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Her entire body froze with dread, her mind knowing too well the bite of those fingers.

Like the day Mother died. When I said… When he…

No, it isnotthat day, and I’m not that helpless.

Belatedly, she snapped into action, kicking out with her foot as her hands sought the weakest points to break his hold. But her hesitation had cost her. Her vision already swam, her father’s furious face wavering in front of her, as she tried in vain to suck in a breath. Without the element of surprise, her weakening grip couldn’t seem to find the purchase she needed.

“Tell me now, Ber.” Her father’s grip tightened. “Or she dies.”

The edges of her vision blackened.

Thud.

Then suddenly, the pressure was gone.

Chapter 32

The Fall

Ber drew his knife as he darted forward, gripping Ryenil’s shoulder with his left hand to hold him steady. Before the king could do more than glance in his direction, Ber buried his blade in the man’s gut with a sickly squelch-thud. Behind him, he heard Tes coughing and gasping as Ryenil released her, and fury coated Ber’s vision red. He stared into the king’s eyes—and twisted the blade deeper.

Ryenil gazed back with wide-eyed incomprehension, the shock of a man who’d thought himself invulnerable. Warm blood gushed over Ber’s right hand, and his grip on the knife grew precarious. Not so his hold on the back of Ryenil’s neck. His fingers stung from clenching so tightly, but he didn’t let go.

Then the shock broke. Ryenil shoved against Ber’s chest, and the clatter of armor and the ring of drawn swords filled the air. Ber gave the knife one last twist and then pulled it free, maximizing the damage as much as he could. Ryenil choked out a moan-scream, but the sound brought Ber only satisfaction. The man deserved far worse.

For a moment, the bodyguards hesitated, only two shifting to try to flank Ber. If they surrounded him, it would be difficult to defeat all five of them. Impossible, maybe. Would they harm Tesafter he fell, or would they laud her? The two who had hesitated to bow were the most likely to do the former.

The same ones attempting to get around him now.

Ber backed toward Tes, forcing her back against the wall and placing his body between her and the guards. At the movement, Ryenil collapsed against him, only the ruffle of his breath revealing that he was still alive. What would the guards do to keep the king that way? He eyed the closest two as they stalked nearer. A distraction might allow him to take out multiple guards himself.

Tes’s hand settled between his shoulder blades.“Shove Ryenil at them,”she sent.

It was a sound idea. Unfortunately, as Ber shifted his grip to do so, more soldiers streamed in through the door, some with arrows already prepared. A few of the court mages would follow at any moment. How could they possibly get out of this mess?

“Halt,” Tes called out imperiously over his shoulder, “By the order of Princess Lora Etessa.”

The new guards’ gazes snapped her way, and more than one gaped at her before regaining their composure. But they didn’t lower their weapons.

“Now,”Tes sent.

Between breaths, Ber shoved the king toward the nearest of the guards. As expected, their focus shifted toward saving Ryenil—but those soldiers were no longer alone. Ber took a single step forward before the first arrow loosed in their direction. Heart thudding wildly, he darted back in front of Tes.

A crack and snap rent the air, and agony screamed through him with breathtaking force.Hit. I’ve been hit.He glanced down to see the arrow lodged in his upper left chest. He longed to yank it free, but he would bleed out if he did. But at least he could still fight. He had no choice if he hoped to save both himself and Tes.

“You nearly struck the princess,” one of the warriors hissed at the archer, the sound difficult to hear over the screams and moans around them.

The man shrugged and drew another arrow. “We have to protect the king.”

So Teswasin danger.

“Ber!” his wife said, her voice rising with panic. Much like the tone of one of those keening moans, in fact.

Had she been injured? “If they have hurt you, I will—”

Her hand slapped down hard on his right shoulder, the movement sending a fresh wave of pain through him. For a moment, he could have sworn that he felt Tes against his back, her arm around his waist. Then his world flashed to white—before pain and darkness overcame him.

This time,using the ring drained nearly every drop of Tes’s energy.