Page 62 of Legacy of Thorns
Daphne twisted her arm, breaking free of her captor’s grasp before she whipped her arm back to smash the side of his head with her elbow.
“Daphne!” Morrow followed her blow with a second one that downed the man.
Nisha reached her next, a drawn sword in either hand and her teeth bared. Behind her followed an unfamiliar man with his own drawn sword, his expression dangerous despite his young age. He was accompanied by a woman whose face niggled at Daphne’s memory, although she couldn’t immediately place her.
“Don’t let them flee!” an older voice called from the back of the group, and the two strangers broke off to pursue the two men making for the treeline.
“Barlowe ordered all of us killed—even the two of you,” Daphne panted out to Morrow and Nisha, warning them of the danger.
But from the expressions on both their faces, they welcomed an attack. Daphne stepped back, letting them surge ahead of her. If someone else wanted the fight, she was more than happy to leave it to them.
Within minutes, the flurry of fighting was over. Two men groaned on the ground at Morrow’s feet, his threatening expression keeping them from any attempt to stand. Nisha had returned her swords to their scabbards on her back and was hauling a third man to his feet.
“Do you have any more rope?” Archer called to the two strangers, sounding almost cheerful as he restrained a kneeling man.
The two who had accompanied Nisha and Morrow had the attempted escapees bound by the wrists and were leading them back toward the rest of the group. The woman nodded and handed her prisoner to the man, hurrying over to Archer with a fresh length of rope.
“Always trust a merchant to have what’s needed,” Lorne said from the road behind them, a chuckle in his voice.
“A merchant?” Daphne looked at the woman again, finally remembering where she had seen the brown-haired young woman before. “Avery? What are you doing here?”
The roving merchant girl had stopped in Daphne’s Glandorian hometown more than once, although she’d traveled alone then.
“I’m the friend Lorne mentioned.” Avery gave a cheerful smile. “And you must be Daphne. From Thebarton in Glandore, right? I meet a lot of new faces in my travels, but the ones who’ve moved kingdoms are few and far between, so they stand out.”She squinted her eyes in an effort of memory. “You napped a lot, yes?”
Daphne nodded. “I still do.”
The man approached, his eyes running over Avery in concern. “Are you all right?” he asked quietly, and she gave him a reassuring look that shone with so much love Daphne had to look away, feeling like an intruder.
From the wedding band on Avery’s finger, she had acquired a permanent companion in her travels since Daphne last saw her.
“Daphne!” Lorne pulled her into a reassuring embrace, and for a second she let herself rest before voicing the thought that had been ringing in her mind since she opened her eyes from her false nap.
“Where’s Finley? Did you see what happened to him? Barlowe put him to sleep with an Oakdenian blade, but I didn’t see…”
“They hauled him into the carriage.” Archer pulled the knot he was tying extra tight, his voice grim. “With a crowd approaching from both sides, Barlowe abandoned me and fled for his carriage, but Finley was closer and already incapacitated. Two of Barlowe’s men managed to load him in before the driver got the horses moving. Barlowe escaped with Finley and a carriage full of his men.”
“At least they didn’t get you both,” Lorne said gravely. “I take it you’re the brother.”
Archer nodded. “I’m Archer.”
“And I’m Lorne. The two with me are Avery and Elliot, roving merchants and friends of mine. I left the ball to consult them, but they insisted on hurrying back with me right away. It was a good thing they did—and an even better thing that we met these two on the way.” He nodded toward Morrow and Nisha. “They’re a distinctive pair, so I took a guess they were the friends Daphne had described and hailed them.”
“But what happened?” Avery asked, surveying the six captured men, all now bound. “Lorne said he left you in the ballroom!”
“Barlowe recognized Finley.” Daphne explained briefly about their flight and Fin’s subsequent return, leaving out the information about his father’s true identity.
“Fin should never have trusted Barlowe.” Archer sounded angry. “He’s always getting himself into trouble with his misguided determination to protect me.”
“Maybe he wouldn’t feel the need to protect you if you didn’t sneak out of windows and run off on your own every chance you get,” Nisha said caustically.
Archer had the grace to look shamefaced.
Morrow shook his head. “It’s our fault, really. We should have guessed what he was about as soon as he said he was going to bed early.”
“You discovered he was gone and came after him?” Daphne asked, and Nisha nodded.
“And now we’ll go after Finley.” Morrow said the words matter-of-factly. “Do you know where Barlowe’s taken him?”
