Shield of Sparrows

The soldiers manning the gates obeyed Ransom’s command, but not a single one didn’t stare up at the ramparts with bewilderment. Their confused expressions matched those of the soldiers stationed on the ramparts.

They stared at the army beyond the walls, probably wondering why we’d bar entrance to soldiers wearing the Turan crest and the king—their king.

I stared into the trees, watching as the torchlights doubled, then doubled again. The army approaching stretched along the length of the wall, stacked rows and rows deep.

“Mack, be with us,” I whispered, signing the Eight. If this came to a fight, the God of War would stand with a side tonight. I prayed it was ours.

Ramsey hadn’t just brought the band of soldiers he’d traveled with in Ravalli or Treow. He’d brought an entire legion. Was this his militia? How many of those men had Lyssa coursing in their veins?

Shouting rang out below as other soldiers came into the courtyard from the barracks.

“Open those gates,” a man yelled, pointing to the heavy wooden plank that barred the gates.

“Do. Not.” Ransom’s order boomed through the courtyard, and the man who’d said otherwise quickly dropped his attention to his boots. “Find Zavier. Now.”

“What’s going on, Guardian?” A soldier came to stand at his side. “That’s the king.”

Another night, I might have rolled my eyes at the obvious statement. Tonight? I wanted to know what the hell was going on, too.

“I’m not sure,” Ransom said. “Until Zavier or I give the order, that gate stays closed. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” The man nodded.

“Come with me.” Ransom took my arm, pulling me away from the wall and down the stairs. When we reached the bottom step, he leveled the gate guards with a glare so sharp it could cut through bone. “Barred. Until I say otherwise.”

“Yes, sir.”

They might not understand, but they trusted their Guardian enough not to question the order, even if it was Ramsey waiting outside.

“What’s going on?” I asked, voice low.

“He warned me.” Ransom’s nostrils flared. “In Ravalli. He warned me I had a month. I should have left for Allesaria sooner. My father does not make idle threats.”

“All this to collect you?” I flung an arm toward the wall. “That’s extreme. You are the Guardian, but there’s no need for that army.”

His jaw clenched. “Something is wrong. I don’t want him inside Ellder, but I don’t know if I have any other choice. We can’t fight. And I cannot order these men against their king.”

“Your oath.”

He nodded, dragging a hand over his face. “Fuck.”

Zavier’s footsteps pounded on the ground as he jogged toward us. His tunic was open at the throat, and one leg of his pants was lifted, stuck in the shaft of his boot. He righted the circlet that was crooked on his head. “What’s happening?”

“My father. He’s brought a legion.”

Even in the dark, I saw the color drain from Zavier’s face as his gaze flew to the gate. “Your mother?”

“It’s possible,” Ransom said. “Where is she?”

“With Evie.” Zavier inched closer. “We cannot fight them.”

“No, we can’t.” Ransom sighed. “I won’t ask that of the soldiers in Ellder. And the longer he waits beyond the gate, the longer he will wonder what we’re hiding.”

Likely the reason for this surprise visit anyway. Ramsey had forced Ransom’s hand. If he was here for Luella, there’d be no time to get her out of the fortress.

Ransom and Zavier shared a look, a silent conversation like so many I’d seen before. Then Zavier raised an arm, giving a signal to the soldiers at the gate to bring in their king.

“Stay behind me,” Ransom said.

“What about Evie?”

“Mother will hide her,” he murmured. “With Daria’s luck, he’ll order me to accompany them to Allesaria immediately.”

Where he’d been planning to go at dawn regardless.

But what if Ramsey wanted to camp here tonight? What if he wanted to stay in Ransom’s house?

My entire body began to tremble as I clutched his arm, holding tight as the gates creaked open.

The thunder of hooves was instant as the lead riders barreled through the opening, single file at first until the gates spread wider, allowing for two, then three, then four to ride in, side by side.

They parted when they reached the courtyard, just as they had in Ravalli, forming an aisle for their king.

Ramsey entered in no hurry, his horse’s stride haughty and deliberate, like he’d been taught to saunter.

The prickle of my skin was instant as Brother Dime came through the gates.

Why was he with King Ramsey? Wasn’t he Father’s emissary?

Maybe now that he was back, he’d stick around long enough for me to ask. Maybe he’d explain how it was that I could feel his magic. Find out why the High Priest had asked about my mother. But if those answers had to wait simply so that Ramsey and this traveling army would leave sooner than later, so be it.

The Voster was enough of a distraction that it took me a moment to notice the man riding in behind him.

A man I’d mostly forgotten. A man wearing not the emblem of the Turan wolf but instead a symbol I’d seen my entire life.

A crossbow woven with leaves and stalks of wheat.

The symbol on every flag in Quentis.

Banner.

