Page 34 of Tree of Ash (The Runic Saga #2)

The shaking in her fingers traveled to her wrists, then to her arms. Her shoulders ached against the strain. The walls themselves shivered in anticipation of their freedom as her galdr weakened. What was Ishaan doing up there?

In her mind, Queen Stjarna approached, her eyes alight with pride. You are stronger than you know, Lovisa.

The memory gave her strength to hold on.

Far above, Larissa registered the scream just before she felt the thump on the ground in front of her. Simultaneously, the pressure from the walls vanished entirely. With a final heave, Larissa shoved the stone walls back on their tracks, shattering the iron gates from their hinges.

The Vienám had a clear path. Larissa’s arms fell as her body swayed, and her eyes fluttered open.

The body that lay on the ground in front of her made her wish she had kept her eyes shut.

She turned, too quickly, away from the sentry’s corpse, falling into Darien’s open arms that held her close.

She breathed him in, drowning in his familiarity, closing her eyes as the shakes worked their way through her body.

She hadn’t experienced the after-shakes since she had first started her training with her galdr .

Your galdr is not a bottomless pit, Lovisa , her mother had warned when Lovisa was thirteen years old. If you push too far, it will take everything from you and burn you up from the inside out. These shakes are to remind you of your limitations, to warn you of your hubris.

“Larissa, did you hear me?”

Reluctantly, she raised her head from Darien’s chest to look up into his face.

“We did it. Look.”

He was right; the fighting was over. Besides the men that Ishaan had killed, it appeared that the rest of the sentries had been subdued without further deaths.

They sat huddled on the ground under Haki’s supervision.

Beside him, Jari turned to meet Larissa’s gaze.

For the first time, the hatred in his expression had lessened.

His gaze traveled beyond her to where the broken gates lay.

There was something in his expression that Larissa had never seen before. An almost grudging respect.

“Your Highness!” Halvor called out from the other side of the bay.

Anara stood beside him, along with many of the farmers and laborers who had joined the fight.

Even Kelby was back on his feet, though leaning heavily against a truck.

A hawk soared down from the wall before transforming into Ishaan, who landed next to Halvor.

Larissa noticed how the farmers stepped away from his presence.

She and Darien moved to join the group. At her arrival, the men moved aside bowing low as she passed.

“Your Highness.”

“My Princess.”

Larissa nodded at the men as she passed by them but was saved from having to give a speech by Halvor’s words.

“We’ve secured the Outer Wall and entrance into the rest of the city, but make no mistake, we are not done yet.

Ishaan, the second wave waits behind the tree line.

Go and tell them to advance.” There was a flutter of wings, and Ishaan was gone.

“Anara, can you fly over the city and see if anyone has noticed our arrival?”

She nodded, but before transforming, she turned to Larissa. “I’ll keep an eye out for Halla as well.”

Then she too was gone, riding the wind.

Halvor adjusted his spectacles. “We’ll remain here and keep the Wall secured until King Torsten arrives—”

A keening sob rose from behind one of the farmer’s trucks.

They turned to the noise. A group of children wearing the metal bracelets of slavery knelt huddled in a circle.

In the midst of their circle, a body lay face down on the ground with short blonde hair covering her face.

Larissa’s breath caught at the bullet wound in the girl’s tiny body.

She fell to her knees beside the other children, turning the girl over with shaking fingers.

Relief was quickly followed by heavy, painful guilt.

The girl wasn’t Halla, but she was someone’s child, and she was dead.

Somewhere in the fighting, a stray bullet had found an unintended victim.

Darien’s mouth was pressed into a hard line at the sight of the girl.

Even Halvor looked unsettled. Larissa reached out, closing her eyes and muttering a prayer.

Over the weeping of the children came the rumble of dozens of trucks, and then the war cry of hundreds of voices filled the air.

Larissa looked over her shoulder to see the Vienám’s second wave racing toward the Wall, but there was no joy in her heart.

Only fear. With their arrival, the battle would continue into the main city of Perle.

People would die. Children would die. What would happen if Halla got caught in the crossfire? What had she done?

“Halvor,” Larissa called. “Where would Halla be?”

“The barracks, if she hasn’t been sold—”

“Where are the barracks?”

“Your Highness, the plan was for us to search for your sister after the battle—”

Larissa turned to the slaves still circled around the girl on the ground.

She raised her hands and clenched her fingers.

All at once, their metal bracelets fell from their wrists, clattering into the dirt.

“I’m sorry for your friend. I need to find someone before the same thing happens to her. Where are the barracks?”

The oldest of the children stared at Larissa, rubbing his chafed wrists. He couldn’t be more than fourteen. “In the East Sector of the city, near the Second Wall.”

“Thank you.” She rose to her feet. The Vienám’s second wave had nearly arrived. “Halvor, see to it that these children are protected.”

“What are you going to do?”

But Larissa’s feet were moving before Halvor could stop her.

She could hear Darien following right behind her.

She knew they both should wait; they had a duty to wait for King Torsten and stick to the plan.

But her duty to Halla was stronger. She had to get to the barracks before Halla could become more collateral damage, and if Halla had been sold, then gods help the thraell that withheld what Larissa needed to know.

She ran through the winding, narrow streets, passing the industrial section of the city, always veering to the east. Cables hung between the houses, many cracked from the sun.

In the distance, Larissa swore she could see the destroyed warehouse from her last visit.

Memories of the last time she’d fled this city combined with memories of her past overwhelmed her.

Ghosts of what had been called out to her from the streets, but she couldn’t stop, couldn’t wait to understand her double vision.

She could only keep moving. An unyielding hand tugged her hard, pulling her into an alleyway.

“Darien, what—”

His hand covered her mouth as he pushed her up against the wall. His gaze strained against the mouth of the alley. A sentry rushed past them, unaware of their presence, hurrying toward the Outer Wall.

Releasing a sigh, Darien removed his hand from Larissa’s mouth and placed it on the wall behind her. He offered her a crooked grin. “Sorry about that.”

Even in the shadows of the alley, the intensity behind his eyes stopped Larissa from moving out from under his arm.

A cough drew their attention away from one another toward the end of the alley, where Anara had landed in a flurry of feathers. “You do know a war is going on, don’t you?”

Larissa pushed away from the wall, separating herself from Darien. “I’m going after Halla.”

“So naturally, the two of you ran off without any backup?”

“Naturally.” Darien grinned.

“Not entirely without backup,” came Haki’s deep voice.

All three turned toward the mouth of the alley where the twins stood.

“I thought I smelled you two,” Anara said.

“What are you doing?” Larissa asked.

“We followed you. We know this city better than anyone else,” Haki explained. “We know where the barracks are.”

“We can get you there quickly,” Jari added. “And back into the fight.”

“Thank you, Jari,” Larissa said.

The tall man nodded in her direction just as a shrill ringing split the air. Larissa covered her ears with her hands, but it did little to alleviate the pain. Anara grimaced, baring her teeth at the sky.

“What is that?” Darien shouted.

Jari drew his gun. “The city’s alarm. They know we’re here.”