Page 8 of The Ocean's Heart
“Thalia…” Bryony’s voice trembled.
“Go.” I steered her out of the room before I could do something stupid like cry.
She looked back once, her eyes swimming in tears, and then she was gone.
I took a moment to breathe, to steady my racing heart and steel my spine, then grabbed Bryony’s fancy furs and my sword.
It was time to kill some lawless men.
* * *
Rain lashedat my face and wind tore at my hair as I stood on deck while the intruders boarded. My guard had taken positions out of view, ready to attack, while others surrounded me, their decoy princess.
Bryony was gone, the rowboat already hidden in the mist.
She was safe, and that was all that mattered. What happened here, now, was of no consequence.
The men were large and bearded, their long hair pulled back in braids and knots. They carried swords and axes, and they boarded us as if they owned us.
I stood with my head held high, like a queen-to-be, my grip tight on the sword hidden in the folds of my skirt.
The men surrounded us but didn’t attack. They didn’t speak.
What were they waiting for? “We have nothing of value!” Tomas yelled over the raging storm. “Please leave us.”
One of the men grinned, showcasing gold-capped teeth, and stepped aside to reveal a smaller man draped in robes. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, his eyes so dark they were coals pressed into his face. He spoke, and the wind ceased its howling, dropping to a whisper to underline his words.
“You will come with usss,” he wheezed. “Fight us not, or you will die.”
Of course they wanted the princess. News of the betrothal must have gotten out. They thought they could hold her for ransom and fleece both the Northern Sea Kingdom and mine.
By earth and blood, they’d learn differently soon enough. “Leave now with your lives or stay and surrender your souls.”
One of the marauders laughed, and his companions joined him.
Anger simmered through my veins as I lifted my chin, the signal for my hidden men to emerge and surround the intruders.
My guard rose behind the marauders like dark shadows.
I smiled, cold and calm. “Your souls it is, then.” I drew my sword, reveling in the look of surprise on the wheezy bastard’s face. “Attack!”
I rushed him, sword mid-swing, but he vanished, and my cry of shock was buried beneath the screaming of the wind. Around me, swords clashed as my men fought the brigands. Our numbers matched theirs with the deck crew factored in, but they outnumbered the guard, leaving us short on skill, and it showed as the invaders cut down my men.
I clashed with the golden-toothed invader, pushing him back with quick, hard strikes and relishing the shock in his eyes. But the rain dragged at my skirts, slowing my step, causing me to falter. Earth and blood, I needed to tear them off, but the assault on me was too focused. There was no time to divest.
Chaos reigned, dancing around me, and I was peripherally aware of the fall of my people, but I kept fighting. Gold Teeth was relentless and fast, almost as fast as me.
Almost.
My blade found a home in his gut. I yanked it free, and he looked down at the wound as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. His bellow shattered my eardrums a moment before he ran at me.
The move was unexpected, considering his injury, and I froze for a fraction of a second. It was enough to prevent me from evading, and he grabbed hold of me, taking me to the deck with him. Fire sliced into my side a moment before my head smashed against wood and darkness claimed me.
ChapterFive
VAARIN
The blood-stained deck of theMariliserocks softly beneath my boots as if gentling the dead that litter its boards. Bodies, so many bodies. It’s impossible to decipher who was friend and who was foe.
