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“I didn’t ask for chatter. I ordered you to bring the weapon to me.”
Another look at Kellyn from me. “Really, I’m just going toduckout for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Kellyn cocks his head.
“I’mduckingoutright now,” I snap.
And like the smart man he is, Kellyn’s eyes shoot up in realization at the same time he bends at the waist.
Right as I swing the sword in his direction.
I aim at the shoulders of the men surrounding Kellyn, swiping at them from a dozen feet away. They fall in heaps to the ground, chain mail clinking, weapons rolling out of sight.
A light snore comes up from the vicinity of the fallen men.
The forge goes perfectly still as everyonenotin the direction I swung looks up from their work. Kellyn rises from his crouched position, finally free of guards.
“Run,” I tell him as I turn, my new sword held at the ready.
Ravis has his dagger drawn, and he points it at me with fire in his eyes. “You think very carefully about what you’re about to do, smithy. This might turn into a decision you can never come back from.”
“I choose freedom,” I say as I swing the sword.
Ravis catches it on his dagger before I can complete the full swing, preventing the magic from unleashing. I step away and slash at him, but he catches that, too.
The prince was trained to be a ruler. With that training would have come swordplay. He’s no amateur. The men behind him step forward, drawing their own weapons. The smithies throughout the forge fidget, and I can just imagine them grabbing whatever weapons are around, preparing to jump in.
This wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I had a plan. I waited until a Tuesday, so the iron shipment would be here, giving us a getaway cart. It’s after lunch. Food is sprawled around the forge, enough for us to pack and get a few days under us before it spoils.
Everyone in the forge is supposed to be sleeping. The prince wasn’t supposed to be here yet. Kellyn is running on foot behind me somewhere, Ravis has a weapon pointed at me, and nigh fifty individuals are preparing to pounce upon me.
They’re going to catch him. They’re going to kill us both, and then Ghadra will be doomed.
The prince doesn’t wait for me to strike at him again. He launches himself at me, and I just barely manage to block the blow.
But that’s what Ravis wanted. In a quick and powerful move, he catches the guard of my sword with the length of his blade, flicks his wrist, and sends the weapon sailing off to my right.
We both leap for it, the two of us tangling into a heap on the ground. I wince as I feel the prince’s dagger slice across the back of my arm, and Ravis drops the knife, likely in fear of killing his smithy. He gets both hands on the hilt of the new sword, and I grasp his forearms from behind him, doing my best to still his motions.
“Stay back,” Ravis orders his men, halting their advance. He mustreallynot want me injured in the scuffle.
“After the mercenary!” I hear Strax shout, and men race past us in blurs. The head guard doesn’t go with them, staying nearby in case the prince asks him to intervene.
Ravis is shorter and weaker than I, but he holds on to the weapon with a death grip. He manages to spin onto his stomach, so I reach around him, grip his arms, haul his body upright at the knees, and force him to swing the weapon.
Strax and the men who remained with him go down, collapsing to the floor in sleep.
“Ziva, stop this!” Elany shouts. I force Ravis’s arms toward the many forges and swing again. She and the smithies slump toward the earth.
Bells ring from somewhere in the palace, alerting everyone that there’s trouble. I hear running feet in the distance. More guards are coming.
“Get off me!” the prince shrieks as he manages to rise to his feet, bringing me with him. He backs up, stepping on my foot, trying to shove me away.
I leap onto his back, wrap my legs around him, hooking my ankles together in the front, keeping my hands gripped over the top of his on the sword.
He turns his head to the side and bites my upper arm.
On instinct, I release my right arm and shake out the pain, let my legs drop. I try a new tactic, throwing him forward with all my strength.
