Page 68 of Blood On His Lips

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We waded through blood and bodies, and Nora's words returned to me.“I have seen bodies splattered against a wall when someone dared get between a High Lord and his claimed one.”

I had thought myself immune to carnage. I had thought I'd seen the worst the city had to offer.

I had been so, so wrong.

“The faire is clear of anyone living,” Numair said, having gathered the warriors left on the faire grounds. “We have healers checking everyone else for signs of life.”

“We need to evacuate the city,” I said. “Where’s Édouard?”

“We signaled him. He’ll come once Lord Étienne is secure.”

I shook my head. “We don’t have time to wait.”

“What are your orders, Lady?” a warrior from House Wyvenne asked. He wore plain clothes, but I recognized the physical stamp of his House on his features.

“We need to gather enough forces to guard against House Montague in case they decide to back up their High Lord with swords. And the rest of you need to focus on evacuating this city. We cannot engage. Mounting an offensive would be suicide.”

I didn’t swallow, though I was tempted to allow the bile roiling in my stomach to come up. It was a fleeting temptation, one I suppressed as the familiar rhythm of strategizing enclosed me, steadied me, clarified my vision.

“And what do we do about the Prince?” Juliette asked. “We can't simply let him rampage.”

“I'll hunt the Prince.”

Funny. Just—an hour?—ago, I had been determined to excise him and never enter his presence again. I supposed that intent had been the last gasp of my dying naïveté. There was no escaping Renaud.

I’d put my cards on the table, so he’d raised the stakes. I had really thought, for a few minutes, that he was going to let me go.

“Are you certain, Lady?” the Wyvenne warrior asked in the tone of someone carefully choosing their words.

I lifted a brow. “I am the only one he may not so quickly kill on sight.” And we had unfinished business.

“Forgive me,” a female warrior with bronzed brown skin and uptilted golden brown eyes said, “but word has already spread that you repudiated his claim, Lady.”

I studied her expression. “You’re Montague.” There was no doubt in my mind.

“I joined my partner’s House, Ramonne,” she said. “But yes, I was born of Montague.”

“And will Montague mount an offensive against the rest of the city?” Baroun and I had our alliance, but I could not count on it holding up under the weight of his cousin’s fury.

“I don't believe the destruction of the city, and its citizens, is what Lord Baroun wishes,” she said. “It's my belief he would instruct the House to evacuate as well, then attempt to approach the Prince himself.”

“Then Lord Baroun is a fool.” A grim smile curved my lips. “Though no more fool than I. You're correct. This rampage is on my head, and yet I am still the only one for whom he would delay killing out of hand. Even now, I don't believe it's my death he desires.” At least not a quick death, and not until Embry’s murder was revealed.

“Then will you be bait?”

“I'll be whatever bait is required to give you all the time to evacuate the city.”

I glanced at Juliette and Numair’s set expressions. They wanted to argue but would not undermine me. “Move out.”

“I'm not leaving you,” Numair said, his words staccato with restrained aggression. At least he'd waited until everyone had scattered to begin his disobedience.

“You're with me until I close in, then you'll have to retreat. I mean it, Numair. If he sees you, he will kill you.”

“The Guard—”

“Have orders to capture me, not kill. We want them to drag me into his presence. I can’t be bait from a distance.”

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