Page 17 of Forged By Heart and Claws
We needed to pull the waiting guards here so we could make our own trap. I glanced down the northern hall. It was broader, had fewer chandeliers, and had a lower, flatter ceiling. Winged fae would find flying harder. I could force the guards into the open where their numbers wouldn’t matter so much.I’ll lure them in.
Absolutely not!Vad scowled, his jaw working. He bashed a helmeted guard’s skull with the bottom of his hilt, knocking him against the wall. Another guard lunged, and Vad blocked the man’s spear with his sword, sending the weapon clattering to the floor.
Trust me. Get everyone ready.My claws clicked across the marble as I ran toward the northern hall with every sense raw–from the smoke, from being coated in my friend’s blood, and from the sounds of my friends and the beat of my whole heart, fighting to live.
Fear slammed through our bond as Vad realized what I intended, but I was fast.
I bolted straight into the hall, my guttural howl tearing from my raw throat. Despite my determination, my strides were uneven, but I pushed forward anyway.
Dark shapes flickered from around the next corner of the hall.
In the low light, I couldn’t make out faces, but the light reflected off some armor. Others moved like shadows in leather. Then the stench of sweat, oil, and blood hit me like a wave as five guards surged forward with their blades already drawn.
“She’s in beast form,” one growled.
Fattening into a crouch, I pinned my ears and whimpered, letting my tongue roll from my mouth. The blood dripping from my shoulder helped sell the illusion. I made myself look weak, wounded, and frightened.
Come on, assholes. Take the bait.
“Can she hear us?” one asked.
“She isn’t acting like it. Siln, shoot her,” a voice hissed. “If she’s running, they must’ve routed them.”
“Briar, get back here!” Thalen shouted from far behind me. His voice cracked with alarm, but I wasn’t sure if it was real or if he was playing along.
“Briar!” Vad bellowed from farther in. “Don’t go that way. We’re running east!”
I yipped and spun, then started racing back toward the chamber.
A sharp whistle cut through the air, and something grazed my back. Pain sliced through me as I dove between two pillars. The crossbow bolt clanged off the stone behind me, hitting hard enough to chip marble, then clanked across the floor.
I glanced back and counted the guards chasing me. Blood thundered in my ears. I linked to Vad,I’m coming straight in. Four of the fifteen men chasing me have crossbows. The rest have swords.
If any of them touch you, I’ll shred them,he snarled through the bond.And when we’re through here, you and I will have words.
As long as we live to have them,I linked and barreled toward the landing, the guards thundering behind me.
Vad stood with Veralt on the far side of the hall door, both ready to strike.
I slid through the arch and cut sideways at the last heartbeat, skimming the half wall that protected the stairwell. Pain flared through my battered body, adding to my torment.
Near the southern hall entrance, Silus and Thalen were battling three guards and sidestepping corpses. Quen dropped from the ceiling and landed on two men, driving daggers into their necks with ruthless precision. A wicked cut bled along her calf, but she didn’t slow.
“Don’t get in line of sight of the entrances,” Vad shouted. “Four crossbowmen are coming from the north.”
One leather-clad guard had taken up a position at the edge of the hallway’s entrance as if the wall would protect him. Not a chance. My muscles bunched as I launched myself at a crossbowman taking aim at Vyraetos from across the landing. My jaws closed on his forearm, bone crunching between my teeth. He screamed, and the weapon clattered away. I shook my head, tearing muscle.
"Behind you, Briar!" Thalen shouted.
I dropped the guard and spun. A blade hissed past my ear, missing by inches. I ducked low and lunged, driving my shoulder into his gut. He doubled over, and I shredded his face and neck, tearing him down to the black marble.
“At least another twenty coming from the south,” Rhielle yelled.
“Same or more from the east,” Thalen said, sliding out of the way. Bells rang deeper in the palace, a call to arms, and Thalen’s face said it all. We couldn’t hold them off forever. “They sound lighter and faster. The plated ones lag. So best to double that number to know what we’re up against!”
“Get back!” Vad snapped. He launched himself into the chandelier above the western entrance. It cracked with a sickening snap, and the whole thing tore free and smashed onto the floor, spilling oil everywhere.
Quen seized a hanging lamp and hurled it through the smoke and ruin. It struck with a clatter, and flames erupted, eating the leaked oil.
