Page 27 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
The gods hadn’t been listening.
Nobody was safe today.
Entire ancient bloodlines might end here. Generations undone in the span of mere heartbeats. Some Protectorate members had brought their entire families, even children, though they’d been asked not to.
There werechildrenhere.
The chilling thought coursed through me enough to quench the blaze of terror.
My own fear had to wait.
I was The Huntress.
I was the Protectorate’s First Daughter.
I’d been trained for battle. To protect my people.
But nothing–no lesson, no battle debriefing, no rehearsed battle cry–had prepared me to witness this massacre.
And, still, I would have rather burned than run away.
"I need my arrows and knives,” I said. “Uncle Maksim must have hidden a crossbow somewhere on
this forsaken island."
I reached through the growing river of terrified people and squeezed Evie’s shoulder again, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time. “Leave!”
Then, with my own muttered prayer, I was off through the mass of sweaty, fearful bodies. They would only slow me down.
With a push, I swerved to the side. My dress caught on a thorny shrub, ripping like a war cry down my leg.
I crouched against the nearest tree. With my heart trying to beat itself straight through my corset, I moved the leaves to the side and checked behind me.
So much blood.
So many bodies on the ground, some of them blue.
So many arrows still falling.
The first row of chairs was empty and upturned. Fear and hope wrestled deep in my belly.
My father and cousins weren’t among the bodies–yet, and hopefully never–but I hadn’t seen where they’d escaped. I could only hope they’d stick to the plan I’d tried so hard to gesticulate to them before the massacre began.
My cousins could fend for themselves. But my father hadn’t seen battle in decades. He was not a young man and he hadn’t kept up with his training like Uncle Maksim–thank the gods he’d been at the port before all of this erupted.
Either Uncle Maksim would survive–or he’d take our attackers down with him while laughing.
But my father…
A fresh wave of dread tried to wash over me.
I gritted my teeth, fisted my palms, and took a deep, strained breath.
I wasn’t ready to lose him. Not today.
I wasn’t ready for any of this.
Not for my entire Clan to be hunted.
