Empire of Ashes

Chapter XXVIII - Law and Order

That served suitably to have them running back into bed. The healers nodded thanks and set about organising the chaos. As the crowds cleared, Temris started walking again, but this time in a different direction. We were heading to a part of the camp that I hadn't even known existed.

"You might want to slip back home, Lyra. This will take a while," Temris told me.

I folded my arms and stopped in my tracks. He halted with a grimace as I said, "And why exactly are you in such a hurry to get rid of me?"

"That's not what I was—"

"Liar," I cut across him.

"I just thought—"

"Liar," I repeated impatiently.

Temris scowled at me. "Have I ever told you—"

"—that I'm too smart for my own good? Yes, you have. Twice. Now tell me the truth, before I lose my patience."

"Stop finishing my sentences. It's hard to argue with someone if you never let them talk." Frustration and annoyance dripped from his words, collecting in a puddle just beneath the slightest hint of amusement.

I smirked. "On the contrary, I find it the easiest way to argue with people. Last chance, Tem. What are trying to keep me away from?"

His eyes flickered briefly to a clearing in the tents ahead and gave me all the answer I needed. I heard muttered curses as I slipped into the crowd and headed straight for the forbidden area. From behind me came the obvious sounds of pursuit, as Temris and Colloe followed. But one small girl alone found it far easier to squeeze between people, especially when they were all trying to move in different directions.

I passed the bulk of the med tents and ended up on the wrong side of a pen. Wooden fences separated the bulk of the army from—

Oh, gods above, no wonder he had tried to keep me away. The Anglian prisoners from last night's battle were sat on the ground in lines, disarmed and restrained. A few guards prowled along the rows to discourage escape attempts. But what instantly caught my attention was the captains, who had been separated from their comrades at one end of the pens.

The sight of Rory crouched alongside one of them, using refreshment as an excuse to whisper with him, would have been more enough to make me lose all control. That is, if the man he was conspiring with hadn't been the captain who had first brought me to the northerners' camp. The man who had taken me as a slave and ordered the deaths of my family.

I didn't make the conscious decision to move. My body did that all by itself. I prowled down the fence and leapt it at the far end. A guard twitched to stop me but quickly changed his mind. No one dared touch the Ragnyr's bedwarmer. Not even when she was out of bounds. Once again, Temris's actions were backfiring on him.

With one hand, I drew the knife from my belt. The other clenched into a fist. Which should I kill first: the traitor or the slaver? Rory would be the one to eliminate immediately, I decided. Then I would be able to take my time with the captain. He would die slowly and painfully.

I was close then, close enough to hear the whispered words of the spy and the prisoner. Yet neither of them had seen me. The knife twisted in my hand, my arm raising for the killing blow. Another second and Rory would have died. But Temris moved faster than I gave him credit for and caught me from behind.

Even as I was pressed against the familiar, warm body, something hit my wrist with bruising force. The knife slipped out of my grip and straight into Colloe's palm. The Iyrak had been the one to disarm me — as soon as I had reason to hurt the Ragnyr.