An Aimless War - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

"My lady, Prince Kalvahi is waiting for you in the castle."
The guard offered her a hand, but Kassia ignored it and climbed out of the small sailboat herself. He looked baffled for a moment, but recovered quickly to stand at attention again.
"We'll escort—"
"That won't be necessary," Kassia interrupted. She almost enjoyed the look that flashed across his face, but she didn't give herself much time to savour it. She sidestepped around him and started down the dock. East Draulin, known to Deorans and Navirians alike as Talidor, should have been a beautiful city. Instead, plums of smoke still billowed into the air. It was a shame. Kassia had been very vocally opposed to burning the city. She knew that the people who would suffer the most were Zians, not Teltans. King Idavari hadn't cared. Neither had Kalvahi.
Kassia had never been in East Draulin, but she still knew her way around. It was an old city. Like most of the cities in Deorun. Like Zianna. She didn't like thinking about Zianna. News of her failure to kill King Edarius III hadn't gone over well in Deorun. It was the whole reason someone else had been given the task this time around, and she had been sent to West Draulin.
Kassia walked through streets that were almost familiar. She knew the guards who had met her at the dock were trailing behind, but she paid them no attention. As she walked, she looked at the destruction around her. Collapsed buildings. Deoran soldier piling bodies to be burned. The air was acrid despite the strong winds coming off of the ocean.
Far behind her, through the streets of East Draulin and across the Straits, surely an alarm would have been called. By now, Lady West Draulin would have woken up and seen her husband's body. She would have screamed and called for the guards. The whole city would be flooded with guards, looking for Kassia.
Rumour had it the heir apparent to West Draulin was courting the crown princess. Which meant ruling West Draulin would have almost certainly fallen to Lord Tandrix.
Kassia had completed her task with the emotionless efficiency she had trained for, but she couldn't help but hope that Lord Tandrix hadn't seen his father's body. Hadn't seen the neat slice across his neck, and the blood soaking into his pillows. Kassia wasn't supposed to think about things like that. Things like the family she was destroying. She wasn't supposed to care. But she had met Lord Tandrix through Finn's eyes, and she had admired him. Kassia didn't—couldn't—regret doing her job, but she did regret hurting Lord Tandrix.
Not as much as she regretted hurting Finn. She knew the punishment for regicide, she knew Finn had been dead for months. She hated him for getting in her way and making her a laughingstock, but still, she thought of his poorly disguised intelligence and his unassuming confidence. There had been so much potential in Finn. So much untapped talent. No one had ever given him an opportunity to use his innate skills. Many times over the past year, Kassia had imagined Finn with her upbringing and training.
He would have been unstoppable. Eventually, he would have been running the Associates.
Instead he was dead, because he had gotten in her way and she had been forced to make a decision.
Untrained and uneducated, he had gotten in her way.
As she passed through the gates onto the castle grounds, Kassia spared one last moment of thought for Lord Tandrix. They were on opposite sides of this war. Still, she hoped losing Finn and then his father hadn't completely destroyed the young lord. She hoped some of his kindness and noble righteousness had remained intact. His people were going to need him.
Her melancholy thoughts were cut off when Kalvahi met her at the main gate to the palace. He looked so incredibly proud of himself, but what had he actually done? His men had taken East Draulin. Kassia still had the late Lord West Draulin's blood under her fingernails. She was exhausted, but Kalvahi looked impeccable. Because while his people had done all the work, he had probably strutted around and preened.
"Lady Kassiandra." He swept her into a hug. "Talidor is ours! I have a surprise for you." He let he go, and ran his hand down her arm to intertwine their fingers. "My love, you don't seem pleased?"
Kassia forced herself to smile. "I'm simply tired, Kalvahi. It was a challenging night. West Draulin's fortress is well guarded."
"But you succeeded?" he asked. "Of course you did. My beautiful, talented future queen. Lord West Draulin is dead. Talidor is reclaimed. King Zianna is dead. The whole country will be in chaos for months. Their three richest, most powerful men gone, all in one night!"
