Page 177 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"Yet he is not there. So again, tell me, where is Han Morecaster?"
Myra sucked in a sharp breath at the mention of Laurince’s cousin. Another potato rolled to the side as the pile vibrated more violently. Returning the vegetables to their places, Myra reached for the thread of emotion beneath them. The temperature was rising, and quickly at that. She poured calming thoughts down the line, and the produce stopped moving.
It would sedate Laurince for now, but not for long. It was a bandage and nothing more.
The guard yanked the woman by the elbow.
Fury rose within Myra, and even though she needed to preserve her strength, she would not let the guard harm Han’s wife. She gripped the guard’s emotions. Frustration, anger, and greed soaked the thread so violently she nearly released it in horror. But she held onto it, digging deep within herself, finding any emotion, any memory she could use to her advantage. She poured it down the thread of emotions.
The guard’s hand uncurled around the woman’s arm. He fell to his knees and sobbed as the new emotions of embarrassment, shame, and horror overtook him.
"What the?—"
"We need to go," Myra interrupted Bax, charging forward. She didn’t have time to explain. The woman was already running away from the guard, no questions asked. That was what mattered.
But when Myra didn’t hear the creaking of the wagon’s wheels, she spun around and glared at Bax, who stood still, dumbfounded.
"Now," she demanded.
Bax finally looked away from the guard crumpled on the ground.
"Nice work," Rian whispered in her ear as he hurried down the street beside her.
Despite the praise, guilt sat heavily in her stomach. Myra refused to think about it too long, though, lest she wished for it to pull her down. She had to get Rian and Laurince out of there. They were outnumbered. If the guards found them again, she didn’t think Sebastian would let them escape a second time.
They made their way down the streets, passing more guards who were too busy breaking into shops and houses. They ignored closed signs and locked doors, kicking them down instead of waiting for someone to unlock them.
Myra did her best to keep her gaze forward. More than once she caught Rian glancing back, hesitating. While most of his features were cast in shadows from his low hood, his mouth was set in a grim line.
"Keep moving," Bax commanded, his voice tight.
Rian reluctantly put one foot in front of the other. He couldn’t help his people if he were dead.
At every slam of a door, Myra jumped. At every cry, she grimaced. She helped as many people as she could, turning guards away from their victims, immobilizing them with an overabundance of emotion. Myra’s well of power was deep, but she feared what would happen when she inevitably reached the bottom, when she could no longer help those escape the onslaught of the guards.
Some of the nearby pedestrians began jogging instead, dipping down the nearest street to get away from the guards. Buttheir trio was slower, the wagon preventing them from running. Myra spotted someone eyeing them and whispering to their friend about abandoning the wagon if they were them. But Myra would not let that happen. They were all going to get out of there alive.
Glass shattered as a person flew through a nearby window.
A guard jumped through the broken window, his boots crunching the glass. Slipping two fingers in his mouth, he whistled, and a squadron of guards came sprinting through the streets. The guard shoved his thumb toward the building he had exited. With his other hand, he snatched the man who was trying to crawl away by the collar.
"Han," Myra gasped, recognizing Laurince’s cousin. She tried to reach out, to grab the guard’s emotions, but they slipped through her hands. The emotions were too bright, too violent.
"No, no, no," Myra mumbled as she scrambled to find more of her power. She was reaching the bottom of her well, and she was too far from the guard to get a strong enough hold.
Banging sounded from inside the building the guards had entered. A group of men came storming out, swords swinging.
Bax cursed, and the wagon stopped moving.
"Take it and go. I’ll catch up," he instructed, ducking beneath the bar and racing to the side of the wagon. He pulled out a short sword and brandished it as he sprinted toward Han.
Rian glanced between the wagon and the fight, hesitating.
Myra tugged on Rian’s arm. "No, you can’t. You heard Bax. We need to go.Now."
"I can’t leave them!" Rian tugged his arm free. "I can’t abandon my people."
The guards outnumbered them two-to-one. Han’s right eye was swollen, and another man was limping, blood trailing down his leg.
