Page 139 of Keeper of the Word

Elanna’s core warmed.

There was movement on either side of Elanna, but her starlit core held her attention.

Stars.

“…the House of Sidra doth hereby pronounce that through this matrimony, the Seal of Asalle…”

Out of the corner of Elanna’s eye, Daved moved toward the dais, as did Petre and three of the other Warins.

Elanna blinked. They had not moved at all.

All at once, the warmth of her core burst, and a glorious heat raced through Elanna’s entire being.

The sovereign!The voice was an alarm bell pealing through her veins.

Elanna opened her mouth and shouted, “Your Majesty!”

But ’twas too late.

Too much happened at once.

Four Warins—three of them wore yellow armbands—and Commander Kaff drew their swords simultaneously and each rammed them through a person in the hall. Lord Ulara. High Commander Dirk. And two of the queensguard.

Hux burst through the doors, followed by Elanna’s and Tara’s guards, shouting, “’Tis the Chancellor!”

And the chancellor, who stood directly behind King Rian, pulled a long dagger from his robes and drove it into his sovereign.

Queen Ferika’s scream pierced the hall instantaneously before everything erupted into chaos. A metallic tinge of blood filled the air.

Elanna stood dumb, staring at King Rian slumped on the dais, Queen Ferika frantically using the bottom of her skirts to stanch the blood.

Prince Dashiell was held in a stupor for a number of heartbeats. He suddenly came alive and seized a sword out of the hand of a fallen Warin knight who’d dropped near him. He went for Chancellor Griffith but was attacked by Petre and found himself in combat with the Warin. Daved dashed to aid Dashiell but at once found himself fighting another Warin instead.

A mass of people—knights and nobles, men and women—already lay lifeless on the floor.

Two council members bolted the double doors, and thethumpof castle knights battering against it was like a terrible drum. From behind the side door hidden by a tapestry, more men with swords appeared.

Hux was next to Elanna and used the dagger he’d taken from Petre against a man who’d swung his weapon in her direction. He shoved her out of the way, yelling, “I told Tolvar I needed a sword!”

Joss, Barrett, and Goodsell had all managed to get weapons from fallen victims and were in the thick of the fray. Goodsell backed Tara into a wall and had her at his back. She shouted commands and directions at him. Elanna realized that Tara was using her Sight to See where Goodsell would be attacked next. She tempted fatigue, but Goodsell managed to down four men in what seemed like blinks of an eye.

“Lady Wenonah!”

The woman cowered under her chair, sobbing into her father’s body.

Elanna scampered toward her as fast as her cumbersome gown would allow, somehow dodging any blow or hit. She knelt next to Wenonah and hugged the woman to her.

“’Twill be all right,” Elanna said, more for herself than anyone else.

Hux had managed to procure a sword, finally. He laughed giddily as he evaded his opponent, offering him the thrust of a mortal wound in return. To say Hux had skill with a sword was an understatement. Despite opponent after opponent targeting Hux, no one so much as scratched him.

Protect him, Stars. Protect him, oh Goddess of the Rainless Moon, who shines fortitude down on those who believe. Protect him.

She couldn’t help it. She may know light, and he may have known darkness, but gaping at him, fearing for him, Elanna would not dispute that Hux had been by her side in as many ways as she could count.

The hall roared with the din of chaotic battle. Tapestries, upholstered chairs, and cracks in the marble floor were stained with crimson. The stench of death caused Elanna to retch. At least half the council and half the Warins were dead. A familiar body caught her eye, and she held her breath. Goodsell’s knight, Kennel, stared blankly. Another fallen Warin landed next to Elanna.

Wenonah shrieked. Her cries were guttural and took Elanna’s breath from her.