We will tell her, the Kings replied.
Too late, a Living Oak whispered in his head. She and her husband have crossed the river.
Too late, the Woodsman repeated to himself, as he rushed forward. The trap would soon be sprung.
Chapter 3
The plan was working, Sorcha thought as her horse plodded across a narrow sandbar in the Vorus River, then splashed into water less than a foot deep. Ahead of her, Lieutenant Kashenko led a dozen men on horseback, their shields and spears ready, as they ventured onto the river’s southern bank into the country of Woodwyn. In the center of his troop, a soldier held up a white flag with a golden sun in the center.
No elves in sight.
Silas motioned for the rest of the entourage to move forward. He and Gwennore rode in the middle with Annika and Dimitri to their right. Sorcha was on the left, between Silas and Aleksi, dressed much the same as they, in brown leather breeches and breastplate, dark green shirt with a matching cape attached to the shoulders. Her sword rested against her hip, and as the late afternoon sun gleamed off her brass helmet, she could swear her head was being cooked.
But there was no help for it. Silas had insisted that she and Annika dress the same as the male soldiers. Since everyone knew his heirs were female, he feared they would be targeted if this was a trap.
They reached the Woodwyn shore, followed by a dozen cavalrymen. After traveling south across a grassy plain for about a mile, they spotted a narrow road flanked by a thick forest. Far down the road, a lone tent waited for them.
Sorcha eyed the thick forest. A perfect setting for an ambush. Apparently her brother shared her suspicion, for he called the group to a halt.
“We should turn back.” Silas gave his wife an apologetic look. “I’m sorry.”
Gwennore nodded, then suddenly flinched, her eyes growing wide. “The Kings of the Forest say it’s a trap!”
“Shields up!” Silas yelled. “Retreat!”
But as soon as the troop in front raised their shields to form a barrier, a barrage of arrows shot from the woods. Most arrows plunked off the metal shields, but a few flew over the top of the barrier and wounded some soldiers.
“Shift!” Silas ordered as he jumped off his horse. Dimitri and Aleksi also dismounted, so they could shift into dragons.
An arrow hit Sorcha’s horse, and with a shriek, it reared up on its hind legs. She plummeted to the ground, her head knocking hard against the brass helmet. For a few seconds she saw stars, but when she refocused, she realized her horse’s flailing hooves were about to crash down on top of her. With a cry, she rolled to the side. The horse landed with a thud, then crumpled to its knees.
Poor horse. Sorcha’s heart raced. She had no horse now, but surely Aleksi would get her out of here. She spotted Silas already in dragon form with Gwennore in his tight grip. As he rose into the air, a barrage of arrows and spears sped toward him. He retaliated with a burst of fire that incinerated all the weapons.
As soon as Silas took off for Norveshka, Dimitri shot into the air in dragon form with Annika riding on his back.
Sorcha scrambled to her feet and spotted elfin soldiers streaming from the forest into the road. Their battle cry echoed in her ears. Their swords gleamed in the afternoon sun.
Dimitri shot flames at them, forcing them back. The grass surface of the road caught fire, forming a barrier between the elves and the Norveshki.
“Retreat!” Lieutenant Kashenko yelled.
Dimitri flew off with Annika while soldiers spurred their horses into a gallop toward the river. Sorcha ran to the side to keep from being trampled. Everything was happening so fast. Where was Aleksi?
She froze in shock as a mass of elfin soldiers charged from the long length of the forest. Holy goddesses, there were hundreds of them! The front line of archers stopped and took aim with their bows and arrows.
“Sorcha!” Aleksi was on foot, looking frantically for her. He’d torn off his breastplate and shirt to make it easier to shift.
“I’m here!” She ran toward him.
He dashed toward her, his skin turning a greenish black as he started to shift. Just a few feet away from her, he halted suddenly with a jerk. His skin faded to its natural color as he fell to his knees, an arrow embedded in his back.
“Aleksi!” No! He wouldn’t be able to shift now. She looked frantically around her. Her horse was down. The white flag of truce lay on the ground, trampled. Aleksi’s horse! She sprinted toward it, grabbed the reins, and led it to him. “We’ll ride back. Hurry! Get on!”
With his teeth gritted against the pain, he rose to his feet. “You get on first.”
She mounted, then extended a hand to help pull him up. But to her surprise, he slapped the horse’s rump to make it run.
“No!” She pulled hard at the reins, desperate to stop the animal. It bucked, threatening to toss her off. A few cavalrymen raced past her toward the river. Dammit. It had been a big mistake, dressing like the other soldiers. They didn’t realize who she was. Or how new she was to all this.
“I need help!” she yelled as she forced her horse to turn back toward Aleksi. With a surge of panic, she realized the elfin army was moving in fast.
“Dammit, Sorcha!” Aleksi stumbled toward her. “Get out of here!”
She jumped off the horse. “Not without you!” She grabbed his arm.
His eyes widened, and he swung her around, using himself as a shield as more arrows came at them. His body jerked as one thudded into his shoulder.
“No!” Sorcha wailed as he crumpled to his knees.
“Go,” he whispered.
How could she leave him? “Dammit, Aleksi.” She tried to pull him up, but his eyes flickered shut and he slumped to the ground. Had he fainted or . . . ?
“Your Highness?” Lieutenant Kashenko rode up beside her.
“Help me!” She struggled to lift Aleksi, and the lieutenant leaped off his horse.
Another soldier stopped and dismounted. With dismay, she realized they were the only ones left. All the other soldiers had done as ordered and retreated to Norveshka.
And the elfin army was getting too close.
“Guard us while I lift the captain,” Lieutenant Kashenko ordered the other soldier as he leaned over to pick up Aleksi.
The soldier pulled his sword from its sheath, then abruptly turned toward them and plunged the sword into the lieutenant’s back.
Sorcha gasped as Lieutenant Kashenko fell to his knees. The soldier pushed on the sword, shoving the blade all the way through the lieutenant’s chest till it erupted through his leather breastplate, coated with blood.
She stumbled back, struggling to breathe. The lieutenant collapsed on his side. Blood spilled from his mouth, and he coughed, a nasty gurgling sound. His gaze wandered toward Sorcha, then stopped.
Dead. She looked in horror at his glassy, sightless eyes. Dead. Two weeks of training had not prepared her for this. How could anything prepare her for this?
Her sight grew hazy. Her heart thudded in her ears, drowning out all sound. Her mind spun in circles, unable to focus.
Something squeezed her ankle hard, and she blinked. Aleksi had grabbed her boot. Aleksi. He was still alive. And he needed her.
She pulled her sword and pointed it at the soldier. “Traitor! Put the captain on that horse before I run you through!”
The traitor smirked. “Go ahead and try. There will be more like me. The Circle of Five is everywhere. And you’ll never know who to trust.”