Page 51 of Crimson Kingdom

The rebels laughed, their lips stretching back over their yellowed teeth before hurling themselves at us. Gwyn was the first to meet them, fighting off three and easily holding her own while Gallagher was at her back fighting two more.

That left five for me, Avani, and Dav, two of which were headed straight in my direction.

A low, fierce growl emanated from Evander, and I knew it was going to be impossible for him to stand back if we didn’t end this quickly.

Theo wasn’t faring much better. His fists were clenched at his sides while his eyes were locked onto the skirmish.

I advanced toward the two men, but Avani stepped in front of me. More clashing of steel sounded as my sister’s blade met that of one of the rebels. She angled herself to block another as well, leaving three to rush past her toward Dav and me.

If we wanted the Socairans to stay out of the fight, we had to hold the line around them, so Dav and I fought side by side, meeting the three blades as best as we could.

These men weren’t nearly as skilled as the Unclanned I had fought in Socair. And this time, I had my own perfectly balanced rapier, the one I had learned to fight with.

The rebels were still stronger than I was, so I would have to be faster.

With each measured breath, I focused on the movements of my opponents, trying to gauge their tells and figure out their next moves before they made them. Their outrage at how well matched our group was to theirs made them sloppy, and eventually, easily predictable.

Davin groaned next to me as two of the rebels focused all of their attention on him, wearing him down.

Without a second thought, I spun out of reach of my opponent, landing on the other side of my cousin’s attackers and bringing my sword down hard on the man’s sword arm.

He shouted out in pain, dropping his weapon long enough so that Davin could gain the upper hand on the other rebel.

I turned back to meet the man I’d been fighting before, ducking out of reach of his blade before running my own through his middle. The man fell to his knees, and then onto his side.

Placing a foot on his chest, I tugged until my sword wrenched free. A shadow passed overhead, and I twisted around in time to see the man I had injured before running toward me, blade held high.

Before I could raise my sword to defend myself, Evander was standing behind him in a lightning-fast movement. His sabers were still strapped to his back as he grasped either side of my assailant’s head and twisted hard to the right.

The rebel fell flat at my feet.

There was always a danger that lurked behind Evander’s eyes, but it was blazing in full force as he looked me over, searching for signs of injury.

I shook my head in a silent answer before movement behind him ripped my attention away. Another rebel that I hadn’t accounted for was charging toward Evander’s back.

Evander started to turn, but I shoved past him, meeting the man’s blade with my own. My arms shook with the vibration of the blow, and I parried his sword away.

In an unexpected move, the rebel hurled himself at me. I had just enough time to point my blade in the right direction before I was sent careening toward the ground.

Pain lanced through my side from the impact, and I gasped in agony as the man fell on top of me.

Evander was at my side before I could blink, lifting the rebel off of me and tossing him to the side. My sword was still embedded into the man’s stomach, but that’s not what Evander was staring at.

“Lemmikki.” His voice was a low, furious growl as he knelt next to me.

I followed his stormy gaze to where it was fixated on my abdomen...where the hilt of a dagger protruded from my side.

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

My vision swam, pain pulsating through my veins and my head, staining the world around me red.

Evander shouted, though it sounded far away. My sister and Gallagher appeared at my side. Theo and Davin brought over the blanket from our picnic, and Evander gently lifted me onto it.

I sucked in a breath, steeling myself against the sharp, searing agony in my side. Dav held a flask to my lips, ordering me to drink, while Gallagher’s hand went to my injury.

Evander’s deft fingers were already ripping the fabric of my gown around the dagger when my cousin stilled, his eyes darting between the two lords.

“We need to move fast,” he murmured, and I understood his predicament.