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I felt my cheeks redden. I might have been reduced to punching pillars, but I hadn’t become a drunken wastrel yet. The worst Odessa saw were the trays of untouched food and clothing tossed onto chairs instead of neatly folded. And the pillar.
Thank the gods that my pacing back and forth across the room for hours on end had left no discernible trace.
A small smile appeared on Odessa’s face as her eyes landed on the uneaten trays of food, and I glowered. “What?”
“Does Hawl know you aren’t eating?”
“Breena takes the trays away...” I began defensively.
“Before Hawl can see them? Oh, ho, you’ve been spared so far. But I don’t think that will last.” Odessa’s smile became gloating.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I asked Hawl to join us.”
“You did what—” I started to say, just as the door from the connecting room that led to the kitchen exploded in a fulmination of brown fur.
“We’ll discuss the trays later, princeling,” the Bearkin bellowed. “Now duck.”
It was fortunate Hawl had directed their command towards Odessa and not to me, because while the Steelhaven warrior immediately bolted to the side, I continued to stand there, embarrassingly transfixed as the Ursidaur barreled into the room, a silver tray outstretched in one clawed paw.
Before I could say another word, the tray was released. It flew across the room towards the spot where Odessa’s head had been a mere second before.
The flat piece of metalware collided with its target with a sickening thud.
There was a muffled cry, and a figure came into view along the impeccable gold and emerald encrusted rear wall—a few feet behind Odessa’s last place. The form of a slender man clad all in black fell to the floor, blood dripping from an unhealthy-looking dent in his forehead.
“Intruders,” Hawl roared, as if we weren’t already aware, and continued to charge forward.
With signature grace, Odessa slid out of the way as the Bearkin pulled a kitchen cleaver from the pocket of their loose, white apron. A large cast-iron pan had also appeared as if by magic in their other paw, and now they swung this up and over their head, then downwards.
There was another sickening smack, and a second figure in black fell to the floor along the wall.
“Like swatting flies,” Hawl roared gleefully.
Another smack.
I glanced at Odessa. “Shouldn’t you be...?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Helping? Hawl seems to have everything under control. Indeed, I believe they’re even enjoying themself.”
“I certainly do,” Hawl roared as they struck down a fourth shadowed intruder along the opposite wall. “And I most certainly am.”
Odessa gestured at me. “Or are you suggesting you’d like to join in the fun? You’re not too tired from all that pillar pummeling?”
“Pathetic, these creatures,” Hawl declared. “Not tiring in the least. Too easy by far. Stay where you are, my prince. This will be over in a moment. Now, where’s their queen bee?”
“Queen bee?”
A shadow flickered on the opposite wall. A faint mist began to form.
I grimaced. Ah, I was beginning to see the full extent of the plot now. Perhaps Odessa was right and all of the time I’d spent sequestered away was taking its toll.
Ordinarily, I would have easily anticipated this and met it head-on. Much like Hawl was so eagerly doing.
Odessa sighed as she saw the new visitor. “I’ll take care of it.”
A slender stiletto blade had appeared in her palm.