"Zianna doesn't work the way Deorun does," Kassia said. She knew she had explained this to him before. "In Zianna, women hold just as much political power as men do. The crown princess will become queen and Lady West Draulin will rule New Teltar island. The kingdom will falter, certainly. But they aren't left leaderless."
Just like the previous time she had explained that, Kalvahi didn't seem convinced. "You're tired, I understand. My surprise will certainly cheer you up." He leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek, and tugged on her hand to lead her deeper into the castle.
It looked so much like the castle in Zianna. All that was missing was a meddlesome thief who shouldn't have gotten himself involved.
They walked through various hallways, each and every one of them marked by the battle that had raged through the night. In one hall, they stepped over abandoned weapons and around shattered furniture. In another, they paused while a soldier dragged a dead Teltan guard out of their way. In a third hall, they crossed tiles sticky with drying blood. Then they stepped into the throne room.
Kassia's attention immediately went to the young woman, approximately the same age as herself, who was being held by two soldiers. She was a pretty Teltan girl, with long wavy blond hair. She was wearing a green dress, and heavy cuffs were locked around her delicate wrists. There was dark bruising around her neck and a hollow look in her eyes.
Kassia pulled her hand from Kalvahi's to walk over to the girl. As she got closer, she could make out what the two guards holding the girl were saying. It disgusted her, hearing that they would talk about any woman the way they were talking about this lady.
"Quiet," she snarled at them as soon as she was close enough. "If either of you talk like this again, or act on any of those words, you will find my dagger nestled between your legs. Understood?"
Both guards paled. One nodded while the other managed to say, "Yes, Lady Kassiandra. Our deepest apologies."
"You disgust me," Kassia said. "Spread my words to the other soldiers. If any woman in this castle in harmed, I will kill the man who did it. With the blessing of every goddess, I will do it gladly. Go tell the men."
He nodded and rushed off. The second guard released his grasp on the lady's arm, and hovered nervously behind her. Kassia stared at him for a second longer before turning her attention to the young lady. When she spoke in Teltish, she was a little surprised to hear it come out in the Native Zian accent she had perfected, as opposed to her natural accent.
"Have any of the men touched you?"
The lady's hollow gaze turned on Kassia, and something in her eyes hardened. "Pretending to care about my wellbeing doesn't make up for what you monsters have done to my people."
"No," Kassia agreed, surprised by the young lady's fierce tone. Surprised and impressed. "You're right, of course, that being concerned doesn't change anything. But I am concerned anyway. The guards were describing terrible things they wanted to do to you." Kassia heard her natural accent coming back through. It had been a long time since she had last practiced her Teltish. "I promised them that if they so much as discussed such things again, I would kill them."
"If only you had been so concerned about my handmaidens," the young lady said coldly. "Or any of the women who worked in the castle. Or any of the women who lived in East Draulin."
"Your handmai—"
"You're going to have to kill a lot of your men," she interrupted.
Kalvahi. Kassia suddenly understood why the guards had looked so afraid of her threat. She turned around to see him exchanging words with a few of his men. "Kalvahi," she said, storming across the carpet to interrupt his conversation. "You swore to me that your men wouldn't take advantage of any of the women. It was the one thing I asked you to ensure!"
He shrugged. "Terribly sorry, my love. The men got caught up in the moment."
"Which ones?" She had killed an innocent man that night. She could kill some guilty ones.
"Oh, I don't know." He looked around the room, gaze lazily flickering across every soldier present. "Likely all of them. When we get home, I can have them strung up for you."
It wouldn't help. Hanging the soldiers wouldn't bring the women back to life. Barely containing her rage, Kassia said, "Control your men. When I leave for Deorun tomorrow, I'm taking her with me."
"Lady Mayah? By all means, my love. Now, it's time for my real surprise. Come." His delight was almost charming, but Kassia's thoughts were still consumed by anger. She blamed him as much as the men. He could have forbidden it. Some of the soldiers would have disobeyed, but some would have listened. Some of the women would have been spared.
