Gilded Serpent Danielle Jensen (i can read with my eyes shut .TXT) 📖

 56KILLIAN

A blow caught him against the back, and he fell, fighting to regain his feet, but the Anuk were pressing in on all sides.

And then they were stepping back from him. Flexing his fingers on the pommel of his sword, Killian rose to find they’d retreated to form a half-moon around him, the Anuk warriors using shields to deflect arrows coming from Sonia and the rest.

“So we meet again, Lord Calorian.”

A familiar voice reached his ears, and Killian watched as the Anuk boy who’d told him of Ria’s treachery stepped out from the ranks of warriors, lowering the scarf covering his face.

Between panting breaths, Killian said, “You neglected to introduce yourself last time, boy.”

The warriors shifted angrily, but the boy only shrugged. “I suppose it fitting that you should know the name of the one to kill you. I am Prince Xadrian.”

A hundred retorts rose to Killian’s lips, but he bit down on all of them. Because this boy had the power to stop the war Ria had begun.

That he had begun.

“This fight will hurt Mudamora and Anukastre both,” Killian said. “You need to retreat. We need to resolve this with words, not swords.”

“Says the man who’s been slaughtering my people!” The Prince lifted his weapons. “You talk of words now only because this is a battle you won’t win.”

“It wasn’t me.” Killian lowered his own weapon. “It was the actions of a few who seek to manipulate politics in Mudamora. To manipulate me. These soldiers and the people they defend are innocent.”

“The actions of Ria Rowenes, you mean.” The boy looked at him in disgust. “Your men told us as much before we executed them for their crimes. They also told us that you were her lover and would do anything to please her.” He spit on the ground in front of Killian. “You blaspheme your mark, Dark Horse.”

Killian closed his eyes, his hatred for Ria making his blood boil. “She lies. As did they.”

“This is what you get for allying with the scorpion!” The Prince knocked an arrow from the air with his sword before it could strike him. Marked by Tremon as surely as Killian was himself. “Now let us discover which of us Tremon favors to live.”

Not me. “Take your vengeance, then.”

Alarmed shouts reached Killian’s ears. A second later, a horse leapt up the bank right before a flood of deadly debris rushed past. The horse landed awkwardly, hindquarters sliding sideways on the wet rock, the animal nearly going down. Hooves scrambling, it righted itself, then gave a violent buck, sending its rider flying through the air. She landed on her ass right in front of Killian.

Prince Xadrian stared at the white-robed woman in astonishment as she climbed to her feet, and then Lydia shouted, “If you want to kill him, you’re going to have to kill me first!”

Shock froze Killian in place. She’s alive.

She’s here.

Killian vaguely heard whispers moving through the Anuk ranks as they recognized her as a healer. As one of Hegeria’s Marked. But none of that mattered, because she was here and she was alive. And gods help him, but she was now in danger because of him. “Lydia, get back!”

Xadrian’s eyes narrowed, and then he shouted, “Capture the healer! And then kill General Calorian!”

Killian caught hold of Lydia’s arm, trying to pull her behind him, but she resisted. “They won’t shoot me,” she said between her teeth. “But they seem rather keen on killing you.”

“I have armor on!” And the last thing he needed was one of the Anuk archers growing restless and accidentally hurting her to get at him.

“Instead of arguing, perhaps think of a way out of this that doesn’t see either of us dead!”

Killian allowed his mind to race, abandoning plans even as he came up with them. He’d caught himself in this trap not thinking he’d need a way out, but now everything had changed.

In his periphery, he could see the Anuk flanking him, could hear them debating whether the deadly river could be bridged. They lifted one of the tree trunks they’d used to cross the other river, but it fell far shy of the opposite bank, catching up against a rock in the middle of the flow.

“You come with us, and you’ll be treated with the respect you deserve,” Xadrian said to Lydia. “Not as a slave to the scorpion king.”

“My thanks for the offer,” Lydia answered, as though he’d invited her to a party. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”

The Prince gave a frustrated shake of his head, then pulled his veil back over his face so that only his eyes were visible before striding forward, obviously intent on being the one to end Killian’s life. “What sort of coward uses a healer as a shield?” he shouted.

Killian tensed, but Lydia snapped, “Don’t you dare rise to the bait!” Then under her breath, “Please tell me you have a plan.”

He most definitely did not.

Hundreds of Anuk surrounded them, and behind them flowed a river of death.

The tree.

One end of it was caught on the rocky bank, the other against a boulder near the middle of the flow. It shuddered against the pressure of the flood; it was only a matter of time until it broke.

Which meant he needed to be quick.

Killian took a few steps back, pulling Lydia with him. “I’ve got you,” he muttered, sliding his sword into its sheath. Then he stepped onto the bobbing tree trunk, which sank beneath his weight.

All around, muddy water full of detritus surged fast and deadly. To fall would mean almost instant death.

Holding Lydia by the shoulders to balance her, he took step after careful step, feeling her shaking beneath his grasp. Another tree struck the one they were on, and she lurched sideways, but he pulled her upright. “Halfway there,” he muttered, then an arrow glanced off his mail, the impact causing him to rock sideways.

“Don’t shoot at him!” Xadrian shouted. “If he falls, he’ll take her with him!”

Killian took another step, holding