter anymore. I can barely see a foot in front of me. Beyond the shadows, I hear the clang of swords and the whoosh of arrows as archers shoot toward us.

“Let’s go,” Tristan says urgently.

“No!” I turn and push him full in the chest, but he doesn’t budge. An arrow pierces the ground, barely a foot away from my boot.

“This shadow won’t last forever, Red. We leave, now!” He grabs my arm and I wrench it free in my attempt to run toward Hunter, to help him.

With unrestrained strength, the Wolf picks me up and throws me over his broad shoulder.

“Put me down!” I pound on his back with my fists.

He only holds me tighter as he runs in the wrong direction.

Over the clash of metal and pounding footsteps, I hear Hunter’s voice. “Take care of her, Tristan!”

Tristan sprints toward the city ruins with me kicking and screaming. True to his word, the further we run from the fight, the more the shadow dissipates. At the crumbling wall, he skids to a halt and drops me to my feet.

“I need you to run, Red. You understand?”

My eyes keep searching for Hunter in the chaos behind us.

Tristan grabs my chin roughly, forcing me to look at him. “If you can’t focus, they’ll kill you.”

“But Hunter⁠—”

“Will die for nothing if you don’t escape.”

Tears prick my eyes, but I know he’s right. I nod.

As we scramble up the city wall, I can’t help but glance back one last time. My heart sinks. The shadow is little more than whisps of smoke now. Hunter is surrounded, fighting the knights who used to be his brothers. It’s a losing battle and we all know it. But that’s not the point. Hunter, with his noble sensibilities and courageous heart, is sacrificing himself so that Tristan and I have a chance to escape.

“Focus!” Tristan yells. His hand clamps around my wrist.

“But we can’t leave him!”

“Yes, we can.” His eyes bore into mine. “And we will.”

A soldier catches up to us and Tristan swings his bronze sword. The man falls over the side of the wall and his armor makes a sickening crunch on the rubble below. The sound of battle fades behind us as we plunge deeper into the ruinous labyrinth of Ellyll.