Page 24 of A Kingdom of Lies
I glanced just as she shifted forms, skin melting into shadow and retracting into the long, scaled body of the winged beast that lurked within her.
Gyah shouted again, a roar that hid the undertones of her warning to get down.
That was when the air whistled as a bolt struck through the wall of fire. Time seemed to slow as I watched the sharp edge of the projectile pass inches from Althea’s body; only a whisper of hair moved. Althea gasped, turning back to look as another bolt hissed through the air.
This time, the projectile’s aim was true and met its mark.
A scream of pain tore through the night as Althea fell to her knees. Her hands reached for the short splinter of wood that protruded from her thigh. My senses exploded to life in that moment, as though a bucket of iced water had been thrown upon my head.
I moved for Althea, who writhed on the ground. It became hard to see her as the wall of fire dropped, no longer fuelled by her magic. With the dispersion of the heat came the rushing of darkness again.
Gyah roared, wings flaring wide in warning, threatening the many who stood around us.
Hunters. They found me, just as I wanted. Except this wasn’t my plan, not with Althea and Gyah. They should never have followed me.
Hunters greeted us down the scope of crossbows, each with readied bolts pointed towards us. A wall of shadows armed with weapons.
Althea grabbed my tunic and dragged me down towards her. “My magic. It – it is gone.”
A loud pop sounded in the distance. I looked away from Althea’s paled, pain-creased face to the sky. At first it looked as though the stars themselves were falling from the heavens. I blinked, unable to make sense of what I was watching.
Then the noise of clinking metal revealed the truth.
By the time I realised what was happening, I couldn’t warn Gyah.
A web of chains fell from the sky, unravelling into a blanket as it cascaded over the hissing Eldrae. The moment the net touched Gyah, her scales melted away. Smoke curled from the creature’s body, now held down by the heavy metal web, until she writhed in her fey form upon the cobbled street.
Iron. It had to be. The only element strong enough to subdue a fey’s power. The same as the bolt protruding out of Althea’s thigh.
Althea was still kneeling on the ground as she choked out, “Fight, Robin. They’ll kill us.”
“I would strongly suggest not resisting,” a deep voice rumbled out from the wall of Hunters. “Surrender yourself peacefully, and no blood needs to be shed.”
“Do something… Robin.” Althea’s grip on my tunic was failing. Her eyes fluttered as she struggled to keep them open.
I looked from the Cedarfall Princess, who wrestled with consciousness, to the powerless Eldrae, who didn’t move beneath the web of chains, then to the Hunters; countless, narrowed eyes poised above weapons staring unflinchingly at me.
“I’m sorry, Althea…” I muttered, pulling myself from her weak grip as I stood. “I warned you. You should never have followed me.”
“What have you done…?” Her whisper haunted me as I regarded the army of Hunters, turning my back on her.
I did what I thought was right, but now I had to pay the price and hope it was worth it.
“Steady!” That deep voice shouted again, followed by the shifting of bolts and the taut pulling of strings. “Ready yourselves in case our friend here has a valiant change of heart.”
Slowly, I raised my hands at my sides. The last thing I needed was for them to see me more as a threat. I had an innate awareness of the many humans watching from the safety of the King’s Head tavern and the surrounding buildings that lined Grove’s streets.
This was a spectacle that couldn’t be missed, one they would likely gloat about for generations.
I lifted my head, jutting out my chin and rounding my shoulders back. It was time to be the king I continued to convince everyone I was. The first set was letting the unnatural authority ooze into my voice.
“I request an audience with the Hand,” I called out above the ruckus. Clearly my request was a surprise, because the Hunters calmed to an almost silence. Until the laughter began.
“Surely my ears deceive me. Have I just heard you correctly?”
Although I couldn’t see the person speaking, that didn’t take away from the intense gaze pinned to me, how it scorched my skin from head to foot.
My hands shook violently, my legs numb, but I fought to keep control over my voice. To keep it steady. “You heard me correctly. I wish for an audience with the Hand,” I repeated, swallowing a lump that crept into my throat.
