Page 97 of Beneath a Shattered Sky
The bear shifter roars, rearing onto her hind legs to swipe at one of her larger attackers. She’s huge. Easily twice the height of me, with wicked scars across her body from past battles. Her fluffy coat gets splattered as those huge paws deal a devastating blow, but she takes a deep slash to her vulnerable underbelly in the process. Her back is to a tree, preventing them from flanking her, but she won’t last long like this.
Two against those numbers aren’t much better than one. Maybe it would be more even if I had my magic, but Danu ensured I can only use that to protect Rose.
Whatever. I can’t die, and I really want to rip someone apart right now. With a snarl, I pounce, taking the hand of the warrior about to catch the she-bear from behind.
She roars at my interference but adapts quickly enough. I give her room, focusing on the ones trying to get a sneaky blow into her side, and it feels good.
Right up until I notice the kid.
A bear cub is curled into the roots of the tree nearest us, eyes wide as it watches us battle it out. A doomed battle side by side with a warrior is one thing. A fight where a kid gets orphaned is another.
“Get the child and go,” I growl at the bear. “Now.”
She roars out an answer that shakes me down to the bone, but I don’t have time for her.
“You need that to be an order from the Nicnevin’s Guard?” I demand, flexing the title for the first time as I spear my sword into the gut of a Fomorian wielding a mace.
A crossbow bolt slams into the trunk, punctuating my statement, and I curse as I catch sight of the reinforcements streaming towards us.
My fucking impulsive search for a fight is about to land me in a world of pain.
The bear roars again, but this time there’s regret there. She’s seen it, too, and she’s going to take the way out I’m offering and protect her cub. Something painful rips in my chest at the sight of her turning and scooping the small brown ball of fur up in her mouth.
She’s gone in the next second, glamour hiding her as she darts into the forest.
“Hey Danu, you fucking bitch, now would be a great time to give me my magic back,” I snarl, hissing as a bolt slams into my thigh.
But no. The Goddess abandoned me long ago. I don’t know why I expected her to be any different now.
Two more go down before a huge bastard slugs me in the face with his meaty fist. My nose snaps, blood filling my mouth, and I spit it at him. But it’s over.
I manage to kill one more before the next crossbow bolt gets lucky, catching me in the shoulder with a thud that sends me spinning off balance. I jab outwards with my sword, but my attackers bat it away with ease.
I keep fighting, keep struggling, making them curse and swear with the effort it takes to restrain me. But it doesn’t matter. They have the numbers, and soon I’m pinned to the ground with a knee in my back and my arms shackled.
“We went bear hunting and caught ourselves a traitor,” the one with the crossbow booms. “Dressed up like a fairy, too. I’m sure his daddy won’t like that.”
“Fuck. You.” I spit more blood in their direction.
“You wish,” he says. “You might be as pretty as a fairy, but I’m not willing to risk whatever dick rot your whore of a Nicnevin’s given you.”
“Was it worth it?” another of the warriors asks. “A few months of that tight snatch for whatever the king will do to you now?”
Someone backhands me around the face so hard my eyes water, but I lean into it. I’m no stranger to pain. This is like being wrapped in the familiar, fiery embrace of a long-lost friend.
A foot connects with my ribs, but I don’t answer them. I can’t, because I’m pretty sure they’ve dislocated my jaw.
The next hit knocks me out.
My eyes are crustedwith dirt as I battle my way back to consciousness with a groan. I’m being dragged, a hand under each of my arms, through the wastes of a burnt-out forest. The tree stumps stand vigil as my feet trail through mud. I ache, like my body is one great big bruise. They probably kept on beating me after I was unconscious. Assholes.
Twisting hunger gnaws at me, letting me know it’s been a while since I last ate, but I have no idea how much time has passed. I’m fairly certain they’ve knocked me out more than once on the journey.
Unfortunately, whatever they did might’ve knocked loose a kernel of common sense, because I suddenly realise how indescribably bad this situation is.
Ahead of us, a great stakewall has been erected, and at the top, a single cerulean flag with three drakes emblazoned across it in black and white has been raised.
The king’s standard.
