Page 135 of Arrows and Gems
Helena didn’t know what the General was saying to Raphael. But she saw no reason to wait and find out.
Bringing up her bow, she sent an arrow toward the guard threatening the maid. It had barely struck him before she had another arrow on the string. But that one missed its mark.
A strong wind swirled around General Valentin, Raphael, and the maid. “It’s hopeless, Helena,” the General yelled across the distance. “You may as well give up before you hurt one of your friends.”
She ignored him, shooting one arrow after another. Each was knocked aside by the unnatural wind. The General, apparently annoyed by her persistence, jerked a hand at one of his men.
The guard looked hesitant, but he jogged behind a mini battle and headed for Helena. He needn’t have worried; she wasn’t going to transfer her attention from the General unless he gave the order to attack her friends.
But she only needed a few more shots…
Smiling, she took her time aiming her final arrow. General Valentin should vary his wind a little more if he truly wished to stop her.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the guard charging up the steps, sword raised. But she only took a slow breath, held it for a moment, and released the bowstring.
CHAPTER 49
Rafe
No!”
Rafe lunged against the guards holding him. He was helpless with his hands tied, but he couldn’t just stand and watch while the guard struck Helena down. He’d given up too much to keep her safe.
But she just smiled as she shot one more fruitless arrow…
…far to the side of General Valentin.
Rafe had been too busy worrying about her, the poor maid, and the rest of his friends to notice, but Helena had been testing General Valentin’s wind. She had the feel of it.
And it vanished as the General screamed and the wind gryphon fell from his pierced hand.
With one more violent twist, Rafe threw himself to the ground, ripping one of his arms from the startled guard. The hair on his forearms tingled as the ropes slid off his wrists. He didn’t waste time wondering as he reached forward, already picturing the shape he needed.
The remaining guard jerked him back, and he caught a glimpse of the others jumping toward his friends. But Rafe caught one of the wind gryphon’s wings with his fingertips, and that was enough.
“BOUCLIER!”
The magic blasted out from his family’s priceless heirloom, hardening the air in the areas he’d envisioned. He felt theshock in his mind as swords crashed against it, but it held firm, protecting his people with the invisible shield that had given his family its name.
His eyes shot to the gallows platform where Helena still stood. The guard that had pursued her was staggering back, thrown by the shock of colliding with the wall of hardened air. If not for his attempt to harm the princess, Rafe might have pitied him; he knew from training with his father and brother how badly that hurt.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Raphael,” General Valentin sighed, cradling his wounded hand to his chest. “It’s only delaying the inevitable. And each setback increases the suffering that your followers will have to endure. It would have been so much simpler if you had just let me hang them.”
As if anything until Rafe grabbed the wind gryphon had been his doing. Not that it mattered.
Shaking his head, General Valentin reached for the enchanted sapphire, but Rafe didn’t bother to dodge.
“You—!” A hint of anger finally showed on the General’s face. “How far does the shield extend?”
“You think I would tell you?” Rafe laughed. “Why would I give up my only advantage?”
Turning, the General growled, “There must be someone you haven’t covered. You care too much to let me harm any of them.”
“Good luck searching,” Rafe calmly replied. “But perhaps I trapped youinsidea shield.”
General Valentin’s face twisted with rage. “You can’t have excluded yourself and included all my men. The guard holding you must be on the same side of the shield.”
He nodded at the man, but Rafe kept his eyes fixed on the General. “Don’t make me escalate,” he said quietly. The faces around him, even those with drawn swords ready to hurt hispeople, stood out in his mind. “Tell your men to give up. Please don’t make me take this further.”
