Page 94 of A Shattered Kingdom of Steel

Shooting to my feet, blades back in my hands, my mind goes utterly still. All I can do is survey the perimeter, alert for any signs of the threat.

Then I see them.

“Oh, gods,” I murmur, horror taking hold.

At least a dozen crepulnai, barely visible in the darkness, seep from a shadowy pit suspended above the town square. Like dark phantoms, they move with unnatural swiftness, as if the very air itself crumbled to their will.

“To the horses!” Asheros commands. “Now!”

“What?” My voice rings out like the crack of a whip. “No! We have to help the townspeople.”

The others look to Asheros, their expressions void of color.

“We can’t leave,” I say, my tone firm.

“You’re in no position to fight,” he counters. “I can see the crepulnai’s touch drained you.”

“I’m fine,” I grind out, masking the heaviness that bears down on my limbs.

“You’re not fine. We’re leaving.” Asheros’s tone matches the hardness at his jaw. His diamond irises pierce mine, sharper than any sword. Unyielding. “If you attempt to fight them, you will die, Lymseia.”

My anger rises to my cheeks. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to run away with my tail between my legs.”

“We are not prepared to survive this,” he tells me, imploring me to consider his words. “I will not—I cannot let you act on a death wish.”

“We’re all these people have,” I shout. “How can you even think about leaving innocents to be slaughtered?”

“I’m not going to argue with you, Bladesinger.” Before I can react, Asheros bends down, takes me in his arms, and throws me over his shoulder.

Chaos erupts around us, the streets a flurried mess of panicked people. Crepulnai whirr around them, striking down the ones who aren’t fast enough.

“Put me down!” I demand, banging my fists to his back.

He moves quickly, dodging humans and crepulnai. The others follow close behind us, their grave, hurried demeanors igniting the spark in my chest.

“Asheros,” I scream, yelling until my voice runs ragged. “Let go of me!”

Asheros pays me no mind. The tension in his shoulders is proof he’s utterly focused on our surroundings. I resist his hold. Gripping me tightly, he hesitates for a moment and then sprints forward.

When he stops, he swings me off his shoulder and onto the back of our horse in one fluid motion. In an instant, he’s up behind me, arms caging me in from both sides. Tugging harshly at the reins, he spins us around.

Our horse breaks into a gallop.

Keeping his gaze trained ahead, Asheros maneuvers us through the pandemonium. I writhe against him, but the wall of hard muscle behind me and at my sides holds me in place. I give up once we break through the tree line some distance away where the dense forest grants us refuge.

Even this far away, the screams reach us.

I can’t bear to listen.

But the sound of Lyndhaven’s cries take no mercy on me, left only for the gods to hear.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Idon’t know how long we ride in silence. Asheros’s stony demeanor is firm at my back, his mouth set in hard lines.

Arms wrapped around my abdomen, I look away from him. What just happened—what we just did—goes completely against everything I stand for.

Everything I was taught to uphold.

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