Page 75 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
One second, the flow of people moved at a steady pace, eager to get land underneath their feet. Then Zandyr stilled. His face shifted into that otherworldly stare. He nodded at Ryker as he reached for his sword.
In the next breath, roars erupted all through the crowd.
I barely had time to see dozens of weapons raised in the air. They all had jade hilts. Serpents.
Then one of those daggers gleamed right in front of me, heading straight for my throat.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
EVIE
As the dagger’s tip glinted toward my neck, metal hissed through the air.
Zandyr’s sword flew straight into the blade, sending it flying to the ground. His own weapon impaled the wall behind, just as I swiveled out of the way.
Adara kicked the attacker straight in the chest, sending him flying back as my eyes jumped to Zandyr.
He stared at me with a murderous look on his face. How had he found and protected me amongst a sea of hundreds, I didn’t know. He raised his steady hand–the blood in the sword’s hilt churned as it flew back to its master.
Zandyr caught it and arched his arm, taking down another attacker without breaking eye contact with me.
“Run,” he mouthed.
When I hesitated, Adara grabbed my shoulder. “Get out of here and protect them. You’ll only be a distraction. For meandhim.”
I cast a furtive glance toward Zandyr. He sliced through five Serpent fighters with one swipe of his blade, the little old woman cowering safely behind him with a group of children.
Heart in my throat, I nodded solemnly at Adara, who positioned herself at the lip of the narrow street leading to the docks, to stop the attackers advancing into the city. Suffocating my dread as soon as it dared to spring up inside me, I hurried the rest of our little team back down the crowded street, shouts and metal clanks resounding behind us.
The smell.
The acrid stench of fear threatened to choke me.
Flashes of my wedding bombarded my mind.
But I was responsible for four souls right now, and they were all here because of me.
“Stick together,” I said between harsh breaths, as my feet begged to run faster.
But while Leesa and Goose could keep up, Kaya was having a hard time running and navigating the crowd. Vexa wouldn’t leave her side, holding onto Kaya’s elbow like they’d been glued together.
I let out a curse that would’ve made my parents blush, desperate eyes searching.
The main street was pure chaos. The oxen roared, trying to shake off the harnesses from the abandoned carts. Their horns swished around wildly, in tune with the manic bells from the temple.
We couldn’t go that way, unless we wanted to get impaled.
“Think, think, think,” I chanted, Leesa and Goose huddled together at my side.
As Kaya tripped in my arms, Adara’s voice hissed in my ear.
Protect them.
“Hide, we need to hide,” I muttered, searching for any cover that could protect us until Zandyr, Adara, and the Blood Brotherhood Elite dealt with the attackers.
“The temple! We should hide there!” Goose screamed over the ruckus.
