Page 66 of Queen of War and Ruin

A door slides open. Voices bark into the darkness. The horses stomp and snort, and lamplight floods the stables, reflecting off flared nostrils and arched necks.

“What in the hells is going on in here?” a voice booms.

“Down!” Elrick whispers.

I drop to my knees, then crawl into the stall beside Elrick. Long spears of torchlight flicker off the faces of my companions.

“See,” someone yells. “There are lights in the back!”

Footsteps echo off the stalls. A lot of footsteps.

“Search the stalls,” a man’s voice orders.

Fear closes its cold fist around my gut. Someone whimpers in the darkness beside me. Maybe it’s Anura. Maybe it’s my wife.

I come to my feet before my mind can object.

Torchlight washes over me. I step under the bar of the stall as men run toward me, the light of their lanterns blinding me. A dozen voices shout questions at me all at once. I hold my hands up at my side and smile until one voice rises above the rest.

“You,” a man growls. “I know who you are.”

He steps forward, holding a lantern over his head. He stares at me like he’s examining a piece of jewelry to see if it’s fake. He’s one of the guards who met us on the road and led us to the palace.

“You’re a fucking prince,” he growls. “What in the hells are you doing in here?”

I smile at him, then at the dozen armed men behind him.

“I’m taking my leave of this place,” I say, as lightly as possible. “I don’t believe your prince and I have anything further to discuss.”

The guard’s face twists into a scowl. My heart hammers inside the back of my throat. I want to take another step toward the guard, away from the stall hiding what’s left of the royal family of Marion, but I don’t dare draw attention to that part of the stables.

“No,” someone calls from behind him. “He wouldn’t leave by himself.”

My smile feels like it’s frozen on my face. That’s one of the guards who led us back to our rooms, one of the men who sat at the table in the kitchens when I gambled away my dagger. The man in front spits at my feet, then turns back to the guards.

“Search the damn stalls,” he growls.

I take a breath. My hand drops to my dagger.

I can’t beat all of them, but by the gods, I can make them regret coming here. Lamplight swings over me as my hand closes around the hilt of my dagger. One of the guards gasps and takes a step backward.

“You’re right,” my wife says, from behind me. “I’m leaving with him.”

Chapter 35

Lilias

NOT GOING ANYWHERE

Istep out of the stall slowly, moving toward the men with their lanterns and swords like I have nothing to hide. I don’t dare look back to the stall where Elrick and Anura sit with their backs against the rough wood.

“Who the fuck are—” someone begins, but another voice cuts him off.

“That’s his wife,” someone says.

There’s a coughing sort of laugh, and the big guard grins at me like the snake who sang the mice into his jaws. I smile back at him. Zarek looks like he’s just been punched in the gut.

“And why in the hells would you ever want to leave, my lady?” the guard asks, putting just enough of a twist on the word lady to make it sound like an insult.