Page 129 of Twin Crowns

Rose didn’t notice the small room at the back of the Vault until the keeper leaped in front of it, his mouth foaming like that of a rabid beast. He swung again, nicking Wren in the shoulder. “Your curses will not work here, witch!”

Rose took off her shoe and flung it at the keeper. “Take that, you wrinkled old buffoon!”

Wren blew a stray curl from her eye, spotting her sister. “I need a weapon, Rose. Something I can actually use!”

With a mighty roar, a Gevran soldier came thundering around the back of the altar.

He gasped once, then collapsed like a felled tree.

Shen appeared behind him, dusting his hands. He pulled his dagger from the soldier’s back and cleaned it on his cloak before tossing it to Wren. “How about this?”

Wren beamed as she caught it. “This is why you’re my best friend.”

Shen was already gone; he was halfway across the altar now, embroiled in a fight with four burly Gevrans.

The keeper slashed his poker, sending a shower of sparks raining down on Wren. “Back! Back! Back!”

Wren arced around him. “Cover me, Rose!”

“How?” cried Rose. Oh,goodness. She whirled around, searching for aweapon of her own, only to find herself face-to-face with King Alarik.

“Youare supposed to be on my ship,” he growled.

Rose screamed as he seized her arms. Across the altar, Shen spun around at the sound of her distress. “Rose!”

The Gevrans seized on his distraction and lunged, tackling him at the waist and knocking him to the floor.

Alarik dragged Rose away, kicking and shouting, just as Willem Rathborne emerged from the room at the back of the Vault, where he had retrieved Sanguis Bellum, the Protector’s ancient sword, from its safe. Rose glimpsed him hoist it up, his savage expression reflected in its shining steel. The Kingsbreath and the keeper closed in on her sister, until Wren was pressed up against the blazing ceremonial plinth, with nowhere to run and no one to help her.

Rose shouted for her sister, but she was already halfway down the aisle, her cries muffled by Alarik’s hand.

There was a flash of lightning, followed by a thundering roar as the doors to the Vault burst open and a howling storm swept in. The beasts roared in terror, with soldiers on both sides falling out of combat to look up. The air crackled menacingly before spitting out another fork of lightning.

Rose screamed as the altar was blown apart. She was thrown backward, pinwheeling through the air until she crashed headfirst into Celeste. She sat up in a daze just in time to see Banba lead the witches of Ortha into the Protector’s Vault. Relief poured out of Rose in a strangled cry, but it was chased by a rush of fear, not just for her grandmother but for every witch who had come to fight.

The wind, fierce and rising, came with them.

“The witches have returned to Anadawn, and this time, we are not leaving!” bellowed Banba, and all the winds of Eana bellowed with her. “Drop your weapons and stand aside, or prepare to meet your precious Protector in the next life.” The old witch’s cackle soared, the wind carrying it to every corner of the Vault.

“What an entrance,” said Celeste dizzily. “Whoisthat?”

“That is my grandmother,” said Rose, with no small amount of dread. Banba had come to Anadawn with fire in her eyes and revenge between her teeth. If they didn’t do something fast, she would lay waste to everyone around her, including the people of Anadawn, and the Silvertongue River would run red with their blood.

King Alarik emerged from behind an upturned pew and staggered down the aisle. “At long last. A witch truly worthy of my attention.”

Banba didn’t even glance in his direction.

“Show yourself, Willem Rathborne!” She conjured another fork of lightning, splitting a pew down the middle with an almighty crack. Rowena and Grady stood behind her, adding their own gales, while Rose spied Bryony and Thea lingering at the back, nervously surveying the carnage. “If you want to fight us, then draw your swords and fight us here and now. We will not wait for your ambush. We have come ready for war!”

“And that goes for you Gevrans, too!” shouted Rowena. “We don’t fear your king or your beasts!”

Alarik’s glittering gaze was still fixed on Banba. If he was intimidated by her display, he didn’t show it. Rather, he looked positivelythrilled. “Why would power like this fear anything but itself?” He whirled around, searching for his soldiers in the fray. “Forget the others! SEIZE HER!”

Without even glancing in his direction, Banba flicked her wrist and sent the Gevran king careening into a wall. “Where are my granddaughters?” A wooden rafter cracked in two, the chandelier dangling precariously above her head. And still, the storm thrashed. At the back of the keep, Chapman struggled to his feet, only to be swiftly knocked out again by a soldier. “If any harm has come to either one of them, all of Anadawn will pay!”

While the last of the palace soldiers fled in a panic at the sight of the witches, the Gevrans fought their way toward them, straining against their storm. The witches pushed them back, casting the Gevran beasts aside as they advanced farther into the Vault.

“WREN! ROSE!”

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