The Prince's Bargain - K.M. Shea Page 0,91
neck, and then rammed his head into the door. The brigand went slack and toppled to the floor as Thad and his men opened up a hole wide enough to crawl through.
Arvel relaxed minutely, and it occurred to Myth that his gruesome taunt had been all for the sake of stalling.
It must have dawned on Lord Julyan, too. He cursed and gestured again with his sword, swinging the massive weapon around with a surprising amount of ease. “Get the prince—subdue him!”
His shouts were barely audible over Thad, who hadn’t stopped blowing his Honor Guard whistle.
Lord Julyan’s henchmen surged forward, swords and spears extended.
Arvel threw his daggers, striking the men in vital spots so they fell with shouts and gurgles of pain.
Myth, using her borrowed dagger, swung out at any of the attackers that tried to make a grab for her, and she and Arvel continuously circled as Arvel tried to protect her.
It was impressive how fast Arvel was able to strike, moving at a blurred speed. In the span of a breath he threw one dagger—taking down a brigand—then struck out at an enemy that was lunging for Myth, stabbing him in the side before kicking him in the face and sending him to the ground with a crack.
However, all too soon, he ran out of his daggers. When one of the henchmen with a spear jabbed at him, he was forced to evade.
Myth’s heart pounded in her throat as she watched Arvel, scared beyond words for his life.
Arvel, casually dodging, seemed not to share her fear. “Try to hold on. She’s coming!”
She? Myth wondered.
At that moment, the hairs on the back of Myth’s neck stood on end, and the air seemed almost electric.
Somewhere outside a large cat screamed, its roar so fierce it made even Lord Julyan look back at the windows.
The doors on the far side of the room glowed white hot before disappearing in a pulse of magic, so obliterated that not even a sliver remained.
Princess Gwendafyn stepped through the gaping hole, looking vastly different from usual.
Magic glowed at her feet, and she held a sword that was wrapped with lightning. The sword shed electric sparks and hissed and popped as she adjusted her grip on its hilt and smiled.
The brigands closest to her fled, but Princess Gwendafyn was on them in an instant, laying waste to them as her sword sang.
Behind her trailed her grizzled companion. Today he was wearing chainmail and a tunic—which again was emblazoned with Gwendafyn and Benjimir’s emblem.
The man caught sight of Arvel and chucked a brown canvas roll.
Arvel caught it and snapped his wrist, unrolling it with a flourish. Inside the canvas roll was a complete set of throwing daggers, neatly organized.
Arvel yanked several blades free and chucked them, downing an enemy with every dagger he tossed.
Myth stuck to ducking and evading whenever one of the attackers tried to make a grab for her.
One actually managed to grab her wrist. Myth—remembering the way Arvel had cut at their attacker’s arm during the Fultons’ first attempt—twisted her wrist in his grip so she could skewer her borrowed dagger and slice up the side of his arm.
Another brigand jumped at her, and then a shadow passed across the windows of the Celebration Hall.
A pane of glass shattered, and—blessedly—the brigand swung around to face the window.
Myth smiled when she saw Lady Tari standing on the windowsill with Sius, his tail twitching back and forth. Blades made of light ran down the elven lady’s arms, following the curves of her muscle.
“Sius,” Lady Tari purred. “Go have some fun.”
The snow cat leapt off the windowsill, the claws of his massive paws extended.
“Stand your ground,” Lord Julyan yelled as his men fled the feline.
Thad, having dismantled the door with a war ax, pushed aside the settee that the rogues had been using to bar the doorway. “Rally to the crown prince!”
Honor Guards shouted war cries as they moved in, marching in a square formation as they fought their way to Arvel and Myth.
We just might make it out of this.
Arvel was a whirlwind of movement, cutting, slicing, and jabbing with his daggers.
Myth concentrated on staying out of his way, well aware she was the biggest liability and was no help at all. She tried to edge in the direction of the swarming Honor Guards while ducking enemies.
Unfortunately, two converged on her at once. One of them grabbed her by the wrists while the other plucked her dagger from her hand.
They held her for only a moment before