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“It was a good shot, Calendula,” Maisel says. “Unless you were trying to kill him.”

“I guess I missed.” Clover turns back to our hostage and points her other dagger at his heart. “But I bet I could hit my target at this close range.”

“Stop toying with your prisoner,” Maisel grouses. “We still got to haul them back for questioning.”

“Maisel says I can’t kill you,” Clover purrs as she sheathes her little blade. “It’s your lucky day.”

The man gulps, looking both intrigued by and terrified of the pretty queen-to-be.

As we’re discussing the most efficient way of transporting the men back to the castle, the guard we spoke with earlier appears around the corner. He pauses a moment, startled, and then he runs forward.

“You there!” he hollers. “What are you doing?”

Maisel slips behind a nearby bush before she’s spotted, leaving Clover and me to fend for ourselves. “Ulfric!” she hisses. “Over here!”

The rock leopard disappears just before the guard reaches us.

“What in the…” the guard begins, drawing his sword as Clover steps between him and our prisoners.

“Do you recognize me, guard?” she asks, this time giving him a good look at her face.

“I saw you earlier.” He raises his sword. “You told me you didn’t want any trouble.”

“Save me!” our conscious prisoner cries pitifully. “My friends and I were on our way home from the tavern, and these two robbed us.”

I cuff him in the back of the head once more for good measure. “Enough.”

“You’re under arrest,” the guard says, eyeing us nervously, most likely realizing he’s outnumbered. “It’ll be better for you if you come peacefully.”

“I’m Commander Henrik Solbane,” I say with a sigh, “conducting official royal business for His Majesty.”

The guard steps forward. “I’ve heard of you. You’re that traitor, aren’t you? The one who attacked the new king’s intended?”

“I’mthe new king’s intended!” Clover exclaims, throwing up her hands.

The man shoots Clover a skeptical look, and then he says to me, “Show me your medallion.”

“I don’t have it with me,” I say flatly.

“Course you don’t.” He jerks his head to the man. “What’s his crime?”

Clover lets out a huff. “Heattackedus!”

We’re not getting anywhere with this conversation.

“Listen,” I say with a resigned sigh, “if you help us drag these men to the constable and promise to lock them up, we’ll go with you peacefully. I’m suresomeonewill know who we are.”

“Or we could knock you unconscious and arrestyoufor interfering with the king’s business,” Clover says, sounding as if she likes that idea better.

“Clover,” I warn under my breath.

She gives me an unrepentant shrug.

Not as confident as he was a moment ago, the guard finally nods. “All right. I've got to take the lot of you in anyway to sort out what happened.”

Loudly, I say, “Just in case they don’t report directly to Lawrence, I hopesomeonelets him know what happened to us.”

Clover glances toward the bush, but the guard looks at me like I’ve suddenly gone daft.