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I reeled around. Tucked behind the thick oaks, a Shield Rider had Jordis pinned. Jordis was on a direct path to the knoll, spear in hand. Doubtless, the woman was aiming toward Ingir, much the same as Roark, merely from the other side.

I ran for the rider, cutting at thighs and ribs as I sprinted for Nivek’s wife. By the time I made it to the tree line, the Shield Rider was off his charge and had the rim of his shield tucked under Jordis’s chin.

She kicked and thrashed.

Blood dripped from the rider, his skull, his hand, his arm. Open wounds.

“Unfettered bitch,” he snarled. “What I could do to tame a savage like you.”

I let the seax in my hand fall. In the next breath, I clambered up the rider’s back, using his straps and leathers for grip and footing.

He shouted in alarm and stumbled. I curled my arms around his throat, clinging to his neck for balance, then pressed two fingers against the gash on his head. Brilliant gold cords of craft dug into his skin, more rapidly than normal. The roar of craft was deafening in my skull. The touch held more heat.

It was as though the power in my blood knew what was at stake and went to battle with me.

The rider screamed when the thin side of his skull cracked and shifted, melting into the hinge of his jaw. I twisted his bones, shrinking his skull with every shift. Jordis kicked the shield off her body.

Her eyes burned. She snatched her spear and thrust the point through the innards of the rider. The man stumbled, his head misshapen enough that his eye sockets had shifted and his nose looked as though it sagged on his face.

Blood fountained over his lips.

He landed on his knees. Jordis’s lip curled when she ripped her spear from his belly. I released the rider and let him fall facedown.

My shoulders heaved. I doubled over my knees.

Jordis placed a palm on my shoulder. “You are horrifying.”

I grinned. “As are you. Are you going for the Jorvan queen?”

“Roark needs her gone, and I can aim from quite a distance. Elisabet said she would go for Nivek’s uncle, his killer, once the queen is gone. Then we all point our blades at Fadey.”

I would claim Fadey. It felt as though fate demanded it. “I will keep your path open.”

Jordis didn’t argue. She simply nodded, and together we raced through the trees.

50

Roark

Darkness called to me.

It pounded against my bones, fueled my hate. The talisman was heavy against my chest, but Sindri’s craft was fading. The frenzy of the imprisoned monster within clawed and writhed, desperate to find a way out.

I took out the rage with my blade.

Every Stav wore the face of Virki. They fell back, gaping gashes in their throats. My bloodlust turned their features into Damir’s. I cut through their chests.

Fadey burned from behind their eyes. I ran at them, bringing them to the ground. Before they could fight back, my ax split their skulls.

I had two objectives in this battle: kill as many of the faces I kept seeing as possible, then find my wife.

Thane battled one of the Stav captains nearby. In Stonegate, the prince was rarely able to use his prowess with a blade because of Damir’s protectiveness over his heir. Thane yearned to fight alongside the Stav but was forced behind walls, left to fire his arrows no one knew about from our old tree fort.

Only I knew how formidable he could be. As boys we would spar in secret. As I improved, so did Thane.

This, though, this was a new man I’d not seen before.

The betrayal was written on his bloodied face, but it was his face that gave him an advantage. With each opponent, Thane shouted for them to heed his word to cease fighting. And each Stav who faltered then met the end of Thane’s sword.