Chapter 14

Frost nudged Thomas awake and showed her teeth. She’d never done that before, so he quietly got out of bed and peeked out the window. Thomas saw a man sneaking around the side of the house, and he was armed. Thomas quickly got dressed, crept over to Jemma and Catherine’s sleeping pallets, and quietly woke them.

While the women got dressed, he reached out with his magic to see what he faced. There were four of them, three out front and one in the back. Thomas was glad that he’d come right home after the council meeting because he had all his weapons.

When Jemma and Catherine joined him in the living area, Thomas handed the princess his Valyrian chain mail.

“Put this on.”

Catherine looked startled but did as he asked. Jemma’s eyes were wide with fear.

“What’s going on?”

“I suspect someone has discovered that Catherine is here. There are four men outside. I’m afraid they are waiting for more, so I think Catherine and I should face them now. Frost will stay in the house and protect you and Boris,” Thomas said.

“Shouldn’t Catherine stay with me?” Jemma asked.

“Give me a blade,” Catherine said to settle the matter.

Thomas took off his belt that held Fang, his poniard, made from the broken soul blade he and Frost had discovered in the caves. A poniard was a thin blade used for stabbing. Thomas was confident that Catherine could handle it.

She looked like she might throw up, an understandable reaction to going into battle for the first time.

“When we go through that door, stay close. I want you to place one hand on my back so I know where you are. This will be nothing like the practice yard, but your training will help. Unlike the yard, there is only one rule: stay alive,” Thomas said in the most soothing tone he could muster. He feared if he did not in some way diminish her apprehension, she might freeze up and get herself stabbed.

Catherine nodded. Frost whined to let Thomas know that she didn’t like his plan. She wanted to rush out and deal with the intruders herself.

“You protect Jemma and Boris,” Thomas ordered his wolf again and then turned to Catherine. “Ready?”

She nodded again. Thomas took her left hand and put it on his back. He was pleased to see her grasp Fang, ready to face what was outside. Thomas strode out and was surprised when he saw how well-armored the men were that they were facing. These weren’t your usual ruffians. These were trained soldiers.

Their leader was on a horse, while his two men were on foot.

“What brings you to my home?” Thomas asked to see if he could talk his way out of this.

“Why, I’m here for the princess.”

Thomas assessed the man in front of him. He looked at ease, as if he was used to doing this. The men behind him looked equally professional. Thomas was afraid he might be outmatched, but he pushed the fear away. Catherine was his priority.

“I made a vow to protect her,” Thomas said evenly.

He felt Catherine grip his shirt as she held on tight. Their leader leaned forward in his saddle as if he were addressing a friend on the road and wanted a private conversation.

“No need to worry about her safety. I plan to take good care of her because I’ve always fancied having a son as King. I’ll just take her off your hands for a time until I’m sure the deed is done. I even promise that none of my men will touch her, and I’ll return her when her belly is full. Now, your other woman ... let’s just say that my men will keep her happy.”

Thomas felt his anger begin to boil, which was clearly what the man had planned. The leader saw that he’d gotten to Thomas and smirked as he drew his sword. Without a further word, he kicked his horse’s flanks and charged.

Thomas pulled Dragon, the blade sharper than winter’s bite, from the scabbard on his back to face the oncoming rider. He felt the magic in the pommel flare. He grasped the weapon with both hands and swung. The broadsword hewed the horse’s front leg like kindling, and the brute went down with a scream. The leader went down with his horse, which landed on his leg, trapping him, while his armor clattered as he hit the ground.

The leader screamed in pain, his leg clearly broken. Thomas wasn’t sure whether the scream was from the pain or fear at Catherine’s visage. His avenging angel darted around Thomas, Fang stabbing down through a gap in the man’s armor to finish him off. She must have found his lung because there were gurgling sounds as blood bubbled out of his mouth.

The two other men took a moment to absorb what had just happened. Thomas had hoped they might turn tail when they saw how quickly he and Catherine had dispatched their leader. Instead, they looked more determined as they silently committed to avenging their fallen friend.

“I. Made. A. Vow,” Thomas said as he drew Striker and got into a fighting stance.

The first man had a wicked-looking mace. He came straight at Thomas as the other man moved to the side. Thomas could tell that they’d fought together before. While he’d practiced fighting multiple opponents, it had been against his fellow rangers, none of whom had gone to battle to hone their skills as these two seemed to have.