Kalvahi slipped an arm around her waist. "Fieros! Bring out the surprise!"
At the far end of the throne room, a door opened and a handful of soldiers appeared, dragging a middle-aged couple. They were dressed finely. Both in green, just like their daughter. Kassia watched, dread settling in her stomach, as the guards pulled and prodded Lord and Lady East Draulin across the room. Then forced them to their knees.
The lady was crying quietly, but she looked at Kalvahi with such astounding strength and anger, that Kassia instantly knew who Lady Mayah had taken after. The man was staring at the carpet, his eyes glazed over.
"Kalvahi," Kassia said. "What is this?"
"Your surprise, my love." With a showy flourish, he pulled his sword from its sheath. It was probably the first time he had touched it all night.
"No," Kassia said. "You're going to do this in front of their daughter? We're taking Talidor for Deorun, not for our own sick pleasure."
"Kassiandra, my love, you killed an unarmed man in his sleep."
"For Deorun. Not because I enjoyed it. And I certainly didn't make his family watch."
"Yes, because your task was meant to be undertaken quietly and quickly. But my task is a great deal more visible." He used the sword to gesture at the throne room around them, and by extension, the whole city. Then he stepped up to stand beside Lord East Draulin.
There was no talking him down. Kassia turned around and shouted, in Teltish, at the young lady. "Don't watch! Close your—"
There was a thud. Then Lady Mayah's scream pierced the room.
"He's only going to keep hurting you."
Lord Tandrix was bloody and bruised, but there was a fire in his eyes that Kalvahi hadn't managed to extinguish. It reminded Kassia of the way Lady Mayah had looked at her. She was beginning to wonder about King Idavari's plans. He had underestimated the strength of these two young Teltans. Who else had he underestimated?
Lady Mayah was supposed to crumble and weep and beg for mercy, instead she had sat stoically in her cell. Kassia had been almost proud when she overheard a guard complaining about how the young woman had stabbed his arm with a nail.
Lord Tandrix was supposed to fail and his navy was supposed to fall apart. And yet, he had launched a daring rescue of his own. To top it all off, by all accounts West Draulin's navy was still strong. Of course, because Lady West Draulin was still in charge. If only King Idavari had listened to any of his advisors about women's political power in Zianna.
Kassia leaned against the wall beside the cell door. "Are you listening? Kalvahi's going to keep hurting you."
"Do you care all of a sudden?"
"No." She did, a little. But he was a soldier and he had chosen this. Not like the women back in Talidor. "But you always seemed like such a good man."
He actually smiled. "Not all Teltans are evil, then?"
"I've never claimed that they are. We're just enemies."
"As simple as that?"
Kalvahi had beaten him and gotten nowhere. Kassia could have broken him with a simple admission. To her surprise, she realized that she didn't really want to. It would be such a shame to see that fire go out.
"As simple as that, Lord Tandrix."
He surprised her by changing the topic abruptly. "In Zianna, I thought you had feelings for Finn. Then you left him to take the blame. Would you have even felt anything if he had been hanged?"
Kalvahi had hanged the soldiers who had hurt the women in the castle. He thought it was a grand romantic gesture, but it hadn't changed anything. Those women were still dead.
Kassia crossed her arms. She didn't like that he had managed to twist the conversation in his favour. She wasn't really supposed to be talking to him in the first place. She didn't answer the question. "Finn has convinced Kalvahi that he's switched sides. But he isn't going to convince me."
"I've changed my mind." He paused to cough, which caused him to wince. He wasn't being fed. Kassia wasn't even sure if he had been given any water since Kalvahi's ship had returned. "I used to think you had feelings for him. Now I think you admire him. He might not convince you, but you're almost impressed enough to let him."
That was annoyingly accurate. She changed the topic again to avoid admitting it. "When he gets tired of hurting you, he'll go for your men."
"I understand that. Is Lady Mayah here?"
