“They’ll be there, too.”Įlide tried not to imagine what that meant, but then they were at the docks, Lorcan sprinting for a barge, thundering down the steps of the quay and onto the long wooden dock. “The gates at the city entrance,” she gasped as muscle and bone pummeled into her gut. No sign of guards, but … that little voice who often whispered in her ear now tugged and begged her to go. So Lorcan hauled her over a shoulder, freeing his hatchet with his other hand, and ran for the water.Įlide bounced and slammed into Lorcan’s broad shoulder, craning her head enough to watch the street behind them. Even with his power supporting her leg, she was too slow. “Good,” was his only reply as he gripped her hand and tugged her forward. “Either I can end this matter here, and we can go back to the inn to learn if Nik and Ombriel wanted to get rid of us …” Her mouth tightened, and he knew her choice before he offered, “Or we can get on one of those barges and get the hell out right now.” If he were the betting sort, he’d gamble that the two bridges that spanned the river-ten blocks up on either side of them-were already full of guards. Lorcan nodded, the footsteps now close enough for him to count how many approached from the garrison in the heart of the town, no doubt meant to trap them between their swords and the river. The helpless desperation on her face sharpened into wide-eyed alertness. “It seems our friends at the carnival wanted to make an easy silver coin.” It slithered along their swords-rudimentary, half-rusted weapons-and then bathed in their rising fear, excitement, perhaps even a tinge of bloodlust.

Empire storms book