Page 129 of The Twisted Throne

Ahnna shoved them out of her way, knocking crates over to block the route behind her as she wove through the chaos toward the exit.

Only for two guards to appear, blocking her path.

She didn’t want to hurt them. Didn’t want to make this worse, but neither did she want to die. And Ahnna did not think James would allow her to plead her innocence if he caught her.

So instead, she picked up speed.

The soldiers lifted their blades, grim determination on their faces, but at the last minute, Ahnna dived.

She slid along the polished floor. Her momentum sent her between them, but the sound of blades striking stone made her jerk her legs beneath her. Scrambling on all fours, she got her footing even as James shoved the men out of the way, gaining ground onher.

There would be no outrunning him.

Ahnna’s heart roared, her eyes burning because, despite his betrayal, she didn’t want to hurt him. Wasn’t sure that she could, even if it meant her own life.

Think.

There was an exit to the courtyard ahead, but soldiersappeared, blocking her path. She skidded to a stop. Pulling her sword free, Ahnna turned to face James. He was stalking toward her, weapon raised. One of his eyes was swollen shut from where she’d hit him earlier.

Which meant his depth perception would be off.

“Why?” he demanded. “Why my father? Why not me? I’m the one you’re angry with. I’m the one who lied to you. He hadyourinterests at heart! He was trying to protect you from your fucking brother!”

“I didn’t kill him!”

Her words only seemed to enrage him more, and James attacked. Their swords clashed, his blows making her arm shake. She met each of his strikes, staying on the defense even as she looked for a way through. “James, I don’t want to hurt you!”

“You already have,” he screamed. “Why didn’t you kill me instead?”

He would not see reason, that much was clear. He was lost in grief, and Alexandra had masterminded this situation too well. Which meant Ahnna’s only option was to escape.

Ahnna stepped close, but as James moved to strike, she swayed backward just enough that his sword tip sliced through the front of her tunic. Having thought her in range, he overcommitted and stumbled as the force of his swing pulled him sideways.

Ahnna could have killed him right then. Instead, she threw herself into a roll, coming up to her feet and running.

Flinging open the doors to the drawing room, she slammed them shut and turned the latch. A second later, the wood rattled as it was struck. The oak was strong, but the lock wouldn’t hold.

Dropping her blade, Ahnna pushed a sideboard in front of the door, and then a sofa and a toppled bookcase, the books falling every which way across the floor. Racing to the floor-to-ceilingwindow, she stared out into the black night, clouds having rolled in to obscure the stars.

The door rattled, shouts emanating from beyond. She had minutes before James broke through, no more.

Picking up a chair, she heaved it through the glass, a gale-force wind immediately blasting inside. Ahnna yanked down the billowing curtain, tearing the fabric into lengths, which she tied together. Her hands shook, eyes skipping to the door with every impact of James’s shoulder, the furniture she’d put in front of it shuddering.

Tying the makeshift rope to the legs of a heavy wooden table, Ahnna climbed onto the windowsill.

Below, endless darkness loomed. To fall would be like falling from the heavens themselves.

“So don’t fall,” she growled to herself, taking a steadying breath before turning and leaning back, praying the fabric would hold.

It did.

Leaning near horizontal, she edged, hand over hand, down the tower, the texture of the stone painfully familiar. She wasn’t certain how far down the first ring of the spiral was, and it wasn’t lost on her that if her rope wasn’t long enough to reach it, she was a dead woman.

One way or another.

Wind buffeted her body, trying to knock her loose from her perch, but it wasn’t loud enough to muffle the explosion of wood above her. Nor the shouts of triumph.

Faster,she told herself. But instead, Ahnna looked up.

---