Page 48 of Lady of Doom and Devotion

Or is he simply bluffing to try to get his way?

Gods help me, if I could run this man through right now, it’d put an end to this entire mess.

But I don’t even know that for sure. How deeply does his followers’ fervor run now that he’s stirred it up?

My fingers tighten around the hilt of my sword, but I leave it in place, locked in uncertainty. Could I offer something in return, a partial acquiescence that wouldn’t betray Petra and her siblings but would buy us more time?

Thankfully, getting out of this wretched scenario isn’t entirely up to me. As I grapple with my thoughts, a crackle of lightning-like energy blazes through the air.

The bolts slam into all five of the villains in front of me.

Even as my heart leaps, the sparks fizzle out against some kind of magical shield wrapped around Lothar’s body, as well as that of his two closest followers. They barely twitch at the impact.

But the other two figures aren’t so protected. A woman at Lothar’s left and the man holding Ivy jerk and crumple with the surge of daimon magic.

The knife slips from the man’s fingers, and Rheave is there, abruptly visible and yanking Ivy to her feet.

Her body trembles, and her eyelids flutter open.

The burst of magic must have jolted her too, back into at least partial consciousness.

My gaze snaps to Lothar—and my gift tickles at the back of my eyes with a sudden flash of imagery that shows me the wretch’s next move.

“Pull back,” I holler, wrenching out my sword. Rheave has already scrambled backward a few paces with Ivy before Lothar has a chance to snarl and spring at the two of them.

The magic Sabrelle blessed me with might not work as impressively as it once did, but I’ve never been gladder to have it.

In the tiny window of opportunity I bought him, the daimon spins to the side and thrusts out his arm. He hurls another wallop of sizzling energy at our attackers.

The flare doesn’t penetrate their protective magic to char their bodies the way I’d like to see, but it does heave them back several paces. Lothar stumbles into his companions, knocking them all onto their asses.

I raise my sword, but I don’t know if the blade could penetrate Lothar’s shield any better than Rheave’s magic has. And every second we linger is another opportunity for him to bring his own sorcery to bear.

“Run!” I shout to Rheave, and dash over to help him support Ivy.

Our lady thief has gotten her legs into somewhat working order. She only needs a little help balancing as we sprint around the nearest corner and duck into the first alley I spot.

There’s no time to find another sewer grate, and I’m not sure we’d be better off down in the enclosed space now that Lothar is on our trail regardless.

Rheave propels out a question between his ragged breaths. “Where do we go now?”

Before I can answer, Ivy lifts her head higher. Her voice comes out slightly slurred but determined. “Can’t go back to Petra. Can’t risk leading them there.”

As little as I like it, I have to agree. “She’s right.”

We hustle on in a weaving path through the streets. I peer at the buildings around us, my mind whirling. An uncomfortable sense of certainty fills my chest.

I don’t want to take this step, but I can’t justify the danger I’d be putting our entire cause in if I don’t.

I set my jaw against my own misgivings. “We need to leave the city. We’re too compromised—we can’t guarantee the royal family’s safety here. I’ll have to signal Alek and Casimir the way we agreed.”

We always knew it might come to this—that our situation in Florian might become so precarious we had to make a hasty exit. I just hadn’t expected the conflict to reach that point so quickly.

Ivy nods, and I retrieve my locket from my trousers. Still jogging, I press the pane inside the hinged pendant, pause, press it again, and repeat the sequence once more.

The series of three pulses in quick succession will tell our friends that something’s gone wrong—wrong enough that they need to evacuate the future queen, her siblings, and all our other allies who’ll join us.

As Ivy said, we can’t risk returning to Tinom’s tenement building. We’ll have to count on our comrades to gather the possessions we left behind.

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