Kassia blinked. He really was hard to shake. "She's alive. Which of your men should we start with?"
"Atricen will volunteer, regardless of what I tell you. Is Lady Mayah hurt?"
"Not badly, no. The captain of your guard, I assume?"
"Yes. Lord and Lady East Draulin?"
"Dead. Well." She pushed herself up from the wall. "This has been fun, but I have another engagement I must attend to. I'm sure we'll have a chance to talk again soon." She knocked on the door and switched to Deorun. "I'm done here, let me out!"
The door swung open and Kassia stepped out into the slightly better light of the hallway. Without a word to the soldiers who were following her around, she started to briskly walk down the hall. Soon they reached the cell Finn and the knights were being kept in.
"Bring me the thief," she told the soldiers.
One of the men carefully entered the cell. Kassia didn't envy him his task. Lord Tandrix's knights looked dangerous. But none of them moved as the soldier walked across to where Finn was sleeping. Kassia could tell, from the way the other knights shot glances at the Teltan with long hair, that he was the guard captain Tandrix had mentioned. Kassia watched him curiously to see if he signalled to his men at all.
Then quite suddenly Finn was standing in front of her. "What is it?"
She had seen him on the pier, but part of her was still surprised to see him. Alive. Of course he was alive. It made so much sense, Kassia almost couldn't believe she had ever thought he was dead. Of course Lord Tandrix would have found a way to free him. When Kalvahi's messengers had told her about a thief with Lord Tandrix, she hadn't dared to hope. But of course, it had been Finn.
"You're lucky my men don't speak Teltish, Finn, or they would take offence to how you just spoke to me," Kassia said. She reached out to pat his cheek, but she wasn't really sure why. Like on the pier, she felt compelled to touch him. Maybe to make sure he was real. "You should watch the tone, though. No need to sound so aggressive, we're just going to talk." She switched to Deorun. "Don't touch him, he'll follow along."
She was relieved when he did follow her to the interrogation room. When the door closed, leaving just the two of them alone, she gestured at one of the chairs.
Finn sat down. He was watching her with a sort of calculated wariness. Not for the first time, Kassia wished she knew what he was thinking. She sat down across the table from him and linked her hands together. It felt so odd to be in a room with him like this. As enemies instead of friends. She wanted to ask him about how he had escaped his death sentence, why he had come along with Lord Tandrix. But she didn't have time for any of that.
"I know what you're doing," she said. It was vague enough that she hoped he would accidentally reveal something.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She wasn't surprised that her little trick hadn't worked. He was too clever for that. But he was lying. "Don't lie to me. You might have Kalvahi fooled, but I know you better than that. I know what you're trying to do with him. You think you can charm him the way you charmed Lord West Draulin. It isn't going to work. Kalvahi will see that soon enough." If only Kalvahi would listen to her.
"I'm not trying to charm anyone. I'm trying to save myself." He sounded so sincere. It was like Tandrix had said. She was almost impressed enough to let herself believe him. "You just said you know me. If I can see an easy way to keep myself safe, then I'll go for it. I don't care if that means switching sides and joining Prince Kalvahi. I was almost killed because I stopped you from killing the last King Zianna. I don't owe Zianna anything."
There was an opening there, and Kassia grasped at it. "Maybe not Zianna."
He barely faltered. "You saw how the Telts treated me. You rubbed salve on my back after they whipped me. How could you think I would help the people who did that me?"
"I saw the way Tandrix treated you."
He winced. It wasn't much of a reaction, but it was something. "One good Telt doesn't make up for the rest of them."
"You think he's going to change things," Kassia guessed. She leaned back and crossed her legs. "You think his brother is going to change things. And that's why you want to help them."
He met her gaze for the first time. "You know waging war on Zianna is not for the good of the people. Prince Kalvahi talked about restoring the kingdom to what it once was, and having three great kingdoms again. But it won't happen. Zianna will become part of Deorun and then what? Will you move on Navire as well? King Deorun doesn't want to help my people; he wants to help himself. Tannix and King Tandrin aren't like other Telts. I care about my people, and I trust Tannix and his brother to treat them better than your king will."