“Stay back,” Thomas ordered Catherine as she stood up.

He would need room to move because the key to fighting multiple opponents was to keep them away from you so you could engage one at a time. Too close together was a problem because when you engaged one, the other could easily stab you. Not getting stabbed was the goal.

The man with the mace made two quick swings at his head, which Thomas was able to fend off with Striker. Dragon flashed to the side to cause the second attacker to jump back.

Thomas heard the back door of the house splinter, followed by screams. He first thought it might be Jemma, but when he heard Frost’s ferocious snarl followed by the screams stopping, he knew it had to be the fourth man.

Thomas felt the magic take hold, and he began to dance between the two men. It was as if time had slowed, and he was able to focus his attention as it bounced back and forth to where it was most needed. The attacker with the mace swung again, too slowly, and lost his hand at the wrist for it. For a moment, he stared in shock at the hot red blood that spurted from his mutilated stump. Then Thomas stuck him through the ribs with Dragon.

The other man surged forward. Thomas slit his throat with Striker before the first corpse hit the ground, the severed artery spraying blood like a fountain. The man reached for his neck and then pulled his hand away to look at it. It was as if he’d plunged his fist into red paint. He turned his eyes toward Thomas in shock, and then his legs gave out. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Thomas turned back to find Catherine doing the humane thing as she put the horse out of its misery.

The front door swung open, and Frost burst out, followed by Jemma clutching a crying Boris.

“We need to get to the barracks,” Thomas said.

“But the house...” Jemma started.

“Is just a house. I’ll come back when I know the three of you are safe,” Thomas said.

They must have been quite the sight when they came to the city gates. Frost with blood on her coat, Catherine wearing chain mail, Jemma and Boris looking traumatized, and Thomas covered in gore. He should not have been surprised when they weren’t let right in. When the guard captain arrived, he quickly organized an escort to the castle because he knew Catherine had been missing.

The delay had obviously allowed word of the princess to reach the castle before them. Outside the inner walls, a troop of Royal Guards waited, led by Shepherd. Thomas felt his warning magic flare, so he leaned down to tell Frost something. The direwolf ran around the guardsmen and into the castle grounds.

“Stay behind me,” Thomas said softly to Jemma and Catherine.

The heat wasn’t intense enough to indicate immediate danger, but it had him acting cautiously.

Shepherd stepped forward with a look of concern.

“Is anyone injured? We should get the princess to safety.”

Thomas held up his hand to bring Shepherd up short.

“I think I’ve said this twice already today: I made a vow to protect the princess.”

He felt Catherine touch his back so he knew where she was.

“Be reasonable. We can offer the princess more protection than you can on your own,” Shepherd said.

Frost came bounding back, growling, which parted the Royal Guard ranks. She was followed by Griffin and six Royal Rangers.

“Form up!” Thomas barked as the Royal Rangers surrounded Thomas and his charges.

Shepherd looked put out, but if the King and spymaster hadn’t told the Royal Guard about where Catherine was, they had to have a reason. Thomas was also concerned that Shepherd’s spotting Catherine and this morning’s attack might be related. He hated to think so because Shepherd was one of his best friends at the castle.

Shepherd told his guard to stand down, allowing Thomas to bring the princess into the castle grounds. They were met by Cullen, who took them straight to the King.

King Edward looked like he’d just crawled out of bed.

“Have you eaten?” he asked as Thomas and his entourage entered the King’s private dining room.

“It might be nice to eat someone else’s cooking,” Jemma said and then blushed.

King Edward smiled in response. He turned to Griffin and the other Royal Rangers.

“Why don’t you grab a bite to eat in the kitchen? I’m sure Thomas can keep us all safe for now.”

“As you wish, my Lord King,” Griffin said as they left.

“What happened?” King Edward asked when they were alone with him and Cullen.

“I think it was my fault,” Catherine started.

“Shepherd recognized her yesterday. This morning, four trained soldiers were waiting for us. They planned to use both Jemma and Catherine,” Thomas said as delicately as he could.

Cullen and the King looked at each other.

“I hope that was just a coincidence, but I want you to find out for sure,” King Edward told Cullen.