Page 5 of Seven Ways to Kill a King
In the darkness, he grabbed her reins, pulling the horse to a juddering stop. The gelding, Wolf, let out a soft grunt and tossed his head. The horse was out of breath, while Miri’s was tight in her chest.
The guard leaned in close. “Bean,” he said again.
Miri nodded, her grip easing on the reins. She had herself under control.
The man let loose his hold on Wolf’s reins then drew his horse a step away before dismounting. In one swift motion, he pulled the bridle and saddle to the ground then raised a hand to smack the bay on the rump.
“Wait,” Miri whispered, glancing at the darkened forest for a sign… of what, she wasn’t sure. “What are you doing?”
The guard’s head turned, and his hood fell, but his features were unclear in the darkness. She could just make out that he was giving her a look.
Thom had said that she could not go on Charlie because Charlie knew the way home. He’d meant for them to ride farther than just the forest between the town and the cliffs. “Thom said—”
“Thom did not know our plans. Keeping them secret is the only way to assure you’re safe.” She opened her mouth to argue, but the man stepped closer. “He was only providing for whatever route we chose to take. We are not bound to any paths aside from those free of kingsmen.”
Miri’s mouth went dry at the reminder. Then she realized what his words meant. “We’re going to the port.”
“No,” he said levelly. “The port isn’t safe. Too many kingsmen are searching the ships.”
She gritted her teeth. “I’m no fool. There is only one way out of this town, and if it’s not by ship—”
“I did not say it was not by ship. I said the port isn’t safe.” He was silent for a moment then added, “We do not have time for this. Dismount.”
Her fingers tightened on the reins, and for a heartbeat, Miri had the urge to kick the beast hard and run away. The man meant to take her down the cliffs, load her onto a ship, and escape to sea. A spare bit of moonlight glinted in the man’s eye, and Miri knew he would be too fast for her. He would catch her. He could force her, if Thomas had ordered it. But she took a breath, because that was wrong, and she knew it. Thom had protected her since she was a child. Miri trusted him with every part of her being. If he’d sent the guard to protect her, that was what the man would do, even if the cost was his life. He was sworn to it.
She threw her leg over the back of the horse and landed softly in the tall grass. The man before her was bloodsworn. He was not Thomas’s man. He was hers.
Metal glinted in the moonlight. It was the edge of a sharpened blade, and Miri’s hand went to her hip, fingers around the handle of her dagger before the man’s words registered. He’d said, “We need to cut your hair.”
She stared at him, her eyes finally adjusting to the sparse light filtering through the canopy. It was dark in the forest but not as dark as Miri had ever seen—not as dark as the places she’d hidden. “Why? No one knows me.”
His voice was low, as quiet as Wolf’s and Milo’s purring breaths. “It will be easier if you present as a man.”
She understood then, suddenly and with a sickening jolt in her gut. “They don’t know I’m a woman. The men on the ship.” Gods, that meant he didn’t trust them. It meant they were not his men.
His mouth drew down at the corners, a strange and familiar motion. Miri stepped closer, turning so that when he looked at her, his face reached more of the light. Her hand came up to her throat. The curve of his jaw had gone square and stubbled, his nose was straight and sharp, and what had once been a boyish crooked smile had formed into a hard line. His face was full of the angles of a man, but it was him.
“Christopher?” she asked, her voice a hoarse whisper.
His dark eyes flicked to the forest then back to Miri’s own. “It’s Cass now.”
Cassius,she remembered. That was the boy’s middle name. But he was not the child she’d grown up with, not the boy who’d played at swords in the gardens at court. He was a man, broad and brooding, and by all appearances resigned to his duty at the cost of his life. Thomas had not sent Miri off with merely a queensguard. He’d sent her off with one who’d been raised by the Lion Queen herself.
“Gods,” Miri whispered.How long has it been?The memories crashed into her, the way they always did, drowning her in heartbreak and remembered blood.
“That life is gone now.” Cass’s voice was still low but filled with resolve. “Please do not say it again.”
That name would get him killed. He’d gone into hiding, like her.
She nodded slowly.This is all my fault.
He raised the knife once more, but Miri held up a hand. The fear and sickness had given way to something else. Cassius was a queensguard. To him, her word was law.
“I’m not going by ship.”
He squared off to face her. “How else do you expect to escape?”
Miri’s hand twitched but did not tighten to a fist. “I’ve no intention of escaping. I’ve run from this long enough.Toolong.”