He was right. Kassia stared at him, as if staring at him would answer any of her questions. Not the questions Kalvahi wanted her to ask, she barely cared about those. But the questions she wanted to ask. Once upon a time she had his trust. She couldn't exactly blame him for not feeling the same way, but despite herself she almost wished he would.
She leaned forward onto her arms. At least he was being honest again. "There you are. Aren't you tired of simpering and treating Kalvahi like he's Deor's gift to the world?" She realized her mistake and added, "Ah, you would probably say, Zianesa's gift to the world."
"Aren't you marrying him?"
"Haven't you ever heard of an arrange marriage?" Kassia tried to disguise her blunder by rolling her eyes. She hadn't meant to reveal her true feelings for Kalvahi. In public she was supposed to love him, but Finn would see right through it if she tried to backtrack. So instead she steered the conversation away from Kalvahi. "Let's be honest with each other, Finn. I don't have any patience for your act, and you aren't going to convince me that it's real. Everything you just said is very admirable, and you're right. King Idavari will not treat your people any better than the Teltans have. But don't expect Lord West Draulin or King Zianna to change anything. Change is difficult, and if they don't have the support of the other noble Teltans they won't be able to do anything."
He shrugged. "I still trust them. According to Tannix, not even your people like the Deoran noble family, so why would mine?"
"He was only partially right. The people dislike the king. It's treasonous to say, but everyone knows it's true. They like Kalvahi."
"Why?"
Because he was young, charismatic and handsome. Kassia could have said that, but she didn't.
"Do you think telling me is going to help me somehow?"
Kassia shook her head. "No. I just think your curiosity is interesting. It isn't a secret; your knights could probably explain it to you just as easily." Part of her was glad that he had asked. Talking like this almost felt like they were on the same side again. "King Idavari was the younger son of our previous king. When his father died, his older brother should have inherited the throne, but he died just a few days later from the same sickness. His brother's son, Kalvahi, was a child. King Idavari took control as Kalvahi's regent, and was expected to hand over the kingdom when Kalvahi became of age, but when the time came he refused. The people accept the king because they don't think there's anything they can do about it, but they prefer Kalvahi. At least King Idavari doesn't have any heirs. When he dies Kalvahi will take his throne back. And I'll be his queen."
And then, maybe, she could stop him from running the country into the ground.
"If you all hate him so much, why don't you do something about it? You're an assassin."
Kassia laughed, a little surprised at how forthright he was being. "You're much more fun when you're being honest. Don't think I haven't considered it. But just because I don't like him doesn't mean I'm a traitor."
Finn nodded. "I guess it wouldn't be good for Deorun's queen to also be the person who murdered the previous king."
Kassia smiled. He was trying to get under her skin, but she loved it. He pretended to be shy and meek, but his true self was coming out. He was much braver than he let on. Maybe even braver than he knew. "Where did this boldness come from?"
He hesitated, maybe turning over her question and trying to come up with a clever answer. "Not everyone gets to claim that they kissed Queen Deorun."
"Queen Deorun kissed you." It was the perfect segue. Time to get to the point. "And was I the first one to do it?"
He blinked. "What?"
"Kiss you."
He dropped his attention to a cut on the table. It was enough to confirm Kassia's suspicions. He had been so careful with his body language until that moment. "Yes..." he said. "Is that—why do you care? It was a trick. It didn't mean anything."
"So I kissed you before he did?"
"What?" He looked up sharply, another uncalculated move. He was slipping. "Before who did?"
"You know exactly who. Why are you lying again? I thought we moved past this." Kassia knew she had to keep pushing, but she didn't really want to. Beating him wasn't going to be as fun as their back and forth had been. "Some years ago, King Idavari started paying very close attention to... a young man. Do you know how people now refer to that man?"
"The king's pet?"
