Page 229 of A Touch of Poison
He nodded. “Look.” He held still, forcing the crowd to break around us, and from across the room, I made out Asher’s black hair and the purple gleam of Lysander’s. He whistled and they turned towards us, arriving as the crowd’s flow became a trickle.
“Have you seen Perry?” Pale, Asher scanned the guests pressing at the exit as guards pushed in.
“No,” I muttered, signalling to the guards to hold a line around the double doors. If they entered on one side, they could help civilians out the other. “Nor any of the others.” The words were bitter on my tongue.
Lysander held out his hand for Faolán’s spare blade before shadowstepping out of sight, leaving flecks of darkness behind. An instant later, he materialised behind an attacker on the other side of the room who had hold of a pregnant woman. With a single thrust, he drove the knife into their spine.
While he helped the woman, I gave Asher my dagger. “Focus.” I said it as much to myself as him.
Blood bathed the ballroom floor by the time the first group of guards reached us, and most of the guests had escaped. But a few guards still fought the attackers, and screams echoed from the corridors. This wasn’t over.
“The king and Prince Cyrus went that way.” I pointed out the side door. “Go after them and protect their backs.”
One started in that direction, but another caught her shoulder—Amandine, who’d stopped Kat at the bridge. The others exchanged glances. “But Dawn’s Ascendant,” someone muttered.
Amandine scowled. “And as far as we know, this is an attack by Dusk. You could be sending us into a trap.”
I bit back a groan. Fucking daytime.
Faolán bristled, and Asher’s shoulders squared. I could feel his “I’m the queen’s cousin” card coming this way, but it would make no difference. These guards were all clad in Dawn’s pale grey.
I straightened and lifted my chin, fixing Amandine with a look that could wither trees. “Dusk has nothing to do with this. I knew nothing about it until the arrows started flying. Now,go and protect your king.”
Her nostrils flared.
“For once Dusk is talking sense. Stop being damn fools and do as the man says.” At my side appeared Sepher, in his fae form, naked and bloodied. Back on the dais half a dozen attackers lay dead… or at least parts of them did.
Beside him, Zita stared daggers at the guards, her actual blade stained red.
Amandine sucked in a breath and bowed her head. “At once, Your Highness.” The guards trooped off after the king and Cyrus.
I nodded my thanks to Sepher and gestured to the bodies and pooled blood. “Sorry your wedding turned into… this.”
As he slid an arm around Zita’s waist, he flashed me a feline grin, not the slightest bit concerned by his lack of clothes. “Like they say, the couple who slays together stays together.”
“I’m sure that isn’t a saying,” Asher muttered, gaze skimming over the dead guests.
“It is now.” Sepher smirked. “What’re you planning?”
It took me a beat to register that the fighting in here had stopped, and above, the mezzanine was empty except for a handful of guards.
“We need to get proper weapons, secure the queen’s apartments, find Kat and the others, and ensure the king is safe.” Inwardly I winced at how long the list was. “Not necessarily in that order.”
With a snort, he shook his head. “I’d say definitelynotin that order.” He stroked Zita’s hair and they started towards the door. “We have some friends to save.” He turned to me and raised his eyebrows, backing away. “I’d suggest you examine your priorities, Marwood. Choose the ones who’d choose you. Fuck everyone else.”
He wasn’t going after the king—he was choosing his friends over the father who’d banished him from the city for so long.
“Good luck.” He nodded before turning and shifting mid-step, feet becoming paws, striped skin becoming a furry coat, his tail growing thick fur as it swished from side to side.
Faolán watched him leave, a thoughtful frown etched between his eyebrows. “Well? Where to?”
Good question.
86
Kat
My heart slammed against my rib cage, harder with each step the armoured fae took.
