The Traitor's Ruin by Erin Beaty

Author:Erin Beaty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Imprint

55

“THEY ARE GETTING back on the river, Captain!”

Huzar burst out of the trees just as the two boys pushed the boat off the opposite shore and jumped in. Damn.

Everything had gone as planned until the fire started. Suddenly there were horses everywhere, and someone saw the prince and another boy riding away. Sometime during the pursuit, Quinn appeared and put the prince and his companion on a boat and sent them downriver.

Then the Norsari arrived, and Huzar ordered his men to fall back. Once he understood where the prince had gone, Huzar left without waiting for the full casualty report. None of it would have been in vain if he could get to the boy before the Demorans.

The Kimisar captain led his squad along the river, following as swiftly as they could, catching occasional glimpses of the boat through the trees.

Another squire was with the prince, which was good. Huzar wasn’t about harming children, and an extra hostage could be handy. The boy could be sent back to Quinn, where he could explain how the Kimisar had been stranded and that they only wanted to go home.

Huzar had left the Norsari in chaos, but they couldn’t be far behind, and there were more soldiers on the road, maybe a day away. The Kimisar were outnumbered and cornered. There was no going back now, no more chances to hide. If Huzar couldn’t capture the prince and force Quinn to listen, it was only a matter of time before all his men were dead.

Downstream, the river bent in a U, and if they hurried, the Kimisar could get ahead of the boat. In his excitement, Huzar shouted orders in his own language as he ran.

Several of his men spread out on the bank, waiting for the boat to come around. One put an arrow to the string as the boat came into view.

No!

Huzar called to the archer not to shoot. His second-in-command held the bow taut as he looked back at him, obviously disagreeing. It had been he who ordered the Kimisar to aim at the prince last night as he fled on horseback, and Huzar had been furious. They were lucky the boy hadn’t been hit.

From the corner of his eye, Huzar saw the other squire stand up in the boat and wave his arm in a tight circle. Too late, Huzar realized what he was doing and shouted a warning. His second looked back at the boat just as a rock smashed into his face. The half-drawn arrow released, arcing weakly into the water, well short of the now-dead man’s intended target.

With a start, Huzar recognized the boy with the sling.

And he was no boy.

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