Kassia nodded. "I think you're more than a pet. Va—" she cut herself off. Finn didn't need to know his name. "The young man doesn't return the king's feelings. Not that King Idavari cares about how he feels. But you and Tandrix are different. You love him, don't you?"
"No, I—"
"Finn, we're done lying. I saw how the two of you treated each other in Zianna."
"No, but—"
"Are you really going to try to convince me that you don't love him?"
"No." He paused as he tried to come up with something to tell her. "I mean, yes. I love him. I do. But he doesn't feel the same way. I'm just another one of his companions, like the knights. We're friends and I have useful skills."
She still didn't believe him. "You're good at this." She wanted to say more, but the door started to open. Kassia stifled a sigh and got up. "Kalvahi. You're late."
"Terribly sorry, my dear. I was having a talk with our prisoner." He switched to Deoran. "He's stubborn, isn't he? Surely you've had more luck with this one." Kalvahi sat in the chair she had just been using, and rubbed his beard. Then in Teltish, "I hope you're feeling more talkative than your lord was."
Kassia interrupted in Deoran. "Don't let him fool you again. He's smarter than he pretends to be, and he's better at this sort of thing then anyone would expect. He's going to sound genuine, but don't believe a word he says."
"If that's the case, my dear, why am I even having this conversation with him?"
Kassia barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She wanted to remind Kalvahi that the only reason he was having this conversation with Finn was because he had insisted on doing it himself. But she had a better explanation—one that wouldn't insult Kalvahi, and also was partially true. "He might let down his guard if he's talking to you. I might be able to catch something while you're distracting him."
Kalvahi glanced over his shoulder at her, then turned and leaned forward onto his arms. In Teltish, he said, "I'm glad you decided to wait until I arrived to share your news. So what do you have to tell me?"
Finn glanced at Kassia. She wasn't sure what the glance meant, but he seemed to draw some sort of weary strength from it. He looked at Kalvahi and crossed his arms. "There isn't much to report, your highness. The knights are trying to come up with an escape plan but they aren't sure how to get out of the cell in the first place."
He was good. Kassia wasn't looking for slip ups so much as she was admiring the way he was managing to tell the truth in the least helpful way possible.
"And," Finn continued, seeming more comfortable with every word, "they want to know where Lord West Draulin is. Aside from some talking, they haven't done much. Um... your highness? How is Lord West Draulin? Has he told you anything useful?"
"No, not yet," Kalvahi replied, shaking his head. "He's stubborn."
Finn blinked, but that was his only reaction. "What is it you want him to tell you? Maybe I can help?"
"I want general information about the nobles of Zianna. Who controls what, the relationships between different families, who gets along well and who doesn't, what resources they have. I want to know what I can exploit. I doubt you can help me with any of that."
"Oh. No. I'm sorry."
He sounded so sincere. Kassia was enjoying the show, but it couldn't carry on forever. Besides, she knew exactly how to make Lord Tandrix talk. She'd known the whole time. She cleared her throat so Kalvahi would look at her. "I know how to get Lord West Draulin to talk." She continued in Deorun, and watched Finn the whole time. "He's the lord's pet. Threaten to hurt him, we'll get all the information we could possibly need."
Kalvahi smiled and looked at Finn again. "So maybe you will be useful, after all."
That evening, when Kassia stood behind the parapet looking down at the prison's entrance courtyard, all she could think about was how lucky these knights had been to find Finn. Because certainly the whole escape had been his doing. She couldn't piece together how he had done it, but she wanted to.
Kalvahi was standing in the courtyard with them—the idiot. Kassia had heard about the fight in Talidor to capture these men, and she had rushed past the carnage in the hallway. Kalvahi couldn't handle these men. The archers were really the only advantage Kalvahi had.
Kassia ignored Kalvahi's boasting and watched the men seamlessly shift into a circle. Lord Tandrix, even with his good arm in a sling, stood in front. That was why he had their loyalty. He risked his own life as much as he asked his men to risk theirs. The Deoran soldiers would never show so much dedication towards Kalvahi. He gave them no reason to.
