Page 157 of A Crown of Lies

Simeon shifted his weight forward, leaning all his body weight into pressing the sword against her hammer.

Rixxis gritted her teeth. “Strength… is worthless… without brains!” She pulled the hammer back against her body.

Simeon’s eyes widened as he fell. His blade dinged as it hit her breastplate, but Simeon wasn’t so lucky. He fell at the worst angle possible, the giant sword piercing under his chin. His eyes went back, and blood poured out as he made a choking sound, letting go of the sword to grab for his wound. Rixxis released her hold on the hammer, gripping his sword and shoving it up into his skull. His limbs jerked before going limp.

With a grunt, she pushed him aside and got to her feet, hammer in hand.

Divina paled before she put back on her mask of courage, taking a step back. “You think you can take me?”

Rixxis spat blood on Simeon’s corpse. “Bitch, I could break your spine with one hand.”

“You’ll have to get through my army first!” She lifted her arms and the field around Rixxiscreaked.

The dead nearby twitched. Simeon’s lifeless corpse sat up, the sword still jammed in his skull. He turned cloudy, dead eyes on her.

A chill ran through Rixxis as she realized she was about to be swarmed by an army of undead.

Shit! She turned and ran for the Wytchwood as fast as her legs could carry her.

Blood spattered wheat stalks slapped at her as she ran. Bodies littered the field, some of them twitching back to life as she passed. The hisses and snarls of the dead followed her, always seeming just two feet behind, but she didn’t dare look back to see if they were.

Ahead, the Trintan army loomed, barreling into Ieduin’s trap. At least, she hoped the traps were all ready. There were still so many of them, and with the dead coming, they’d need every advantage they could get.

Forty-Eight

“Wecannotallowcowardswho hide in the shadows to dictate our future.”

Ruith watched Niro bring his fist down passionately against the podium in front of him. It was a practiced move, one he’d already done three times that day during three identical speeches. Yet the tremble in his voice was real.

It had been a day and the Shikami demands had yet to come. He was growing increasingly worried that his initial assessment of the situation had been incorrect. Maybe Saya had fought back, and they had killed her. Maybe they’d just taken her somewhere else for the murder, not wanting her to be found in her own home. Ruith kept waiting for the bad news to break that her body had been found, but there had been nothing yet.

“Is she going to be all right?” Faelyn asked, looking up at Ruith. “Niro’s wife.”

Ruith patted Faelyn’s shoulder. “We’re doing everything we can.”

“If anything happens to her, there will be hell to pay,” Mercia promised, arms crossed.

She’d been in a dark mood ever since it happened. Ruith hadn’t asked how it was Mercia and not Niro who’d witnessed Saya being taken from her bed. He had his suspicions about what was going on with the four of them, and he didn’t like it. Not one bit. Scandal on top of scandal. Not the best way for Niro to build his career. But he supposed if Taratheil could get away with it, Niro might too.

“You said a bad word,” Will said quietly.

Mercia snorted. “There’s no such thing. Words don’t have moral attachments. Although I suppose it might be considered offensive to some. Those people need to get over themselves.”

Ruith sighed. Mercia was much more bearable when Aryn was around.

Brick let out a low growl.

Faelyn grabbed his collar. “Quiet, boy. What’s gotten into you?”

Ruith turned just in time to see Vinolia Runecleaver coming around the corner in her litter, carried by four strapping young Runecleaver males. They set the litter down and helped her from her seat. When she came closer, Brick let out a vicious snarl and lunged. Two of the four Runecleavers who’d been carrying her litter rushed to her defense, putting up a magical barrier. Brick slammed into it and bounced off, only to start barking and snarling at her.

“Call off your hound!” Vinolia demanded. “Or I’ll be forced to defend myself.”

Ruith stepped forward and put a hand on the hound’s trembling shoulders. Brick continued to shake and remained tense, but he quieted.

He met the old Runecleaver matriarch’s glare. “Mercia, take Will, Faelyn, and Brick around to the other side.”

“Come on, boy,” Faelyn said, gripping Brick’s collar tight. He tugged, and the hound went, albeit reluctantly.

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