Page 97 of A Warrior's Heart

“Behind me. Now!” Malik shoved me to the side, then stepped forward.

I peeked around his arm to see a small army walking out from the trees and onto the beach. Some men had braids in their hair and wore clothing common among merfolk, and others were human soldiers. There were at least forty of them. Visible anyway. More could be hiding elsewhere.

“Where’s Eva?” I whimpered as the image of the severed head seared in my mind.

Had she been killed like the poor assassin?

“Release me, you damned bastard!”

I looked to the left to see two soldiers holding my sister. Her lip was busted, and a dark bruise had formed on her cheek. Cain was restrained beside her. He was in much worse condition. Blood oozed from a deep cut on his chest, and the cloth had been ripped from his face, showing dark bruising on his neck, cuts on his cheeks, and a swollen eye.

Malik’s gaze moved among the soldiers. He was counting them no doubt. Weighing our chances. If we jumped back into the sea to escape, we’d be leaving Eva and Cain to die. If we attacked, we were outnumbered and many of us—if not all of us—would fall.

My lover cursed under his breath.

“Well, well. If it isn’t my little fish.” King James stepped forward with a smug grin, his golden hair ruffling in the breeze. “You have something I want.”

Lorcan growled and aimed the tip of the trident at him. “Come and get it then.”

“All in good time,” he said, putting his hands behind his back. A frown downturned his lips. “I’m so… disappointed in you, Lorcan. I thought we had something special, you and I. But the entire time, you were playing me for the fool.”

“You needn’t my help to be a fool, James,” Lorcan said. “You do that well enough on your own.”

“How rude of you, baby brother,” another man spoke, stepping up beside James. He was the spitting image of King Triton. His pale hair was in a single braid over one shoulder, and his red eyes glowed, a stark contrast to his creamy skin. “Has our dearest father failed to teach you manners when speaking to your betters?”

“Ezra,” Lorcan spat, tightening his grip on the trident. A low hum sounded from the weapon. “It will be a pleasure removing your head from your shoulders.”

“Still angry about your beloved Aleksander?” Ezra taunted him, taking a small step forward. His expression hardened. “You forget that I lost someone too that night. Your guard killed him.”

When Haman—Ezra’s lover—had possessed Alek’s body, Lorcan had fought him. But Malik had dealt the killing blow after Lorcan was wounded.

Lorcan smirked, his eyes just as lethal as the man he set them on. “My one regret is that I couldn’t kill him myself.”

Ezra’s eyes flashed purple, and Nereus fell to his knees, gasping as he grabbed at his throat.

“Re?” Shar dropped down beside him, panic in his eyes. “What’s happening to him?”

“Release him from your spell,” Lorcan growled. “This is between you and me.”

Nereus sucked in a breath and slumped against Shar’s chest.

“You’re no fun,” Ezra said with a sigh. His gaze then landed on Alek, and he cocked his head. “Who do we have here? Your face is unfamiliar, yet there’s something about your aura that seems familiar.” He smiled at Lorcan. “It seems your dearest Aleksander lives after all.”

How did he know that?

“Did you follow us here?” Lorcan asked, an obvious distraction.

“There was no need to follow you,” Ezra said. “We knew where you were throughout this entire journey. We only needed to wait until the right time to spring an attack. I’d say it worked out rather well.”

“How?” Ervin asked. “I made sure we were not being tracked.”

“How precious. Loyalty is an amazing thing, wouldn’t you agree?” Ezra flashed a sinister grin before snapping his fingers. Roan stepped forward. “Although, loyalties can sometimes shift, if given the right incentive.”

“Roan?” Ervin unsheathed his sword. “You traitorous bastard! Why?”

The assassin kept his eyes lowered, refusing to meet Ervin’s gaze.

“Roan here has mage’s blood,” Ezra said. “Every stop you made along the way, he spoke to me and let me know. It was also how I learned of Alek’s true identity… and of darling little Theron.” He glanced at Lorcan. “Such a shame we couldn’t reach the boy before your father retrieved him. I would’ve quite enjoyed getting to know my nephew.”