Page 4 of Into the Dawn
Ronan understood what his brother wasn’t saying. Dominic was in a perilous predicament. He couldn’t move, or they would see him.
“Stay where you are. These two groups of invaders are proof enough that it is a coordinated attack. It seems likely that the squad near me was merely a distraction, making noise to purposely draw us out. We should—”
Before he could finish what he was saying, the hiss of an arrow being released reached him, and he moved just in time to miss getting skewered. Still, the arrow left a streak of fire on his arm before burying itself into the tree trunk next to him.
Fucking hellfire, he had been discovered.
Rising to his feet, Ronan sprinted out of the shadows toward the closest intruders. Surprise and speed were the key. He needed to cut down their numbers before they had a chance to defend themselves. Using the blades, he cut the throats of two of the rogues before they even realized he was there. As their bodies fell to the ground, shouts of alarm rang out. That warning had the rest of the rogues descending upon him like a pack of wild beasts.
Shouts and cries of pain clashed with the clang of steel as he attacked with deadly precision. His movements were graceful as he dodged and weaved around his opponents, blocking sword strikes while using his own blades to inflict as much damage as he could. It was a macabre dance of death that had been honed by years of rigorous training and hard-fought battles. He stabbed, slashed, and sliced, but it never seemed like enough.
They just kept coming.
He moved over the uneven terrain like a shadow, slipping between them so that his blades were nothing but a blur in the dim light. A larger male charged at him with a furious roar, his sword slicing through the air in deadly arcs. Ronan evaded the attack, then turned and flung one of his knives. The blade sliced through the air and buried itself deep in the brute’s chest. The rogue tumbled to the ground like a felled tree, but there was no time to savor that victory.
Another assailant was already upon him, and he had to spin away to avoid the incoming strike. When he blocked another sword from a different attacker, the force of the blow reverberated up his arm. He had killed half of the males, but the ones remaining were far more skilled than the fallen.
The rogues attacked with a barrage of blows that almost made him stumble over the bodies scattered on the ground. He managed to stay upright, but it was a close call that almost cost him his head. Turning at the last second, he avoided the lethal strike, and the sword sliced across his arm instead.
White-hot pain seared through him, but he pushed it aside. Throwing his other blade, he managed to injure another rogue, but it didn’t bring him down. Pulling his sword out, he gripped the hilt with both hands and braced himself for the next attack.
He had clearly underestimated his opponents.
And that was turning out to be a fatal mistake.
Chapter Two
Dominic cursed viciouslyas he felt the echo of his brother’s pain.
He was angry that Ronan had to take on a dozen rogues on his own, but he was even more furious with himself for not being there to help him. If he could slip past the rogues near him without being seen, he could find a way to help his brother.
“Spread out and search,” one of the rogues suddenly demanded. “The other prince has to be close since my brother’s team is fighting one of them.”
Well, fuck.
That meant he didn’t have much time. He wasn’t in a very good hiding spot. If things didn’t go his way and the rogues conducted a thorough search, he would end up being seen. He would try to wait it out, or he could launch a surprise attack of his own. He prepared to move but froze again when Ronan’s harsh reprimand reached him.
“What in bloody hellfire do you think you are doing? Remain hidden and do not give away your location. Contact our fathers for reinforcements. I can handle this until they get here.”
Not wanting to distract his brother by arguing, Dominic reached out to one of his fathers, King Sonin.“Father, Ronan and I have encountered two groups of rogues, and we need aid. We need you to send out warriors to the west, near the waterfalls.”
Even though they mostly ran their kingdom from the comfort of their thrones now, Kings Teje, Sonin, and Auro were still warriors at heart. Sonin was the one who still retained the closest relationship with all the warriors since he often trained with them for his own amusement. Because of that, he wouldhave a better idea of who he could trust to send out as reinforcements.
“Tell us what happened,”Sonin demanded immediately.
Since all of his fathers were now listening, Dominic gave them a quick, concise recap.
“I will lead a few of the guards to collect the younglings,”Sonin stated.“Some of our warriors are clearly compromised, but we need time to investigate and sort them out.”
“I will check on the Dalkis brothers to make sure they are indeed ill,”Auro said, mentioning Axis, Bastion, and Keo’s regular guards. “They might have been targeted to ensure the younglings would be without protection today. We must remain cautious if there are traitors in our midst.”
“If there are, I will rip their throats out when we find them,”Teje growled.“Do not worry, son. We are on our way.”
“Nay,”Dominic countered frantically.“This may be a trap to lure all of the Karos males out of the palace. You should stay and protect Mother and our kingdom.”
“He is right,”Sonin admitted.“The two of you should remain in the palace while I go fetch our sons.”
“That is not—”Auro began but was cut off.
