Page 149 of Destiny of a King

Adira looked for the densest part. She had one chance.

She didn’t hesitate. She tore her arm free and ran.

A shout erupted behind her.

Adira didn’t look back. She plunged between the trees, running as fast as the uneven ground allowed, branches catching at her cloak as she tried to remember the direction they’d come from.

“Get her!” Ernach’s furious command rang through the woods.

She heard men crashing after her and she ran harder.

She had to get back to the castle, back to Dravic and warn him.

The ground began to slope beneath her feet. She jumped over a fallen branch and nearly lost her footing when she landed but caught herself and kept going.

She heard the pounding of footfalls behind her. One shouted from somewhere to her left. Another answered from behind her. They were spreading out, trying to surround her.

Adira changed direction.

She spotted a narrow opening between two trees and raced toward it. A man suddenly appeared ahead. Adira swerved away from him. Her foot came down on loose earth. She twisted trying to stop herself from falling, but she went down hard.

She saw the large, jagged rock as it rose up toward her, but she wasn’t fast enough to avoid it.

Adira struck it hard. Pain exploded through her head, and everything went black.

Dravic drove his sword into the warrior coming at him and ripped it free. Another immediately took the man’s place. There seemed no end to them.

He swung again, barely aware of Tharne fighting several feet away. They had somehow been forced back-to-back as Ernach’s men closed around them.

Dravic would have laughed at the absurdity of it if he hadn’t been consumed by the need to get through that damned door. Adira was somewhere beyond it and every moment he remained trapped in the Great Hall took her farther from him.

He blocked a blow and slammed his fist into the man’s face, then he drove his shoulder into another warrior and sent him sprawling.

The doors at the far end of the Great Hall burst open and more warriors poured inside.

Dravic swore. Ernach had planned well. He and Tharne couldn’t hold off an entire army.

A familiar voice suddenly thundered across the hall.

“Protect the king!”

Dravic froze for no more than a heartbeat. Scotaran warriors surged through the doors. His warriors. And leading them⁠—

“Tavish,” Dravic called out.

Relief hit Dravic hard, but it lasted only an instant. He had to get to Adira.

Tavish, along with several warriors, fought their way toward him, sword in hand and fury on his face. Dravic was soon surrounded by his warriors who were quickly dispatching the mercenaries.

“I assume you’re pleased to see me,” Tavish said.

“You took your damned time.”

Tavish blocked the point of a sword that slipped between the circle of warriors. “I left with an army as soon as your message reached me, and you’re welcome.”

“I should thank you for doing your job?”

“There is the king I know and respect,” Tavish said.