My gasp was only loud enough for Ransom to hear. What the hell?

“What. The. Fuck,” Ransom said through clenched teeth.

Why was Banner here? Were there more men from Quentis?

When we were up on the walls, I hadn’t really given the legion a thorough inspection. Were they all Ramsey’s soldiers? Or had my father sent his troops to Turah?

It wouldn’t be considered an invasion—not if he’d been invited.

Gods, what was happening?

More and more soldiers filtered through the gates, both men and women, each in Turan uniform. Had Banner come alone, then?

Every soldier was armed, their swords and knives and shields catching the firelight from burning barrels and torches. As the legion filled the courtyard, the people of Ellder began to flow out of their homes and buildings behind us, curious about why their king would visit. Most wore sleep clothes beneath cardigans and coats, the soft textures a sharp contrast to the metal decorating Ramsey’s legion.

Tillia and Halston pushed through the crowd, coming to stand behind Zavier. Vander and Zavier’s other warriors were not far behind.

When Ramsey stopped his procession, I expected him to stay in his saddle, to stare down at us with that circlet resting boldly above his brow. But he swung out of his seat and came to stand before us.

Every person around me dropped to a bow. Everyone.

Except Ransom.

And me.

Ransom stared at his father with utter hatred and contempt. His eyes swirled silver. In the commotion, I hadn’t noticed that he’d drawn his sword. His knuckles were white as he gripped the hilt, the blade at his side.

“Majesty,” Zavier said, rising to address the king. “Welcome to Ellder.”

Ramsey scoffed, speaking to Zavier but keeping his gaze on Ransom. “Let’s not pretend I’m welcome here.”

The sounds of metal clanging, boots stomping, echoed behind us, and the only reason I could see Ramsey’s soldiers coming up the streets was because everyone was still bent in a bow. But as they realized we’d just been surrounded, blocked in at all sides, most stood tall, fear rising and cloaking the air like smoke.

Those soldiers must have come through the side gate. The guards stationed there wouldn’t have heard Ransom’s command and known to keep them out. There was no reason to bar entrance to those in the same uniform.

Other soldiers dismounted their horses, including Banner, who came to stand beside Brother Dime.

He looked the same as the day he watched me sail away on the Cutter. He wore his teal coat, gold buttons shining in the courtyard’s light. And there was rage in his eyes, those amber starbursts flaring bright, as he glared at Ransom.

Was he here on Father’s command? Was he here to take me home? Or was he here for another reason entirely?

I’d always praised Banner for his loyalty to my father, but maybe that loyalty had been tested while I’d been in Turah. Maybe Banner was here for what my father had not given him.

Revenge against the Guardian.

Ramsey wouldn’t let Banner kill his own son, would he? Not that Banner stood a chance against Ransom. My head was starting to hurt with all of the questions, and the Voster’s magic was setting me on edge.

Zavier and Ransom stood shoulder to shoulder, both waiting for Ramsey to speak.

Ramsey didn’t make them wait long. “A crux scout was spotted along the western front two days ago.”

“No.” I rocked on my heels, my heart dropping as a tidal wave of terror washed over the crowd.

A woman cried out. People began to whisper, to pass the news backward to those who hadn’t been able to hear. A man nearby clutched the arm of the boy at his side, turning and pulling him past bodies, retreating home.

It was too soon for the crux. The migration wasn’t supposed to happen until next year at the earliest. It always came in the spring. Always. We still had winter to prepare.

It was too soon. We weren’t ready.

“Any troops not necessary to run this fortress are needed in Allesaria,” Ramsey said. “Those people not wanting to stay in Ellder are welcome in the city. We leave tonight.”

So that was why there were so many. He’d been collecting soldiers to take to the capital.

“You will ride with us,” Ramsey told Ransom. “That is an order.”

Ransom ignored it, lifting his sword to point the tip at Banner. “What is he doing here?”

“I’ve made a bargain with the Gold King and General Banner.” Ramsey crossed his arms over his chest. “He’ll be taking his fiancée back to Quentis.”

“No.” Ransom’s fingers opened and closed on his sword as he adjusted his grip. He wouldn’t be able to use it against Ramsey, but the warning was clear. Blood oath or not, he’d sure as hell try. “She stays.”

“I’m not leaving.” I spoke in unison with Ransom.

Part of me was overjoyed that Father had kept his promise to bring me home. But he was too late.

I was home.

Banner gave a choked laugh. “I am not here for you.”

Wait. “What?”

Then who? I was his fiancée. Or I had been once. If he wasn’t here for me…

Banner’s focus shifted over my head.

Enough people had slipped out of the courtyard, retreating home to spread word of the crux scout sighting, that no one blocked my view as a group of soldiers stalked our way.

