A River of Golden Bones (The Golden Court, #1)(93)

Sadie growled as she struggled against her bindings in the corner, flailing across the floor to free herself, shredding at the ropes with her teeth. I felt her frustration but didn’t have time to help her at the moment.

Instead I shot forward, attacking with my dagger again as I heard the awful bark and thud of Hector hitting the floor, the shing of metal clashing. Sadie screamed her brother’s name. Fear roiled in me that, even as I kept my eyes trained on Soris, Grae and Hector might be losing their battle against Hemming. Soris shoved me backward and charged at me again. This time, I held for a split second longer before spinning, using my momentum to drive Soris’s skull into the wall.

Whether the impact rendered him unconscious or not, it didn’t matter. I whirled, following through with my dagger and stabbing him between his shoulder blades. I knew from his wet gasp that I had pierced his lung. He flopped to the ground as Grae’s dagger clattered to my feet. I spun just in time to see Grae’s bloodied face hit the floor. He crawled forward toward his weapon as Hector tried to hold off Hemming solo. King Nero’s right hand had proven why he’d claimed the title—his fighting prowess evident in his relatively unscathed features while he rained his wrath upon Hector’s brutalized body.

Blood dripped from the corner of Hector’s lip, one eye so swollen it was nearly shut. He swayed on his feet, his guard lowered—an easy target. Grae scrambled to his feet and we launched forward in unison, but we were too many strides away.

I screamed as Hemming took the final step in toward Hector, ready to stab him in the gut.

Hemming’s eyes bugged. He went utterly still, taking an unseeing step forward, then teetered over. He dropped to the ground, revealing the knife through the back of his neck. Sadie leaned against the wall, staring at the throwing knife imbedded in her victim. Her binding lay discarded at her feet, her wrists bleeding from where she’d thrashed against the rope.

Hector stared from Hemming’s lifeless body and back at his sister, frozen in shock as if still waiting for Hemming’s blade to sink into his belly. Then he moved. In two strides, he grabbed his sister and pulled her into a fierce hug.

“Thank the Gods.” His voice cracked, the veins in his hands popping out as he crushed her into his chest.

Grae untied Navin, slinging his arm over his shoulder and helping him to stand. Navin swayed, barely clinging to consciousness.

“You need to get him out of here,” I said to Sadie. “Let us handle the other two. We’ll meet you at the wagon.”

“I want to fight,” Sadie growled.

“You already have,” I said, pointing to Hemming and then back at her bruised face. “But both of you are seriously injured.” I took a step toward her. “You can fight for me another day.”

She held my stare for a moment before pulling me into a swift hug. “Thank you for coming for me, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty?” Navin asked as Sadie ducked under his other arm, taking his weight from Grae.

“I’ll explain back at the wagon,” Sadie said, leading him hobbling out the door. She looked back at Hector. “Can you fight?”

Hector wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and spat onto the ground. “I’m fine,” he lied. Half of his face was turning purple, but he rolled his shoulders and bounced on his toes like he was ready to jump into a sparring ring again.

Sadie shot a look at me. “Be careful.”

With that, Sadie and Navin disappeared down the long hallway, heading toward the back exit. The rest of us turned toward the stairwell and thundered out onto the street. The fire the others started now consumed half a building. I looked around for them, seeing their three cloaked figures huddled in a doorway.

Malou touched her hood in proud greeting.

“Thank you,” I signed to them. “Now get back to the wagon. Sadie and Navin need you.”

They nodded and scampered off into the shadows as the two Wolves circled around the corner. They scanned the burning building up and down, looking for the perpetrator.

“I have an idea,” I whispered, looking over my shoulder at Hector. “You go around to the back door of that building.”

He looked at the towering inferno and back at me. “What?”

“Go to the back. Keep the door open and wait for my command,” I instructed.

“Oh Gods,” he muttered, checking the shadows before running across the muddy street.

I turned to Grae. “Do you trust me?”

He grabbed me around the waist and planted a fiery kiss on my lips. “Always.”

The moment his lips left mine, I let out a loud whistle that carried through the night. The two Wolves swiveled from the burning building.

I flashed a wicked grin. “Are you runts looking for us?” I taunted as they began darting toward us.

“Remember,” Grae said, a bit of worry in his voice. “I said I trust you—”

I almost laughed as I ducked left down the lane between the rundown buildings. Mud flew through the air as our boots squelched down the street. I slowed my pace, wanting them to keep us within sight. Turning right down the back of the building, I waited until I heard them behind us and then turned right again.

I led them in a wild circling chase around the far building and back toward the burning one, buying Hector enough time to reach the back and drawing the Wolves away from the fleeing humans.