Page 78 of A Tale of Ice and Ash
“Would you have poisoned yours?”
Oakley stared at her. He had never spoken about his parents before. “No,” he said. “Because somebody else got there first.”
Merry looked up from his seat by the side, where he was whittling his brother another leg. It had a detachable foot, the end sharpened into a fine point.
Eirwen knew better than to press. “Cole can be a distraction,” she said. “Orsomething.Please. Consider it. We’re running out of time.”
Something in Onyx’s eyes flickered. “A distraction,” he said, “or a hostage?”
∞∞∞
As night thickened, a few hours before the scheduled execution, Eirwen and a group of rebels ascended the mountain and slipped into the city.
Onyx kept the party small, taking only the princess, the dwarves, and a couple of willing rebels that were decent enough fighters. He would have foregone them altogether, but needed at least one person intimidating enough to feasibly hold Prince Cole hostage.
“You can’t even reach his neck,” he told Eirwen.
“Says thedwarf,”she snapped back. “And I can reach his neck. I need to be able tothrottle him.”
He was right, of course. It would not be believable if she took him hostage, and they could not afford to blow his cover.
Breaching the wall into the city was easy enough. It was not tightly patrolled anywhere but the main gate. Onyx and a couple of scouts had located and marked a blind spot earlier during the day. Eirwen went first up the rope, keeping a lookout for any guards, and the others followed swiftly.
Sneaking through the city was harder, the guard presence tightening the closer they got to the castle walls. It was slow, arduous work, Eirwen’s heart leaping into her eardrums every time they were nearly discovered.
Merry took out the guards on the upper walkway with his darts. One body toppled over the edge. Eirwen leapt forward to cushion his fall–
Wistal raced out ahead, catching him in his arms and stumbling.
The guards on the ground turned towards them. Eirwen stilled, too surprised to draw her sword, but Onyx and Wren darted forward and clubbed the back of their heads.
“Are you crazy, child?” Onyx hissed. “That distraction would have been perfect!”
“I… I didn’t want to see him hurt.”
“He would have flattened you if Wistal hadn’t run out. Use your brain!”
Eirwen bit her lip as Onyx rooted for the keys, and they slipped past the gate.
Moonlight covered the lawns, turning the grass blue and the water of the fountain silvery. The steady trickle was the only sound in the courtyard. Wren pointed overhead, noting the position of the guards on the walls, and tapped her wrist. They only had a few minutes until someone noticed the guards missing from their posts.
They darted through the gardens, hugging the shadows, clinging to the bushes and stone. No one dared to whisper. Onyx took the lead, though Eirwen was the one who knew these paths better than anyone.
They reached the doors to the dungeon block. Six guards were stationed there, a seventh figure trying to rope them into conversation. Cole.
“Anyway, I thought I better come down and check, you know? If they were going to strike at all, now would be the perfect time. Beautiful night, isn’t it? Reminds me of a particularly fine night I once spent with the Marquise of Liore. Ever met her?”
Onyx motioned for Wren, Wistal, and one of the other rebels to move into position, getting as close as possible before Merry struck with his darts. He’d likely only get one in before the others caught on, two if he was lucky. Eirwen stilled, lowering herself to the ground as he gave the order.
Merry fired. Wren leapt out of the shadows, striking a guard in the back. Swords were drawn, flashes of silver in the dark. Eirwen raced forward as Cole slid underneath the wall the guards had formed around him, meeting her sword with his and allowing her to fling it away from him.
Well, not quiteallowing;he still put up a fight.
She placed the sword to his throat.
“One of these days, I’ll disarm you with more than my smile,” he grinned, his voice low.
“I will stab you.” She shouted to the guards, “Halt! I have your prince. I will not hesitate to run him through.”
