Page 41 of The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom 2)

“Right shoulder.” Her voice was tight. “Go. Don’t let them get another lucky shot.”

Ignoring her, Aren slid his head and shoulder under her good arm. “Hold on.”

She tightened her hold, wrapping her legs around his waist, a slight whimper escaping her lips as her injured shoulder was jostled.

From above, bows twanged as Lara and Cresta exchanged shots with the soldiers, shouts of pain from below suggesting that the women were having more luck hitting their targets. Aren ignored all of it and climbed, grinding his teeth against the extra weight, his balance precarious and his strength not what it once was. He could feel the heat of Bronwyn’s blood soaking into his clothing, the scent of it thick on his nose, but her grip on him didn’t falter.

An arrow bounced off a rock next to his face, and faintly he picked up the sound of the soldiers below climbing, but he didn’t look down. Didn’t look up to see how much farther there was to go.

“I’ve got you.” Lara’s voice. Then Bronwyn let go of him, her sisters dragging her upward.

Aren’s hand found the edge of the cliff and he scrambled over, keeping low in case any of those below had held back any arrows.

Then they ran as fast as possible over the rough terrain, boulders and brush catching at their feet, Lara dragging Bronwyn.

“Run ahead and get the horses,” Lara whispered to Cresta. “They’ll be up the cliff in minutes, and there will be riders coming around from the south gate by now. We have to hurry.”

Cresta disappeared into the darkness, and Aren pushed next to Lara and Bronwyn, pressing a hand against the latter’s back. It was drenched with blood.

“Shit,” he swore, then scooped her up into his arms. “Do you have any arrows left?”

“Three,” Lara replied. “But I have other ways of killing them. Just leave me a horse.”

Then she fell back.

22

Lara

Things werenotgoing accordingto plan.

Lara moved on silent feet back the way she’d come, bow held loosely as she listened for sounds of the soldiers pursuing them.

She heard the faint thud of boots, and she moved to the side of the path, counting the men as they ran past, swords in hand.Six.And there’d be more on the way soon enough.

Skirting up behind them, she shot arrows into the backs of three soldiers, then slid into the shadows as the remainder shouted in alarm, moving to find cover. Pulling out a knife, Lara crept around the rocks, taking her time to avoid detection, then paused to listen.

Nothing.

But a breeze brushed her cheek, and it carried with it the rank smell of sweat. Smiling, Lara crouched low, keeping her nose to the air as she took slow steps, stopping when she caught sight of a large rock that would provide good cover. She threw a stone in the distant bushes, marking the faint motion as the men turned their heads in that direction.

Tossing another stone, she took several quick steps and threw her knife.

A meatythunk, rather than a scream, spoke to the trueness of her aim, and pulling her sword, Lara quit all pretense at stealth and attacked.

The soldiers lifted their blades, filling the night with clangs of steel as they engaged. She fought one of them in earnest, dodging the other’s swings as he tried to stab her in the back, luring him closer until he lunged. Then she stepped sideways, removing his arm from his body a heartbeat after he stabbed his companion in the chest.

The soldier screamed, falling to the ground to clutch at the bleeding stump, but Lara whipped the tip of her blade across his throat, silencing him and then his dying comrade. She retrieved her knife from the third man, rising as the sound of hooves filtered over her.

The guards from the southern gate.

Swearing, she sprinted in the direction of the copse of trees where the horses were hidden. As promised, one remained, and she flung herself into the saddle, digging in her heels and riding in the direction of the coming soldiers.

With Bronwyn injured and Aren utterly incompetent on horseback, she needed to lure the pursuers off. Give them time to reach Sarhina, who had more supplies.

Pulling back her hood, she tore the tie loose from her hair so that it flowed down her back. Even in the dark, it should be enough to confirm her identity.

Flying down the road, she waited until the group was within sight, then hauled her horse up, wheeling the animal in a circle as though she were lost. Panicked. Then Lara laid the reins to the animal’s shoulder and tore back down the road, smiling grimly as they gave chase.

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