Empire of Ashes

Chapter XXX - Consequences

Yarrow's entire body tensed under my hold, then he broke down into coarse laughter. The Iyrak were eyeing me with something close to abhorrence, bare steel in their hands.

"Bad idea, girl," Yarrow said, too quietly. "You'd have done better to take a sword in the gut. Now we'll kill you nice and slow."

"I hate runners," an Iyrak agreed.

I dug in the flint hard enough to draw blood. "And I hate vicious pricks who will attack someone unarmed and half their size. Look at the three of you! You don't even have the courage to face me alone."

"This isn't about courage. It's about survival. If Temris moves openly against the king, we will all die."

And in that moment, I knew Yarrow was lost. There would be no convincing him, no winning him back to our cause. This man was broken and defeated. As long as his people were safe, he was happy. The rest of Cambria could burn for all he cared. We're dying already, idiot. 

So I braced my arm to choke off a little more oxygen. "Weapons on the ground. Right now."

The Iyrak remained steadfast, their eyes never leaving me. It took a slight nod from Yarrow to have them obeying my command. Once they were unarmed, my breaths came a little easier, even if Yarrow's didn't.

"Good boys," I purred. "Now take a long walk that-a-way."

They followed my vague nod to stare at leagues of blank fields. One asked, "How far?"

"I don't particularly care, so long as you're out of my sight. If I see either of your ugly faces again today, I might just smash them in. Keep walking for half a league and then lie down on the ground until Yarrow comes to find you."

They began moving grudgingly, but I held up a hand. "Hold on. Yarrow, you give them the order. They are bloodsworn not to refuse you. I'd hate for anyone to get foolish ideas about circling back."

He swore and argued for minutes before repeating my words to the Iyrak. Even then, the words were forced out through gritted teeth. I hadn't left them with any loopholes to jump through, and they knew it. When the Iyrak were well out of sight, I turned my attention to my captive. Without ever removing the flint from Yarrow's neck, I reached around him to ease his blade out of the leather sheath. The arrogant asshole hadn't even bothered to arm himself, relying on his pet dogs to do all the dirty work.

With a sword in my hand, I used the sharp steel to keep him in place as I bent down to collect the two discarded weapons from the ground. Almost as an afterthought, I returned to my position at his back and stood on tiptoes to whisper, "Now behave yourself. I could just kill you here just to save Temris the trouble — could and will if you so much as blink wrong. In fact, you're only still breathing because we need Brakin's alliance. So when I let you go, I suggest you forget any of this ever happened, and I'll try to do the same."

He snorted his derision. "After I end your worthless lover, I'll come find you, girl. And I think you'll find I remember this encounter very well."

I tipped my head to the side, letting my own predator take control. "Well, in that case..."

The pommel of the sword collided with his temple in an unforgiving blow, while my knee slammed between his legs. Yarrow went down, half-conscious and reeling with pain from his favourite body part. I skipped backwards several steps, before turning on my heel and stalking back to the paddocks. He wasn't stupid enough to come after me, not while I had all the weapons. Yarrow was only brave when the odds were in his favour.

A very familiar golden-haired figure was perched on the fence, regarding me warily.

"It took you long enough," I growled at Samira. "Did you see the whole thing?"