Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
14
Roark
I close the door to Dirk’s room, clenching my fists. Dead. They fucking killed him and they took my princess. I clench my fists, standing outside in the center of the only contingent of men in the city willing to die to help me. I see none of them. All I see is black.
I close my eyes. My mother always complained that I could have been more, that I sat by while opportunity waited, letting others step up to take it from me. My brother liked to boast about how he was the better of us and I never cared enough to take him to task on it. But now? Now I can only see one thing: Elizabeth’s face. I see her waiting for me, scared and alone. I can practically feel her calling out for my help, and so help me God, I will break anything that stands in the way of getting back to her. I’ll fight for her until my fucking hands are raw and bloody, until my breath hitches and my body gives out.
“With me!” I shout, storming through the group of thirty men who have gathered to help me.
The sounds of heavy boots clatter behind me. I lead the men to a lesser-known pathway that leads beneath the kitchens and winds up to a bedroom in the royal quarters that used to belong to the king’s uncle. My tutors said rumors were the uncle was either paranoid or having an affair with a lesser noble. Either way, I’m sure Titus doesn’t know of it because he skipped lessons that day in favor of practicing his Blade.
“The main contingent of guards will be waiting in the main entrance of the palace,” I call back to my men. “When we make first contact, they will come straight for us. Once they’re upon us, we’ll have no chance. But if we can detain Titus or rescue Elizabeth before that happens, we’ll have a hope of turning their hearts.”
“You’re sure she was being held in my mother’s rooms, Kato?” I ask.
The senior guardsman jogs to catch up with me. “Yes, sir. They could move her any minute, but I just saw her less than twenty minutes ago. She should be there”
“Good. The hallways near the royal chambers are narrow. The doorways are even more narrow. If we can establish a position inside her rooms, we’ll be able to buy a great deal of time before their numbers overwhelm us.”
“Yes, sir,” says Kato, who falls back into the group.
We reach a small staircase that leads to a trap door. I punch it open, Blade drawn as I ascend into the bedroom. I swivel quickly, find the room to be empty, and motion for the men to follow me up.
“Quiet footsteps,” I say in a hushed voice. “My mother’s room is nearby. If we can make it inside her room before we’re discovered, our chances are very good.”
I open the door to the main hallway and peer out just in time to see a guard turn a corner in the distance and vanish from sight. “Come,” I whisper.
Just as the last of my men have exited the room into the doorway, one of my men shouts as loudly as he can. “Traitors in the hallways! Thirty armed m--”
My gun shudders in my hand as I squeeze the trigger. A hole opens in the man’s forehead. His knees crumple beneath him. “A fucking mole,” I growl. “One of Titus’ or my mother’s. Move!” I shout.
Raised voices ring out through the hallway from every direction as we clamber around the corner and up the stairs toward my mother’s room. I stop short outside her door, where five men spot us, fanning out and raising their guns. I squeeze off two shots before anyone else shoots, dropping two of them before my men bring down the other three. I hear a body hit the floor behind me--one of my men down. That puts us at twenty-nine, including myself.
“Elizabeth!” I shout. I hear nothing, though. I kick in my mother’s door, knocking it into the room and completely off the hinges. I look quickly around her waiting chamber, finding a broken glass on the ground and two closed doors. “Check them!” I shout, kicking down another door while some of my men check the other door.
At the same time, gunfire erupts from the hallway outside. I hear my own men shouting and a scream of pain.
“They’re on us! You three, go help them. You two, go check that room with them. Kato, with me!”
We move into the main bedroom and I feel a chill as I look at the bed. The last time I was in this room was on the day they found my father’s body. I remember coming because I heard the servant’s screams. But I swallow down the old memories, scanning for any sign of Elizabeth. I run to check the closets and restrooms, finding nothing. “Fuck!” I shout, kicking aside a huge dresser.