Page 146 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
How long could he last before he inevitably crashed? Before the adrenaline wore off?
Rolling over, Laurince grappled for something silver on the floor near a body. He stood and spun, facing the beast. He shifted into a fighting position, a small throwing knife in one hand and the broken chain in the other.
Myra’s stomach lurched. Even she, barely trained, knew that a small blade would be akin to a needle prick to a creature that was as large as four men.
Myra felt a sudden weight release from her hands, and she turned to see the manacle clattering to the floor.
"Phaia?" Myra croaked, blinking at the woman, who now crouched beside her. Myra hadn’t seen the Frenzian handmaiden in the crowd, but she must have been there.
"Hi," Phaia said, holding up a hand, where a set of iron keys dangled. Blood stained her blouse. Briefly, Myra wondered what Phaia had done to gain those keys, but now was not the time to ask.
"Can I unlock those?" Phaia gestured to the shackles around Myra’s ankles. "Unless you prefer to wear them out of here."
A flash of hesitation and suspicion rose, but Myra quickly batted it away. She didn’t have time to hesitate. Not as screams, grunts, and screeches continued to flood the room.
"Why are you helping me?" Myra asked carefully as Phaia unlocked the metal cuffs.
Phaia peeked up at Myra through her pin-straight black hair. "Because some of us would rather die than believe a single word Sebastian says."
The last cuff fell to the ground with athunk.
A drakonis flew over them. Gasping, Phaia quickly pulled Myra beneath the bench with her.
"Thank you," Myra mumbled.
"Don’t thank me yet," she said, looking over her shoulder. "We still need to get out of here."
"Laurince is getting the king now," Myra said.
Phaia moved from beneath the bench and peeked over it. "Shit," she hissed, falling back down and shoving her hair out of her face.
"What is it?" But Myra didn’t wait for a response. She looked over the bench and swallowed her scream.
Laurince struggled against the drakonis, his forehead pinched in concentration and agony. He jumped onto the animal’s back and threw the chain around its neck, catching it with his other hand. Choking the drakonis with the chain, Laurince held on tight, pressing his chest against the back of the beast’s neck. With a deafening roar, the beast jerked, trying to throw Laurince off. But the captain pressed his thighs harder against it and tightened his grip on the ends of the chain.
The drakonis let out a guttural cry. It shook its head from side to side, its body twisting. Laurince miraculously held on. He couldn’t hold on forever, though.
"We need to help him," Myra said. "We need to find His Majesty." The faster she found Rian, the faster she could help Laurince.
Frantically, her gaze bounced across the sea of chaos. In the fray, she struggled to spot Rian. Women and men ran around theroom, trying to find an exit that wasn’t blocked by a drakonis. Guards and those with weapons fought the beasts off as best as they could, but the drakonises were quickly overpowering them. Death spread across the floor as its victims clung to the last threads of their lives. A flash of auburn hair popped up in the crowd further ahead. Had Sebastian actually stayed to fight?
Then, further away, between the rows of benches, there was a flicker of movement.
"Come on." Myra pulled Phaia with her, hoping she wasn’t misplacing her trust once again. Together, they ran toward Rian, jumping over the bodies that littered the throne room
Rian popped his head out, and his green eyes grew wide when he spotted them. Myra picked up her pace and crashed beside him.
Rian mumbled something, but the gag was still in place.
Myra pulled the gag out as Phaia said, out of breath, "You’re smart to hide."
"I’m not hiding," Rian spat once he was free to speak.
Myra’s brows bunched together. "Then what are you doing over here?"
He held up a short sword. "I was grabbing this."
"Where did you find—" Myra shook her head, cutting herself off, realizing she didn’t want the answer based on the blood on the hilt and blade. Myra ushered Phaia forward. "Give her your hands."
