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Men barrel out from behind, none of which are Silas. They watch in a stupor as Ari kicks our horse into a gallop. Night still cloaks the land as we turn around the inn, the clouds blocking out any sign of the approaching dawn. We ride swiftly toward the front of the property, moving around the corner of the inn in a smooth stride.
Without notice the horse stops, and I slam forcefully into Ari’s back. I gasp as I reach for my side, trying to stop any bleeding from my opened stitches. Our horse tromps the ground as I try to take in the scene before us, my vision blurring from the spasms of pain radiating through me with every movement.
Three men stand there, two of them holding John and Shiren with swords raised, while in between them stands Silas. His smile is cool and collected, but his eyes are vicious daggers as they take in Ari— hardly giving me any thought at all. What I wouldn’t give for my body to be healed and whole, so I could take my sword and personally watch the life drain from his body. A snarl escapes me, both from fury and the burning in my side, finally sending Silas’s gaze my way.
“Get off the horse, and we’ll let them live.” His even words don’t convey the thirst in his eyes.
Several snorting breaths sends my focus to the horses tied up to the front of the inn, only a few strides from Shiren and John. I don’t miss Ari’s quick scan of the beasts, obviously searching for the beloved buckskin she had to leave behind. Her shoulders sag almost imperceptibly when none of them are Prue.
“How long did it take you to find them?” I yell, nodding towards the animals, not bothering to hide my smug smile. It was a last minute decision, to scatter their horses at the mail outpost. One that I knew would keep our party ahead and out of reach, giving us time to hopefully reach Lena before they could catch up and stop us.
For the briefest moment Silas’s face flickers with rage, his lips curling in raw disgust as he looks upon me, before consciously composing himself back into his serene mask. Another bolt of lightning lights up the sky with its accompanying boom of thunder.
“Time is ticking, little liar,” he taunts, his focus returning to Ari. “Your life and Captain Montgomery’s, or the innkeeper and his daughter.” My body goes rigid, pain still blazing through me.He knows me. And if he knows me, he may know my connection to Lena and… and hurt her just to hurt me.
“You’ve lost Silas. Give it up,” Ari declares, as at ease as the day she sat across from him at that table.
He laughs, the sound booming through the patchy yard. The hairs rise on Ari’s arms. “You are outnumbered, yet again. And you have no companions to back you up this time.”
Otto. Aiden. Did he find them? Hurt them? Are they ok? Ari tenses, her jaw clenching as the realization dawns through her as well. But she plays it off, continuing her ruse yet again.
“Half the Felshan army is on their way. We sent word at Fort Lowsan of you and your men. That you know the whereabouts of Princess Adalena. It’s only a matter of time before you’re caught and tried for your crimes.” The lie flows effortlessly from her lips.
“My little liar,” he croons, his words stroking the air as our horse shifts again beneath us.
He takes a step forward. Before he can take another, Ari reaches for the dagger hidden in her boot, throwing it in a single, fluid motion, aiming with absolute precision. It lands in the throat of Shiren’s captor, the girl leaping out of his grasp without hesitation. John twists, elbowing the man holding him square in the eye, giving him enough room to land a fist to the man’s jaw.
“Run, Shiren!” I hear the innkeeper yell as the girl pulls the dagger from her captor’s neck, blood spurting from the wound. Not an ounce of concern crosses her face as she bounds to the tied-up horses and cuts through the tie on the nearest one, leaping atop its white back and turning to blaze a trail to John. Silas releases his sword from its sheath, heading straight for the innkeeper.
Ari jumps down before I can stop her, the men finally barreling from the back of the inn toward the commotion. Luckily, they are as drunk as a sailor on leave, and Ari weaves through them smoothly.
John turns to face Silas, distracting him so Shiren can get away. But the girl, as stubborn as Ari, heads straight for the duo.
“Throw me my dagger!” Ari yells to her.
Shiren flits her gaze around before yelling back, “I… I dropped it!”
But Ari doesn’t break stride, still heading straight for Silas. He waits for her, his focus now completely honed on the thief,mythief, hurdling toward him. His sword is raised, ready to cut away her life as if it’s nothing more than the nuisance of a dangling thread from his shirt.
A few more men run forward, moving to intercept Ari before she can reach him. I would be of no use on the ground, my leg making it impossible to reach her in time. Instead I grab the reins of the horse in one hand, gripping my sword with the only strength I have left as I spur the beast forward. They jump away as I swing. No damage is done, but I buy Ari just enough time to reach Silas.
His eyes boast a readiness to feel his sword slide through her flesh like butter. He moves to strike. Ari ducks, rolling toward him, landing a blow to his stomach so hard he gasps for air. In the same fluid motion she turns her back to him, raising an arm upward as she loops and traps his arm under her own, twisting until a painful crack rings through the air.
Silas yelps in pain, his broken wrist releasing his grip on the sword. Rage warps his face, the hatred centering on a single point— Ari. He reaches his other hand into her hair, yanking back her head against his shoulder, whispering something into her ear.
A faint smile tugs at her lips before she stomps a heel onto his foot, loosening his grip just enough to twist herself away. His sword lies gleaming in her hands, and she doesn’t hesitate to slide that sword up and across his chest. Silas falls in a heap, blood soaking through his shirt and pooling quickly underneath him. His cold eyes stare at her as she towers above him, throwing his bloodied sword before turning away without a second thought.
In only a breaths time, I’m to her side. Her features boast neither victory nor regret, satisfaction nor guilt. Rather that she knew what needed to be done, and did it. Her foot finds the stirrup, and she leaps back to her spot in front of me.
Shiren reaches a hand out for John, pulling him onto her horse as he jumps with equal energy. None of us spare a parting glance for our fallen foe, now lifeless on the ground.
Rain begins to fall more steadily now as Ari maneuvers our horse to ride away from the scene, Silas’s drunken men still trying to make sense of everything that just happened. But a creaking door grabs my attention, my gaze flicking back toward the inn. An unease burrows deep in my gut as a shadow emerges from inside. The light from within gives a silhouetted glow to the form before that shadow walks through the doorway and his face is illuminated by the lanterns that line the front porch.
The sneering smile of Sir Reynauld levels the final kernal of light in Ari’s face.
Our horse skitters around as she decides what to do next, the full weight of his gaze resting on me, and hers on Reynauld.
It was him. He was part of this all along— kidnapping Lena. My jaw tenses, my stomach searing in pain as I lift my sword one last time, pointing it directly at him. His smile only widens.
