The Tale of Five Heirs

Chapter Seventeen, in which we (mostly) escape Everwinter

Tamara woke up grabbing for her sword. As she closed her hand around the hilt, she saw Skeena starting awake and pulling out her knife.

It was totally silent and very dark. Tamara couldn't even hear floorboards creaking or the wind outside.

"What is it?" hissed Skeena.

"Don't know," said Tamara, but she knew some instinct had woken them both. She pulled her sword out of her scabbard and held it aloft. In the bright white light of the magnesium flame, Tamara saw that neither Kelvin nor Yago were in their beds.

"Something's up," she muttered, and climbed out of bed, silently pulling on her jacket and strapping her scabbard, ember darts, and pyro blades to her belt. Skeena got up, too, and put on her knives.

Tamara walked across the room, paused by the doorway, and flung open the door. A dozen burly guards in Everwinter uniforms stood in the hallway. A woman Tamara vaguely recognized stood in front of them.

"Attack!" the woman yelled.

"I thought we were being sneaky," said one of the guards.

"The time for that is over!" said the woman. "Charge!"

As the guards started forward, Tamara primed three ember darts and threw them into the group. She slammed the door shut and threw the deadbolt as an explosion went off in the hall.

"Saw the woman," said Skeena. "It's that Everwinter spy Kelvin's been sneaking around with. He betrayed us."

"Really? You're blaming him? Yago's gone too, and he's the least trustworthy person I've ever met. Let's go out the window."

"There's about ten guards on the street below. I don't like our chances."

They heard pounding on the door. The Everwinter guards were trying to break through. Tamara groaned. "Coming here was a terrible idea. We'll probably get captured or killed, and then no one will be able to tell the Queen that Everwinter is attacking. This is your fault!"

Skeena rolled her eyes. "Don't be so melodramatic. We've dealt with the Dragon Tribes. We'll be fine." She went to take a position behind the barricaded door.

In another few seconds of banging the door burst off its hinges. Big, burly guards thundered through the doorway.

Tamara and Skeena retreated and stood back to back. Tamara blinded her attackers with the light of her sword and parried their clumsy swings. She hit one man on the side of the head with the flat of her sword. She jabbed another one in the knee.

But there were too many. Tamara was disarming another man when she felt a cold flare of pain on the side of her cheek. For a moment it consumed her and she gasped. Then a large guard jumped on her and knocked her to the ground.

Tamra could see Skeena next to her, bent over and coughing up blood. She looked up and saw a woman saunter into the room. It was the same woman from before, the one she vaguely recognized.

"Olwyn," wheezed Skeena. "Everwinter spy."

Olwyn ignored her. "Tie them up," she said. The guards hauled Tamara and Skeena upright and tied their wrists and ankles together. Tamara's face hurt, and she could taste the blood running into her mouth, but she almost snickered. They were using granny knots. Pathetic. That level of incompetence would never be tolerated in the Queen's Flaming Swords.

"Leave us," said Olwyn. "I wish to speak to these Aranthians."

"But, the Ironfist said—"

"I know what the Ironfist said, and we'll bring them back to the castle soon. Now go."