“By the Fountain,” King Drew said hoarsely as his stallion rested next to hers, panting and lathered from the hard ride. “We’ve come too late. Too late!” There was a hard anger in his voice.
Trynne examined the battlefield. Even with the troops they’d brought, there were not enough of them to stem the advance. What would her father do in this situation?
She stared down at the fierce fighting, at the men of the White Boar surrounded by their enemies. Should they abandon their countrymen to their fate?
The thought struck her forcibly. No. The men had held their ground against impossible odds. Their king had come to rescue them. And even if they could not drive away Gahalatine’s forces, they could save the wounded survivors. She knew what her father would have done. He would have ridden down there to rescue Severn himself.
“My lord,” Trynne said, her voice choked with emotion. “By your leave, let me take my maidens into the fray. Raise your banners and wear the crown, and hold aloft your sword. Have the soldiers make a clamor on their shields. They do not know how many soldiers we have brought. Let’s give them a fright.”
Drew stared at her in surprise and then a grin brightened his face. “A deception.”
“A ruse, my lord,” she said, nodding. “It may not work.”
“But then again, it just may,” the king said, full of confidence. “Take your maidens. Go!”
Trynne nodded and quickly rode up to Captain Staeli. “Protect the king. I’m taking the maidens into battle.”
His expression told her what she already knew—her plan was risky, no, insane—but he was a soldier first and foremost. He obeyed. The look he gave her was full of worry. “Don’t be rash, lass. That’s all I will say.”
She gave him a crooked smile. “Are you worried about me, Captain?”
“Aye,” he answered like gravel. “And always will be.”
Trynne fed part of her magic into the stallion she rode, invoking the word of power that would banish fatigue and weariness. The ground thrummed with the noise of horses’ hooves as the host of Oath Maidens charged down the hill. The enemy had turned to face the onslaught of horses. Trynne saw rows of archers lining themselves up in front of the leaf-armored knights. They were disciplined and calm, row after row of steel and fletching and death. Trynne’s heart hammered in her ribs. Was this foolishness? How many of her sisters would fall? She dared not think on it.
A shout of command was given and the archers drew back their arrows, kneeling in the trampled grass, elbows pulled back, fists by their cheeks. The order was given and a hail of arrows arced skyward before plummeting like daggers. Before the first volley had fallen, a second was launched.
Trynne felt the magic of the Fountain sweep through her as the arrows began to land in the grass all around her, sticking like quills on a porcupine. She gritted her teeth, hearing the screams and cries of horses stumbling and falling.
The throb of magic swelled in the air as a cloud of arrows hammered down at them. Then it dawned on her why she hadn’t heard any screams from the maidens. And it thrilled her to her core. One of the five oaths they had sworn was never to kill a man by spear or arrow—and in return, they would not be slain by one. The magic of the oaths they had taken had been extended to the Oath Maidens riding with her, forming a shield of sorts that was invisible but real. But it had not protected some of their steeds.
She was close enough to see the archers, close enough to see the fear bloom in their eyes when they realized their bolts hadn’t harmed a single maiden. Their discipline shattered, they tried to claw their way through the leaf-armored knights to escape the front lines of the battle. Trynne had a sword already in hand, the reins tight in her other, and watched as the archers abandoned their lines.
Trynne’s horse was in front, but she heard the thunder of her companions’ charge, felt them coming as a scythe to mow the wheat. She heard the tumult coming from the army behind them, the clatter she’d asked the king to make. When the maidens screamed a furious war cry as they leaped into the ranks of the enemy, it felt as if a tide had swarmed the enemy. Trynne surrendered to her instincts, to the wellspring magic that flooded her with knowledge and experience from hundreds of similar battles.
Their foes wilted before them. Some were running, some were trying to fight, and a few were attacking their own forces in the confusion and chaos. Trynne charged ahead, swinging her blade on both sides of her horse as she went, fighting her way through the ranks.