The men circled Finn, their injured Crelan, a huge dark-skinned man Kassia couldn't place, and Lady Mayah. Kassia was pleased to see her with them. She was so sure Tandrix and his men were getting out of the situation that she wasn't even worried for Lady Mayah's safety.
Until the archer beside her moved. Kassia looked at him. Unlike the other archers around the courtyard, who were holding steady, this one was drawing back. She eyed his arrow and guessed at his target. Lady Mayah.
No, Lady Mayah deserved to escape after everything they had done to her.
Kassia thought fast. Lady Mayah needed to move. Finn was standing right beside her. He could yank her out of the way if only Kassia could subtly get his atten—
In Zianna, Baisan had used a particular whistle to subtly get his family's attention. It would work.
Kassia whistled. Finn's eyes immediately found her. The archer released his arrow.
Finn moved quickly. But instead of pulling Lady Mayah out of the way, he pushed her. He collapsed on top of Lady Mayah, the arrow shaft protruding from his shoulder. He didn't make a sound as he went limp, but Lady Mayah screamed.
The archer beside Kassia dropped dead, an arrow lodged in his neck. The Crelan archer was fast.
Tandrix turned. His eyes went wide, and Kassia half-expected him to fall apart. Instead he rallied. "Mandell, pick him up! Kor, Ender, take out the archers. We'll push through Kalvahi. Once we're out on the streets we'll have a better chance at getting the upper hand."
The men followed his orders smoothly. Kassia ducked just as the two Crelans started to shoot down the Deoran archers. She peeked over the parapet to see what was happening. The uninjured Crelan was so fast, moving as he shot, barely even seeming to aim. His hurt brother was more stationary, but shot with just as much accuracy.
The rest of the knights met Kalvahi's soldiers. The soldiers were well trained and disciplined, but they stood no chance. Lord Tandrix's knights moved together with such fluidity that their fight almost seemed choreographed. They moved around each other like they had practiced this exact scenario before. The guard captain covered Tandrix's right side with ease. The Teltan with axes twisted and turned on Tandrix's left, close by but never getting in the way of Tandrix's sword. The huge Zian fought easily even with Finn draped over his shoulder. The other Teltan was protecting Lady Mayah and the Crelans.
It was almost beautiful. Kassia couldn't see any signals, couldn't hear any commands, but they all knew exactly where they needed to be. They were going to make it.
Then Kassia dragged her attention from the fight to the lowered portcullis. Her mind raced. Despite their opposite allegiances, she wanted these men to escape. Lady Mayah certainly deserved it, but so did Lord Tandrix and Finn. Nobody knew Kassia was there. The only Deoran who had seen her was lying dead with an arrow in his neck. Kalvahi had already left. She made up her mind and stared to run.
Just as she had hoped, the guard tower was empty. Everyone had been called to the fight below. She ran for the portcullis' crank. She grabbed the handle and pushed with all of her strength, only to give up with a grunt a moment later. It was much heavier than she had expected. But she didn't need to lift the portcullis completely. Just far enough that the knights could slip underneath it.
She looked around the room, her eyes landing on a few chairs and a small table covered with abandoned playing cards. She dragged the table over to the crank. This time she crouched and nestled the handle on her shoulder, so that her back would take the weight instead of her arms. She pushed up as far as she could, then pulled the table over with her foot.
With some maneuvering, she managed to jam the table in place so that it took the weight off of her shoulder. She squeezed out and with a few kicks wedged the table in even more firmly. It would hold long enough, she was sure.
Now, she had to get back to her rooms without anyone else seeing her. Nobody could know she had helped them escape. She smiled to herself. With everything going on, sneaking back to her room was going to be easy.
But before she left, she went to the window to look down on the courtyard. Most of the Deoran soldiers were injured or dead. Tandrix and his men were steadily moving towards the portcullis. Finn still flopped lifelessly on the big knight's shoulder.
"Good luck," Kassia whispered. "May Deor guide you to safety."
Then she ran.