Page 15 of Oath of War
This is an ambush, I thought, as I grabbed a metal pitcher and smashed it over the head of my captor. Despite the blood that gushed from the cut on his forehead, his grasp on my shoulder didn’t falter.
Suddenly, every door to the throne room burst open. Countless armed men poured into the room and sprang into action while Reynard’s soldiers created a wall of steel around him. Most of the attackers headed for Orm, thinking an unprotected man an easy target, but, like a bear, he ripped through the crowd, fighting them off as if they were a pack of dogs.
‘Fuck it,’ I said, throwing my head backwards with all the force I could muster. The sickening crunch of my skull connecting with my attacker’s face was eclipsed by his bellow as he grasped his broken nose. I reached to grab his dagger but stopped when the sharp touch of cold metal cut into my neck.
‘You’re coming with me, Annika,’ Ihrain said, so close to my ear that his breath gave me goosebumps. ‘It’s time for a little visit to Katrass.’
‘Veles’ pit will freeze over before I give in to you,’ I answered, ignoring the blade that cut my skin as I turned around. Bloody droplets ran down my neck, but it didn’t stop me from reaching for my makeshift weapon and thrusting it at his face. Before the splintered end could spike him, devastating pressure crushed my mind, and I staggered, dropping the bone.
Tears poured from my eyes as the world swam in and out of focus, but I managed to catch a glimpse of someone grinning and swaying to some unknown tune.
Fuck, it’s a broken mage, I thought. It was worse than I expected. Broken mages were magical executioners whose minds had been destroyed when having their geasa extracted. Their psychic power then served to distort the aether, causing immeasurable pain.
Ihrain smiled, wiping his knife as I clutched my ears, trying to drown out the terrifying sound.
‘Hurry, secure her before that beast gets here. I don’t think the guards can hold him for long,’ Ihrain directed as I stepped back, barely able to stand.
‘Either he will rip your head off, or I will. If you take me, I will turn you, and anyone around you, into a pile of ash before we ever reach the Rift,’ I growled.
‘Why do you have to be so fucking stubborn?’ Ihrain replied, reaching into his pocket, and I muttered a curse. The pain was blinding me, but even so, I knew he intended to use lanara poison on me again.
‘Hold her. I need to inject the poison while they are busy with the guards. Then we can get out of here,’ Ihrain muttered.
I ducked his outstretched hands, barrelling into the broken mage’s side and ripping the dagger from his belt, thrusting it into his unprotected flank. Warm blood splashed over my hands right before another psionic wave hit me square between the eyes, and I fell to my knees, retching on the floor.
So far, the broken mage had been gentle with me. Now, his expression filled with strain and hatred as he continued his assault. The whites of his eyes were filled with darkness, and I understood one simple truth: I had to kill him before they could take me away.
I felt another pair of hands pulling at the collar of my dress, likely to inject me with another dose of poison—or worse, Ihrain getting ready to use his magic on me. He mumbled some incoherent words, ripping my dress in his fervour, but as mybody flailed, my hand landed on the rough surface of the bone spike.
‘Annika!’ Orm yelled.
Something hit Ihrain, and the impact jerked my body out of his grasp. I dodged to the side, only to catch a glimpse of his horrified grimace as he held Ormond’s dagger embedded in his stomach.
I had one chance. In my weakened state, starved, and fighting a psychic assault, I did the only thing I could. As the broken mage drew their sword to finish me, I lunged at the hand holding it. I was unable to lessen the impact, but I diverted it to the side. The pain when it sliced through my flank fused with Ormond’s roar, but I had my enemy where I wanted him because as I pulled him closer, the bone of a long-dead man impaled his stomach, the sharp tip forced upwards until it pierced his heart.
The song stopped, and the agony with it. The world swam back into focus, and I looked around, worried that there might be more attackers.
With the last of my strength, I struggled free of the dead weight and searched for Ihrain, but he was nowhere to be seen. Only a trail of blood leading away from where I last saw him remained. I pressed my hand to my bleeding side, gasping when a loud voice thundered across the room.
‘Lay down your weapons, or your master dies!’
Reynard was standing by the throne, holding a blade to the chancellor’s neck.
Despite Reynard’s threat, soldiers still fought. However, that changed when the throne room’s doors crashed open, and the deafening blare of trumpets brought everything to a halt.
The male that strode in, resplendent in imperial dark fae armour, made jaws drop, but the woman who followed provoked a wave of astonished gasps. Magnificent in a long, flowing robe, tall and silver-skinned, she dominated the room with her mere presence and looked down her nose at the carnage with no attempt to hide her disgust.
My amazement at the spectacle turned to confusion. I recognised the male in the armour. Valaram’sa Dern’ra was the dark fae ambassador in Truso, but the woman? Several moments passed before I realised who she was. Valaram, a conceited male who never bowed to anyone, had kneeled to lay his cloak before the beautiful female.
Is she? What the—? Could she be the dark fae empress?
The ambassador stood up, his arrogant smirk back in placeas he turned to face Reynard and the helpless chancellor. Unfortunately for him, no one noticed, as all eyes were riveted on the empress as she stepped forward onto her subordinate’s cloak.
‘You were right to bring my attention to the events in Dagome, dear brother. Still, I didn’t expect such ... barbarity in the court of our allies,’ she said, casually drawing a complex sigil. As soon as she finished, immense power flashed out, and all the dead soldiers rose up, surrounding each fighting group in the room.
‘Since I now have everyone’s undivided attention, shall we talk? Who is in charge of this charnel house?’ she asked. I couldn’t stop staring. She shouldn’t be able to cast in here, yet she had torn through the powerful wards without a second thought.
Silence reigned until, with a clatter and a curse, Alaric burst into the room. Covered in blood and sporting a wild, unhinged look, my fae cast around, ignoring his empress and the gathered nobles until his eyes fell upon me, and he let out a short cry.
