“We have to help…” Khay grunts, Raduna’s arm tightening around his throat.
“We have our orders. Keep your voice down.”
I gasp when Magnar slowly stands, his sword still in his hand, held loosely at his side. His back is to us, but even if he turned, I wouldn’t be able to make out his expression.
“There are only a dozen,” Arvi whispers. “He can take them.”
I shake my head frantically. “But what if more come? They knew he was here. It was a trap. I told him!”
Khay is pale, his mouth set, eyes huge in his drawn face.
“Magnar never surrenders.”
My heart plummets. Magnar turns, his movements gracious, holding easy on his sword. He doesn’t drop it. The soldiers repeat their orders, and something bright flashes in Magnar’s face. His teeth bared in a grin.
My knees are weak. He’ll fight, won’t he? But more are coming. This is a trap. He probably broke the King’s Peace already by killing the man who took the child—unless he was just a random citizen of the Citadel, which even I know can’t be true. And even if that’s the case…
He’ll certainly break it if he attacks these men. They will slaughterhim, and it will be lawful. My husband will die.
“You have to do something,” I whisper frantically. “Please! They will kill him.”
Raduna chuckles without humor. “We have our orders. I am sorry, my queen. He knew what he was doing.”
I watch with horror as Magnar raises his sword and swings it twice, cutting the air, the falling drops of rain.
“But he can’t,” I whisper frantically. “Please, Magnar. Please. You promised!”
He laughs, throwing his head back, and beckons the soldiers tauntingly with his free hand. I blink time and again, trying to clear my vision. Is that just the rain, or is someone there behind him? Gods, yes. The men we saw earlier who disappeared behind the building. They are back. Magnar is surrounded, and the number of his opponents increased to over thirty.
What about the women? Did they get out safely?
Another barked order comes, this time so loud, even I hear it.
“This is your last warning! Drop the sword! You are under arrest for violating the King’s Peace!”
Magnar straightens, his head turning to me as if he knows exactly where I stand. He looks for a moment, gripping his sword tightly. Then with slow, even motions, he extends his sword arm far to the side, the sword in line with his forearm. He keeps looking my way and says something in the Agnidari language, loud enough for me to hear, but not understand.
“Oh,” Raduna sighs with relief. “He said, ‘Tell my queen I always keep my word.’”
The sword clatters to the ground. No sooner than he drops it, the men swarm him. There is a sudden, terrifying roar of pain. I flinch, pressing my hand to my mouth.
“But he surrendered! Why are they… Why…”
“Normal practice,” Arvi hisses through his clenched teeth. “Subdue the prisoner. No one can see. Let’s batter him a little before he gets locked up. Better knock out his teeth so he can’t bite us.”
The world tilts under my feet. I rush to the door, unthinking, blind with terror. Raduna grabs me around the waist and hauls me back, pressing his hand to my mouth. I scream and flail, overtaken by the need to act.
His teeth. His best feature. His beautiful eyes. His hands. His nose. Can’t let them hurt him.
Raduna holds me for a long time, right until the guards walk away with Magnar stumbling in their midst, dragging chains clasped around his wrists and ankles. All that’s left are wet cobbles and the sputtering lantern. We wait until the sky lightens in the east, and Raduna sends out Arvi to check the streets.
When it’s clear, we sneak out through the back to a carriage we hired out earlier. It has no emblem and looks just like dozens of other carriages for hire traveling the streets of the Citadel.
Arvi drives, his hood low over his face as he hunches on the bench. The other knights sit inside with me, and we’re cramped and uncomfortable.
“Do we even know if the women got away?” I ask, my voice hollow. “Or were they held back?”
“We’ll know once one of the soldiers comes back to report,” Raduna rumbles. “What will happen to Magnar? Will he have a trial?”
