Black covered them from head to toe, except for one thing. The crimson sigil of the House of Irriel rested on their chests. Even without that, I would have known who they worked for.
They belonged to the king.
They were here for me.
I gulped as the Winged Soldiers began advancing toward us. None of them seemed concerned about the three of us, and to be honest, I couldn’t blame them.
There were only three of us against a dozen of them. Not only that, but I was a female. Even with my training, I was sure I was no match for the king’s elite forces.
My knees shook, and my fingers grew clammy around the hilts of my daggers. At the same time, I hardened my resolve. Iwould notgo back. Death would be better than returning to the king’s clutches.
I was no longer the king’s pet, and I refused to let him put me back on a leash. Even so, his soldiers were terrifying.
As I stared at the soldiers, imagining what they would do to me, I felt myself falling into a pit of despair. My stomach twisted and my heart pounded as a cold sweat appeared on the back of my neck. A whimper escaped me as I stared at our attackers.
Then, Xander’s fingers brushed the back of my hand.
“Stay strong, Sunshine,” he whispered so low that only I could hear it. His words ran through me, and I took a deep breath, allowing his touch to ground me.
One of the soldiers stepped forward. By the two small horns on his helmet and the flying bat surrounded by three stars, I knew him to be their leader.
“We mean you no harm,” the commander said.
I scoffed. That was a bald-faced lie, even for a Winged Soldier.
The commander continued, gesturing towards me. “Give us the girl, and we will let you go in peace.”
Xander raised a brow, shoving me behind him once again. This time, I didn’t fight him as my back landed against the rocks. “Bullshit. You’ve already killed our companion.”
“A warning.” The commander shrugged.
Daegal spat, “A murder.”
The Winged Soldier sighed, drawing his sword as his wings snapped behind him. “Fine,” he said. “This could have been easy. You two would have been granted quick deaths. But now, you will find yourselves in so many pieces, your loved ones will never be able to put you back together again.”
Xander sneered as he widened his stance. He tilted his head to one side, then the next as he replied, “I’d like to see you try.”
The Winged Soldier whistled in three short bursts.
As one, the company of soldiers behind him drew their weapons. They glimmered in the lowering sun, the numerous blades at odds with the beauty of the forest.
For a moment, everything was still.
The soldiers seemed to be waiting for a command. I stared at them, spreading my skirts and widening my stance. Xander and Daegal stood on either side of me.
The wind stopped howling. The birds stopped chirping.
Then all hell broke loose.
The First Battle
Iinhaled, and everyone was standing still.
When I exhaled, the stillness shattered into a million pieces. All of a sudden, chaos reigned. Xander glanced at me once, a warning in his eyes, before he darted forward.
He raised his sword and shouted, “We will never surrender.”
The commander laughed as one of the Winged Soldiers met Xander’s blade with their own. The sound of metal against metal rang through the forest as fights erupted all around me.