Several soldiers entered the room behind him. My blood turned cold as I recognized the bald head and beefy frame of the guardsman who’d stabbed me. My abdomen throbbed with phantom pain as his eyes glittered with madness and rage.
An uncontrolled shiver ran down my spine.
“That one,” the soldier said, pointing to Raj. “He took the witch from the tower and nearly killed me.”
“An Outlander?” the high sorcerer said, his voice deep and smooth, those two words bringing back a host of memories I wanted to forget.
“Yes, that’s him.”
“I wondered how it happened,” the high sorcerer said. “When my squadron reported that my daughter had been left unguarded, and Gothel was missing, I thought there must have been a mistake. Gothel would never leave the tower willingly. She knew the consequences. She knew the punishment.” His sharp eyes flashed with hate as he focused on me. “But then I learned someone had aided her in her escape. A squire in King Duc’Line’s army. An Outlander boy. An Outlander!” His raised voice made me jump. My heart raced, remembering that same voice before he hit my mother. Over and over again until she was too weak to scream.
The blood.
Sweat beaded on my skin, and the palpable fear froze my joints. The memories came back in a rush. He’d beaten her. He would do the same to me.
He paced toward Raj. “I wanted to kill her and this Outlander, but look, my daughter Rapunzel has revived from the spell—and what else do I find? Prince Merek’s son ready to steal her away from me. How can this be? How can so many betray me? There will be so much bloodshed on this night, but it will not be undeserved. You—all of you—will be executed. Your bodies will be torn to pieces and hung to rot in the four corners of my kingdom as a warning to all.”
“No,” Rapunzel cried. “You can’t! I’m your daughter—and so is Gothel. You can’t kill your own children. Please, Father. Don’t do this!”
“Gothel.” His eyebrows rose as he looked at me. “Is this true?”
I stood tall. “It’s true. Mother isn’t dead. She lives with her sisters in the northern lands. She told me. You are my father. I possess magic, just like you, and I will use it if I have to.” Granted, I’d only ever used it once, and wasn’t sure how to control it, but he didn’t need to know that.
“No,” he snapped. “It makes no difference if you are my flesh and blood. You have defied me. You all have defied me. You all will die.”
“Not if I’ve got anything to do with it,” Raj said, his voice deep and full of warning. The intensity of his words made me pause. I’d never heard him speak with such fervor. If I had been anyone else, I would’ve been frightened. He stepped in front of us, blocking us from the high sorcerer as he grasped his sword. “You won’t harm anyone.”
High Sorcerer Varlocke laughed. “I’ll kill you all, and you’ll suffer the most, Outlander. You and your people are a plague. After I kill you, I’ll take your body to what remains of the Outlander people. I’ll burn it for all to see, and then I’ll slaughter every last one of your kind until no one remains.”
If Varlocke’s words bothered him, Raj didn’t let it show. “Not if you’re dead.”
Raj lunged at him, striking with a fierce attack aimed for the high sorcerer’s heart. The high sorcerer struck out with his staff. Lightning exploded from its tip. Raj dodged aside, but the bolt caught his hand. He screamed, losing his grip on the sword. It clattered to the ground. The high sorcerer grabbed up the weapon and tossed it out the window. Raj unsheathed his father’s blade using his uninjured hand, then leapt at the high sorcerer and stabbed his shoulder.
The emperor screamed. “Kill them all!” he bellowed.
Chaos erupted as the high sorcerer’s guards attacked us. I grabbed the dagger from my boot, leaping in front of Rapunzel as one of the guards rushed at me. I deflected the blow from his sword, rounded, and kicked the back of his knees. He pitched forward, and Rapunzel pushed him into the well. With lightning fast speed, she grabbed the rope holding the bucket and untied it. Screaming echoed as the bucket plunged, leaving the soldier to fall into the water dozens of feet below.
Rapunzel gave me a sly grin, and I wanted to congratulate her, but more soldiers came at us. Prince Merek leapt into the action, cutting and hacking with his sword, deflecting blows from every direction.
The soldier who’d nearly killed me in the stable leapt in front of me. His beefy frame flexed as he held a heavy broadsword. His eyes glittered with madness. Long scabs crisscrossed his face, one bisecting his eye. They must’ve been wounds from when he’d fought Raj.
He laughed as he focused on my flimsy knife. “It’s time to die now.”
“I don’t think so.”
He lifted his sword over his head and screamed as he charged at me. I lunged aside, though the blade caught my calf. Screaming, I fell, holding my leg. Warm blood seeped from the puncture, coating my fingers, though the wound didn’t feel deep.
He came at me again, and I rolled to the side. His blade slammed into a wooden support post, nearly cleaving it in two. His enraged yells echoed through the tower as he yanked his sword from the beam.
He spun on me, fire in his eyes as he stabbed for my chest. I dodged again but wasn’t sure how long I could keep it up. I had to find a way to stop him or else one of those blows would kill me. But what options did I have? My blade was so small. I’d lost my pack somewhere in the commotion. Frantically, I searched the tower, looking for weapons or anything that would stop him. Having natural magic should’ve been