A group that had come through the side gate led by a woman who’d lived here not that long ago. A woman with a pretty face and large brown eyes. Her blond hair was braided away from her face in warrior braids.

“Jocelyn?”

For a heartbeat, I was relieved to see her again. To know that she’d made it home to hug her mother. Had she and Banner gotten engaged since I sent her back to Roslo?

She was carrying a sword. It was smaller than any belonging to a man, but she seemed comfortable with it in her grip. Practiced and sure, the way Tillia carried her sword. Too practiced for a lady’s maid.

The joy of seeing her faded fast as dread pooled in my gut.

Jocelyn wasn’t simply a maid, was she? Was she a spy of Banner’s?

Or Father’s?

There was a reason she’d come on this journey, and it had never been to draw my baths.

All this time, as I’d built confidence in myself, I’d forgotten just how little faith Father had in me. Seeing Jocelyn was a brutal reminder, like being dragged backward in time. It was old wounds being reopened.

I was not the same princess who left Roslo. Had she told them how much I’d changed? Had they even asked about me? Or had it always been for Allesaria? For his plans?

She’d played me for a fool, hadn’t she? Jocelyn had gathered whatever information she’d been ordered to glean, then given me the perfect excuse to send her home. She’d even conjured tears.

Jocelyn twisted, waving someone forward.

Brielle appeared at her side, and when she spotted us all, a strangled cry came from her throat. “Banner?”

Relief washed over his face as he opened his arms. “Brielle.”

She blew past the soldiers and Jocelyn, running for him, hair streaming at her back, legs and arms pumping until she crashed into his chest. “You came for me.”

“I promised I’d find a way.” He leaned back, taking her face in his hands as tears streamed down her cheeks. Then he kissed her like they were alone in a dark bedroom, not standing amidst a crowd of people.

That kiss knocked the wind from my lungs.

Banner and Brielle.

She was his fiancée? And this was the bargain Banner had made? Jocelyn’s information for Brielle.

Shades. I wasn’t sure I could take any more surprises tonight. But as the shock wore off, the truth made sense. I could see it now.

Banner had stayed on that cliffside the day we sailed away, not to watch me leave, but for her. The woman he’d had in the city, the lover I’d heard about in castle rumors. It was Brielle.

When I’d asked her if she’d ever been in love, she’d said yes but that he’d broken her heart.

Banner had broken her heart when he’d agreed to marry me.

And she’d loved him anyway, despite the pain.

They broke apart, foreheads resting together, like all was right in the realm.

Brielle wasn’t the only person Jocelyn had taken from the house.

The soldiers behind Jocelyn dragged Luella into the fray, her arms clasped in their unrelenting grips.

Ransom turned and lifted his sword as he stepped away from my side. “Let her go.”

Luella’s dark hair was loose, her robe open to reveal the sleeping gown beneath. They hadn’t let her put on slippers, so her feet were bare on the dirt.

Ramsey wasn’t only here to claim his son. He’d come for his wife.

I wasn’t sure how he’d found her, but I had a hunch it was also because of Jocelyn. Maybe my former lady’s maid had been able to match the queen’s description to the woman who was often seen at the Guardian’s side.

If my hunch was right, then Jocelyn had betrayed us all.

Bitch.

Zavier shifted, peering past the soldiers, searching.

For Evie. Oh, gods, where was Evie? Please let her be safe.

Given Zavier’s audible exhale, she was likely hidden away.

My exhale was loud, too.

“Stop!” A streak of white flashed through the crowd as Cathlin pushed her way to the front, trying to get to the guards. When she spotted Ransom already blocking their path, she slowed, breathing heavily as she changed course, coming to stand behind Zavier.

Fury rolled off Ransom’s frame as he blocked the guards’ path, standing before his mother. “Release her.”

They had sense enough to listen.

He might not be able to strike down the king, but a guard? Their heads would roll before they could blink.

“Turn around,” he told Luella. “Walk away.”

She gave him a sad smile, lifting her hand to his cheek. “Whether this happened in Allesaria or Ellder, it was always going to happen. It’s time for me to face him again. To end this.”

No. Ramsey was going to kill her. She wouldn’t be speaking that way if she thought they could work this out. Would he do it right here in front of everyone? Would Ramsey kill her in front of Ransom?

There was a menacing, victorious smile on the king’s face when I turned to take him in. After over four years of searching for Luella, he’d found her. Whatever information Jocelyn had given him had led him to this fortress.

She should have left.

We all should have left.

Luella stepped around Ransom, walking with her chin held high to stand in front of her husband. “Ramsey.”

“Lu.” His voice was cold. “I was certain, after all this time, I’d have to travel to the opposite end of the realm to find you. Imagine my surprise when I learned from a Quentin spy about a woman who was never far from the Guardian’s side. A woman who bears a remarkable resemblance to descriptions of the queen. A tutor for a four-year-old girl.”

