The Archer at Dawn by Swati Teerdhala

Author:Swati Teerdhala
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2020-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Esha hated waiting. She’d been stuck in this little corner of the street, for what felt like hours.

Her legs were beginning to cramp, and annoyance was beginning to crawl up her spine. Her contact had said the Falcon Squad would be returning from a meeting at this time and she’d been staking out this entrance of the garrison for the past hour, waiting for them to return.

Just as she began to consider leaving, she heard footsteps. Pairs of them, probably five or six in total. The squad.

Esha straightened, knowing she’d only a moment of time to capture their attention in this disguise. She’d get a proper look at them, determine which one had the honor of meeting her knife later. She should kill them all, but after the peace summit, she was going to play it closer to the vest. Plan better, be more cunning. The Viper’s territory.

Esha fixed the turban on her head, twirled the fake mustache she wore, and checked the gold pouch on her waist sash, the mark of a gambling den owner, before straightening her shoulders and strolling out of her hiding spot.

Kunal was late. He picked up his pace, patting his bag to ensure all the supplies they needed to case the citadel were still in there.

The citadel and garrison were nestled near each other, a tunnel and walkway connecting them for security purposes. The champions would be gone and Kunal had made sure the soldiers would be otherwise occupied. This time, Kunal was taking every precaution.

Kunal fixed the positioning of his Senap armband and tugged his cuirass, feeling more comfortable than he had in a while. He was close to the citadel when he heard a two-by-two cadence more familiar to him than his own heartbeat.

A Senap squadron, coming his way. But why?

The champions were in the palace for yet another party, and the soldiers’ exercises were being held in the palace courtyard. He sped up, turning the corner so that the garrison and the towering marble citadel came into view.

And in the distance, trailing a carousing group of soldiers in ceremonial regalia, was a small figure dressed like a gambling merchant, gold belt, mustache, unearned swagger and all.

But Kunal had seen Esha in enough disguises to immediately recognize her.

He broke into a run.

Esha was about to call after the laughing soldiers when something stopped her. The feeling of being watched, or worse—that feeling she got before something went wrong in a mission.

But this time, she ignored it. She was tired of waiting. It had been ten long years.

Her shoe snagged on a rock, and Esha tripped, slowing down. One of the soldiers, who looked the least inebriated, turned at the noise, and Esha thought she saw his owl eyes glancing back, skimming over her.

But she couldn’t be sure.

One of the other soldiers shouted and pointed at a nearby inn to a chorus of agreement.

She moved to follow them when arms enveloped her. Esha started kicking, but the person was strong, lifting her off her feet.

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