He shook his head and waved one hand, a simple signal the wound was nothing.

More horns rose in the night. Shouts. They filtered through the window from outside. The call of an attack against the fortress.

Listen to me. Roark released me and the ferocity of his position took hold. Go to the washroom. Lock the door. Barricade it. Do not leave it until I return for you.

“No. You and Kael will be there, I’m not—”

Roark silenced me by gently covering my lips with his palm. He shook his head, a desperate plea in his eyes. Against my cheek he spoke, Stay out of sight, Lyra.

His plea mirrored the command of Skul Drek. Two deadly forces standing on either side of a battle, yet both shared the same demand of me.

Lyra. Roark touched my chin. Go now.

I hesitated. There was a sharp jab of painful fear knowing Roark would lead the units against Skul Drek and whatever ravagers had breached the walls. Roark would stand before them all. He would be the most at risk.

Roark lifted one of the slender daggers from the floor. The hilt was made of bone and carved into a flame. He placed it in my palm, curling my fingers around the hilt, then gave me a slow nod.

I squeezed his hand, memorizing the heat of his skin, the rough patches from blade calluses, and it was over too soon. He pulled away and rushed for the door, disappearing into the corridors. Only after he’d left did I take note of the trail of blood that followed behind his every step.

He was wounded and going against the Draven assassin.

I blinked back into focus, head spinning. I understood his desire to see me safe, but I shared the same desire. To leave was a risk. I was no Stav warrior, no Berserkir, but I could handle steel well enough. Perhaps Thane was tucked away with his arrows again and I could help. Truth be told, I felt compelled to do so, for I could not shake the feeling that this battle was caused by me. I never spoke of Skul Drek, yet now he’d found me within the walls of the fortress. Now he’d found those I loved.

The dagger Roark placed in my palm was stained with blood. Doubtless more would spill before the night’s end. I tightened my grip on the hilt and slipped out of my room to the sound of battles rising in the night.

41

Lyra

Upper corridors and stairwells were protected by Stav Guard. Two kingdoms faced danger in Stonegate tonight, and they took no risks. It was a stroke of good fortune there were Stav Guard aplenty, so I could fade into the chaos without being seen.

Word of me in the halls would reach King Damir and he’d chain me to the walls.