My hunch. It was correct.

My jaw clenched, anger coursing hot through my veins. I was going to kill Jocelyn if Ramsey found Evie.

“Who is this girl?” Ramsey asked. “Or should I kill you first, then find out?”

“You’ve lost your mind, Ramsey,” Cathlin spat. “You’ve become a fool, blinded by jealousy and vengeance.”

He ignored her, steely eyes locked on his wife. His queen.

“Ramsey.” Luella’s voice was gentle. “This has gone too far.”

“Not far enough.” He lifted a hand to her face, fingertips caressing her cheek.

She flinched, and it turned his arrogant smile into a sneer.

He fisted a handful of her hair, pulling hard enough that she yelped.

We all surged forward, unsure of what to do other than move closer.

The soldiers around us closed in, too, all reaching for their weapons. This would turn into a bloodbath if we weren’t careful. Every person was waiting for a command. To flee. Or to fight.

“Enough.” Ransom’s sword was shaking but stayed at his side. He was shaking, like he was fighting his own blood trying to raise that weapon.

Except he wouldn’t be able to stop this.

I moved without thinking, stealing the sword from his grip. Its weight settled into my hands like a brick of iron. I’d forgotten just how heavy it was. But I was stronger than I’d been on the Cutter. When I raised the blade into the air, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold it for long, even with both hands.

I only needed to hold it long enough. “Let her go.”

Ramsey did a double take, like he couldn’t believe there was a blade at his throat.

The soldiers stepped forward again, but Zavier and Tillia and Halston, Ransom’s warriors, even Cathlin, formed a blockade, keeping them out. For now. More weapons were drawn, and the tension was so thick it was becoming difficult to breathe.

My heart hammered, and I willed my hands to remain steady. I’d never be able to truly wield this weapon, but Ramsey didn’t need to know that. “I have sworn no oath to you, but I swear this now, I will not let you kill her.”

Ramsey’s eyes blazed, his expression turning to stone. He was a king who was not used to being challenged.

If he expected me to cower, he’d be disappointed.

“Your wife is a nuisance,” he spat, pushing Luella aside so hard she tripped. She would have fallen if not for Halston reaching out to catch her.

Ramsey moved faster than any man I’d seen, save Ransom. He yanked my arm, sending me off-balance, the sword clanging on the ground as it fell from my hands.

“No.” Ransom leaped forward, but the soldiers behind him managed to seize him by the arms, four men holding him back while another four came to stand in front.

Eight men wasn’t enough. He should shake loose. But then what? That godsforsaken blood oath to his king meant there was only so much he could do.

Tillia and Halston, Zavier and his rangers, were all still bracing against the hundreds of soldiers around us, warriors ready to strike us dead if given the order.

There was no one to stop Ramsey as he gripped me by the arms, holding tight as he shook my entire body so hard my teeth rattled. “Who do you think you are, Sparrow?”

“The future queen of Turah,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “Let. Me. Go. Now.”

He didn’t listen.

So I used a move Tillia had taught me in one of our many training sessions.

I drove my knee into the king’s groin, hard enough that his hands dropped and he bent forward with an oof.

Jackass. My elation was instant. And short-lived. Like he’d done with Luella, he fisted my hair, twisting tight as pain exploded from my scalp. I cried out, unable to keep it inside.

A growl came from Ransom’s throat before he was free, casting those soldiers aside like they were nothing. Then his heat was at my back, a snarl in his voice as his father’s grip only tightened. “I will kill you. I swear it.”

Ramsey’s nostrils flared. “I see the way you look at her.”

“She is my life,” Ransom said.

“She will be your death. As your mother will be mine.”

“Father. Please.” Ransom put a hand on Ramsey’s arm. “Let her go.”

“Father?” Banner asked. “The Guardian… He is your son?”noveldrama

Ramsey didn’t answer. He looked to his son again, eyes still blazing, and when he finally let me go, it was with a shove to Brother Dime. “You wanted her. You deal with her.”

I flailed, falling forward into the priest’s burgundy robes.

The moment his hand touched mine, fire exploded through my skin, agony ripping through my bones. A scream tore from my throat, and my knees cracked as I dropped to the dirt. Even after the priest took his hand away, the screaming continued.

The pain wouldn’t stop, and that shrill sound split the air, getting louder and louder.

Except I wasn’t screaming, not anymore.

Brother Dime backed away, endless eyes turning to the night sky.

Ransom hauled me to my feet, holding me tight as he shuffled me backward, out of reach from both the priest and his father.

Someone was still screaming. I pressed my hands to my ears.

“What is…” I trailed off as the entire courtyard stilled, everyone going quiet.

What came next wasn’t another scream.

It was the unmistakable beating of wings.

Crux.