Chapter 14 · A Hunt Inside the Court

Ronan’s hand closed around the black key, and every wolf-shadow in the throne room dropped to its knees.

Then the first arrow hit the wall beside my head.

The court screamed.

I ducked as another arrow cut through the air. It buried itself in the throne behind me, black metal sinking into ancient wood. Ronan grabbed my waist and dragged me down just as three guards rushed through the side doors with their swords drawn.

“Protect the king!” someone shouted.

“No,” Drake Thorn said from the floor. “Protect yourselves from the witch.”

I looked at him.

He was still on his knees, pinned there by whatever palace magic had taken hold of him. His face had gone pale, but his voice carried across the room.

“She opened the dead queen’s throne,” Drake said. “She brought the assassins into the palace.”

“You’re lying,” I snapped.

“Am I?”

A blade flashed behind him.

The assassin came out of the crowd wearing a court servant’s gray coat. He moved fast, too fast for a normal man. One second he was standing behind a noblewoman. The next, his knife was under her chin and his other hand was reaching for the nearest guard’s throat.