Page 57 of The Rebel and the Rose (The City of Fantome #2)

It was a solid plan. A clever workaround, and the best hope they had now of saving their friend. Even if it did mean siding with the king.

‘Screw the king,’ said Val. ‘Once we get Bibi back, I don’t care what happens to him. If you ask me, both sides are bad. We just need to get out of this mess alive.’

‘At least under the Rayeres, we know what we’re getting,’ reasoned Theo.

‘Andreas will be worse than his uncle ever was. A power-grasping tyrant who would enslave his own people to keep himself in control. Just look at Marvale. Imagine an entire kingdom like this, without free will, without free thought . For all we know, he’s planning on serving Valterre up to the Mondragons on a platter.

We could soon fall under the banner of Urnica and their bloodthirsty king. ’

‘Unless Andreas enslaves him too,’ muttered Sera, thinking of Talisa, and how callously he had discarded her broken body. Who knew where the true scope of his vision would lead the kingdom, or how the far-reaching strands of his power might affect the continent at large?

They were moving now, a sense of urgency taking hold as they began to stuff their satchels.

Outside, the sun was already sinking, the sky blushing to a deep rippling pink.

Soon, the streetlamps would flicker to life and night would be upon them.

Andreas would be waiting, watching. Hell, he could be watching them right now.

Drawing the drapes, Theo said, ‘I’ll speak to the innkeeper.

Get a carriage arranged as fast as I can. We’ll sneak out the back.’

As the sun set on the red mills of Marvale, the darkening sky hummed with music and laughter tripped through the streets. The familiar sounds raked their nails down Sera’s spine. Just another one of the silver-tongued prince’s lies. Another reminder to get the hell out of town.

Crouched between two burlap sacks of letters on the floor of the small postal coach Theo had managed to procure, Sera locked eyes with her friends.

Fear hung like a cloud between them, no one daring to speak as they pulled out onto the main street and headed south towards the arch that marked the entrance to Marvale.

The postmaster rode out in front, his old workhorse clip-clopping far too slowly for Sera’s liking. They had agreed he would drop them at the next town over, and from there, they would continue their journey north to Halbracht.

As they turned downhill at the end of the street, gathering speed, Val reached for her hand, squeezing it tight. Sera squeezed back.

Almost there .

Almost free .

Through a gap in the curtains, she spied the stone arch up ahead. The bodies of nightguards were still strung up like garlands, the scent of their rotting flesh stinging tears in her eyes.

Theo turned his face into her collar to silence his gag.

Eyes streaming, Sera dropped her head, counting the seconds until they were out.

Three more minutes until Marvale was behind them.

Two more minutes.

One minute.

Just one more minute.

The carriage slowed as it passed under the arch.

Then stopped.

Voices sounded near the front of the coach.

‘Guards,’ hissed Theo, his eyes wide with panic.

Mercenaries .

Andreas must have stationed them at the gates.

There was a kerfuffle, the weight of the carriage shifting as the postmaster climbed down from his perch.

No.

No .

‘What do we have here?’ Andreas’s face appeared at the window, graced with a frown as gruesome as the bodies swaying from his arch. ‘Three gutless turncoats about to ruin my fucking day.’

The door swung open.

Val pounced like a wildcat, throwing herself at the prince.

He reeled backwards, and they fell in a heap on the ground.

Theo went next, grabbing one of the prince’s mercenaries by the throat.

Sera dived to the right, running for the closest corpse.

She pulled its sword free, swinging just as the second mercenary advanced on her.

A wide gash sliced through his right shoulder. Clutching at it, he stumbled backwards, allowing her to gather her wits. With the postmaster cowering behind his wagon, it appeared to be three on three.

Val was holding her own with the prince, spitting and clawing and kicking for her life. Theo was still swinging from his mercenary’s neck. Sera’s assailant stalked towards her now, drawing his own sword.

‘Do not dare harm my saint-maker!’ Andreas yelled from the ground, before Val landed another punch. She earned two in return, the force knocking her head backwards.

Sera raised her sword, sensing the odds shift in her favour.

Her friends were fair game, but right here, in this moment, she was untouchable.

She swung again, wild and fast and violent.

In place of any kind of innate skill, she went for momentum.

And complete recklessness. Running full tilt at the nearest mercenary, she slashed at his arms, his legs, bringing him to his knees.

She reached the other just as he managed to dislodge Theo from around his neck.

When he drew his sword, she met it with her own, shoving her blade against his.

She was slighter, weaker and completely outmatched, but the magic simmering inside her meant her thoughts were still her own, and the poor bastard had been enthralled not to hurt her.

Which meant she could be both a weapon and a shield.

She could save Theo’s ass.

‘ Go! ’ she hissed, over her shoulder.

Her opponent dropped his sword, breaking the tension between their weapons.

She stumbled into his chest, her blade biting into the hard leather of his vest. It fell away, leaving him free to grab onto her shoulders.

Anchoring herself onto his beefy arms, she drew her knee up, sharp and fast, catching him between his legs.

Huffing out a curse, he fell to his knees. But when she turned to help Val, he grabbed her collar, dragging her back to him. Those massive arms circled her chest, creating a steel trap. Shit . No matter how she bucked or kicked, she couldn’t get free.

Still struggling against her captor, she could only watch as Andreas pinned Val to the ground. Choking her with one hand, he used the other to reach inside her collar and yank her necklace free. Holding it up to the dying light, his eyes grew in understanding.

A cruel smirk curled his lips. ‘And here I was afraid my power was waning.’ He smashed the bead of Lightfire beside Val’s head, causing a quick flash of golden light.

Hinging upwards, Val spat in his face.

He backhanded her.

‘STOP!’ Sera screamed. ‘If you lay one more finger on her, I swear I’ll—’

‘What?’ he hissed, turning on her. ‘Run away like a frightened rat? Throw my kindness back in my face? Spit on the future of this kingdom because you’re a gutless coward who can’t handle the weight of her own destiny?

’ Grabbing Val’s jaw, he dragged her nose right up to his.

‘And as for you, you feral little bitch, you will not harm me again. You will not run from me again. When I tell you to do something, you’ll do it. Understood?’

Val went eerily still. Eyes misting, she nodded rigidly.

Sera’s heart sank.

It was no trick this time.

Satisfied, Andreas peeled himself off her friend and stood up. His brows knotted as he looked around. ‘Where the fuck is the other one?’

It was then that Sera noticed the fading thrum of hoofbeats. When she looked over her shoulder, she caught the silvered glint of Theo’s hair, riding fast and far away from Marvale. A giddy laugh gathered in her chest. She swallowed it back.

Palming his sword, Andreas came to stand over her. ‘Do you think you’ve won, Saint-maker?’ he sneered.

Looking up at him, she said, in all honesty, ‘I don’t think either of us has won, Andreas.’

His eyes darkened. ‘Not yet.’

Behind him, Val sat up in a daze. ‘There’s a worm in my head,’ she groaned. ‘It hurts .’

Andreas kept his eyes on Sera. She kept her eyes on him. Hostility chilled the air between them, her magic igniting at his nearness and the hatred it stoked in her.

The prince sighed. ‘Since I can’t enthral you, we’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way.’

Sera was about to ask him what the hell he meant when the hilt of his sword came crashing down. Pain exploded, snatching the world away. Then darkness devoured her, her magic winking out like light.