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The man in front opened his black cloak and reached inside. I half expected a rush of magic to take us out. They were from the mighty Paragon, after all. But instead, he only pulled out a small dagger.
Every guard in the vicinity pulled weapons of their own. I backed up, reclaiming my spot next to Jade.
Although I was certain that not a single one of my guards would let these fools touch her.
“Really?” I asked. “You come here with nothing but a handheld weapon?”
“Like I said. I don’t intend on making this harder than it needs to be.”
The three of them spread out, just slightly. Enough to let me know that they were actually considering making a move.
“Jade, go inside,” I demanded.
“Sending her inside isn’t going to stop us.”
“Is that another threat?”
“It’s a warning, King Malachi. Silas gave us these orders. You know what that means.”
I listened as Jade’s footsteps grew quieter and quieter as she retreated into the castle behind me. I thanked the Saints that she listened this time. Being in the castle wouldn’t make her safe, but she didn’t need to be near this.
“Leave now,” I warned. “That’s a warning. And it’s the only one you’ll get.”
“You know we can’t do that.”
“You know I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
“I know you’re a powerful man,” he spoke, spinning his weapon in his hand. “I know you have a special gift, King Malachi. But you know that Silas won’t allow us to return with nothing. So this battle is a chance I’m willing to put my wages on.”
My heart began pounding in my chest. Not in a nervous way. I knew this would barely be a fight. These three would just be three more bodies on my list of casualties.
For Jade, I would gladly add them.
For Jade, I would do whatever it took.
Serefin and Doromir stepped around the back of the group. The three visitors were now surrounded.
There was no going back.
The leader turned to the other two and whispered, “Go find the girl.”
And those four words were enough to start a war.
“Kill them all,” I ordered.
My power flared in their direction. I allowed the tendrils of magic to drop all three of them to the ground. The ones that moved to follow Jade were now clutching and clawing at their insides, screeching in indescribable pain.
They deserved worse. They deserved much worse than pain.
“Serefin,” I ordered, “end it.”
Serefin’s sword came down on the left one’s neck, severing it with one motion.
One threat down.
The leader began groaning, clearly trying to speak. I pulled back my strong tendrils of power, just enough so I could hear his last words.
“They’ll come for her,” he said through gritted teeth, still in pieces on the ground. “They’ll come for her and you know it. She’ll never be safe.”
