Chapter 65: While I'm Still Being Nice
Damn it.
This was bad.
No matter how strong Alina was, there was no way she could hold off a second-circle fighter.
She was already losing her footing. Her boots scraped back against the marble as Talia pressed down on the blade, forcing Alina’s spear down toward the floor. The veins in her forearms bulged, her knuckles turning white as she fought to push back.
It wasn't working.
"Kids really are naive," Talia said flatly.
She snapped a sharp front kick straight into the shaft of Alina's spear, ripping the weapon right out of her hands.
The move was so clean Alina couldn't even process it. Her hands went numb, her eyes going wide as she stared at her empty palms.
Then she saw the black-burning sword swinging straight for her neck.
Alina threw herself sideways, hit the cold floor hard, and rolled. The blade whistled through the air right where her head had been a second ago, chopping a chunk out of the stone wall.
Wan lunged.
He threw his heavy body straight at Talia, sinking his teeth deep into her right forearm, the one holding the sword.
The weight nearly dragged her down, her grip slipping on the hilt, but she locked her wrist and held on.
"Get off me, you damn monster!" she shrieked.
She slammed her elbow back into his face, but Wan didn't let go. He clamped his jaws down harder, blood seeping through her sleeve.
Nuri stood frozen. He still couldn't wrap his head around how a mother could call her own kid that.
Move, idiot!
Turman stepped up next. He grabbed a heavy bronze candlestick off the side cabinet and swung it wild at Talia’s head.
Talia didn't even look, she just leaned her head back an inch.
The heavy metal whistled past air. Turman lost his footing, his knees giving out as he slammed face-first onto the floorboards.
A sharp pain shot up his chest. He balled his hands into fists, gasping for air on the cold stone. He’d never been hit like this in his life.
Then a long dark shadow stretched over his back.
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Turman forced his head up, his neck shaking.
Talia stood right over him. Her face was completely dead. No anger, no hatred, just total apathy.
He had known. Deep down in his gut, he'd always known.
The only reason she hadn't strangled him in his sleep years ago was because a dead heir would ruin her standing with the other noble families. She needed a pretty, living child to show off at galas.
That was it. He was a trophy.
And now that he was broken, she was going to erase him. Just like she tried to erase Wan.
Part of him had kept hoping. Some stupid, tiny part of him wanted her to look at him like a son, even just once.
A single tear cut through the dirt on his cheek as he stared up at her raised sword.
Tack!
Nuri grabbed a wooden stool off the floor and hurled it straight at Talia.
She caught it mid-air without looking, using the sudden distraction to scramble back onto her feet.
Turman didn't waste the second. He scrambled backward on his hands and knees, kicking away from Talia’s boots. Wan let go of her arm and backed up with him, guarding his brother’s side.
The four of them backed into a tight circle near the base of the stairs, shoulder to shoulder, eyes locked on the woman stepping toward them.
Talia sneered, her eyes full of raw disgust as she wiped the blood off her forearm with her sleeve.
Every time her boots clicked on the stone, Nuri flinched.
"Damn it... what do we do?" Alina hissed, her voice cracking as she wiped sweat from her eyes.
"Can't you pull off that thing you did in the cave?!" Nuri whispered back frantically.
"I can't just turn it on! It was a freak thing... I need way more training for that!"
Alina shot a glance at her bag.
Nuri was a healer, he couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag.
Wan was bleeding from his shoulder and barely standing.
And Turman? He was a sick kid who’d spent his whole life reading books in bed.
They were dead. Completely dead.
Knock. Knock.
The heavy wood of the front door rattled.
The whole room went dead silent.
Alina froze. Nuri stopped breathing.
Even Talia pulled her sword back, her sharp eyebrows pulling together as she stared at the entrance.
Knock. Knock.
Talia shot a cold look at the kids. Seeing they were just as confused as she was, she growled under her breath, lowered her sword to her side, and walked over to the grand double doors.
She pulled one open.
"Hello, dear Talia."
Captain Caelan stood on the welcome mat, hands tucked casually behind his back, a polite, easy smile on his face.
"I came to pick up my kids."
He reached into his coat, pulled out a pocket watch, checked the time, and snapped it shut. "It's been almost two days. Haven't heard a word from them, so I thought I'd come collect them myself."
Caelan looked right past her shoulder into the foyer.
Talia stared at him for a second, then let out a slow, tired breath. "They already left."
Nuri's heart leaped into his throat. He opened his mouth to scream
Nothing came out.
His throat clamped shut. No matter how hard he pushed air through his lungs, his vocal cords wouldn't move. An invisible pressure was squeezing his chest, pinning his tongue to the roof of his mouth.
Beside him, Alina was clutching her throat, her eyes wide with panic.
"Hmm? Is that so?" Caelan tilted his head, his smile never wavering. "Ah, well."
He shifted his weight. "Mind if I come in for some tea then? Haven't seen you in ages. Not since the academy, right? I'd love to catch up."
Caelan tried to peek into the dark hallway behind her, but Talia immediately took a step sideways, blocking the gap with her shoulder.
"I notice you don't have any servants around," Caelan added softly.
"None of your business," Talia snapped, her tone turning venomous.
"Well, seeing you standing there holding a drawn weapon kind of makes it my business, doesn't it?"
Caelan’s smile stayed fixed, but his eyes turned cold as stone.
"As a knight commander, I can't really ignore a blade out in the open."
"I was training," Talia said.
Caelan's smile vanished completely.
"Talia," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "Will you listen to me while I'm still being nice?"