Page 69 of A Lie so Pretty and Poisonous

Gabriel nodded and pulled out his coin purse. “Of course. Johneck, I will pay you double what you paid for this ring.”

A deafening boom shuddered around us, and I was thrown backwards onto the ground in an instant. My ears rang after my vision cleared, my head throbbing from smacking into the cobblestone street. Warmth spread across the back of my head and down my neck. Screams and shouts swirled around me in a symphony of chaos.

“AURORA!” Gabriel lifted me off the ground, and I swayed, clutching onto his tunic to steady myself. His strong arms wrapped around me as he watched the mayhem unfold. Seraphs ran around us, fleeing for their lives.

I put my hand on the back of my aching head, the feel of warm liquid wetting my hair. “What’s happening?” My legs wobbled, and my hand was covered in crimson. The head wound made my stomach turn, and bile rose in my throat.

With the smell of smoke and burnt wood thick in the air, Gabriel pulled back from me, looking me up and down. “Militia. They bombed the tavern. Rory, I need to go help check for survivors.”

Tears welled in my eyes, and I swayed. He walked me toward the rubble of a building, my feet dragging and stumbling on the uneven road. Gabriel sat me down against the wheel of a street cart, discarded by its merchant in the rush to flee from the danger. The thunderous noise of horse hooves approached, mixing with the screams and shouts. Out of the smoke of the street, members of the King’s Guard barreled through, all dismounting and running toward the rubble.

Gabriel took off running toward the approaching soldiers, leaving me to tend to my head wound. The haze of the smoke billowed around soldiers and guards flocking to the scene.

The ring. It must have flown out of my hand when the explosion knocked me backwards. I needed to find that ring. I crawled to where the blacksmith operated, now empty of Johneck and his weapons, knees catching on the ridiculous fabric of my dress.

“Rory!” I looked up to see Rosalyn racing toward me. “Oh, my word, are you alright?” She helped me stand and paused at the blood running down my neck. Her hand covered the back of my head, and a white light emitted from it, easing the pain down to a dull throb, stopping the bleeding.

“Thank you,” I sighed.

She looked around the street. “Where’s Darragh?”

“I don’t know. Gabriel brought me here. He ran to help find the injured or anyone trapped.”

Her eyes narrowed and flicked to the rubble of the tavern. “And he left you injured?”

I didn’t have time or want to think about Gabriel. “Rosalyn, I have to find a ring. I dropped it when the tavern was bombed.”

“A ring?”

“Yes. It’s important. It’s a gold ring with a crest of a stag and a leaf,” I said as I looked all over the ground in vain.

Rosalyn put her arms under mine, supporting me. “Leave it. We should get out of here in case another bomb goes off!”

I shook my head. “I have to have that ring. It’s my father’s.”

Ros blinked, searching my face. “Alright,” she said, placating me. “Let me look for it. In the meantime, I want you to sit over here where I can keep an eye on you. You are wobbling terribly, and I can't have you hitting your head again.”

Horse hooves thundered toward us.

Astorath stopped in front of Ros and me, Darragh dismounting and pulling me into his arms in a fluid motion. His eyes ran up and down me, checking for injuries. The moment he locked in on the blood matting in my hair, he drew in a sharp breath, and his eyebrows rose.

Ros stepped to the side of me. “I already healed her. That commander left her to bleed on her own so he could race in to play hero.” Darragh’s arms were tight around me, and he checked my head again, running a gentle hand over the back of my loosened hair. Ros scoffed. “I know how to heal her! I’m fine, too, by the way. Thanks for your concern, Darragh.”

Darragh shot Ros a scathing look. “Gabriel told me you were over here and ordered me to take you back to the castle. He didn’t tell me you were injured,” he growled out.

“I’m alright. Ros helped me, fulfilling her friend obligation for the year.” I tried to joke to lessen his tension, but my voice was weak.

Rosalyn’s voice turned sarcastic. “I see he didn’t want to be upstaged by you and sent you away. Typical.”

Darragh ignored her and ran his hand once more down the back of my head before briefly cupping the back of my neck. “Come on. I will get you on top of Astorath and back to the castle to a healer.”

I placed a hand on his chest. “No! I have to find my father’s ring.”

Darragh tipped his head.

I sighed. “I can’t explain right now, but I found my father’s ring.”

Rosalyn and Darragh’s eyes met for a moment before turning their attention back to me. “I’ll look for it. I promise, Rory.” Ros grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Let Darragh take you back to the castle. To safety. I’ll send it to you when I find it.”