“Mohit,” the soldier yelled. “Mohit, help us!”
But Mohit didn’t spare a second glance.
The chariot sped away, and Kunal’s heart plummeted. The remaining soldier, the one who had first offered him his forearm, let out a frustrated yell before turning to look at Kunal. Mohit had followed the rules, put the mission first.
“Traitor,” the soldier spat. He charged at Kunal.
Moon Lord’s fists.
Esha took a ragged breath, cursing softly in Dharkan and Jansan.
Ahead, a soldier advanced on Kunal, and they circled each other. Esha tried not to let panic set in—Kunal would be able to run after the caravan. This was their last chance. They were supposed to rescue Reha, not let her slip through their fingers while battling a bunch of cursed annoying soldiers.
Esha brushed sweat away from her eye and felt a sticky wetness against her brow. She looked down at her hand, noticing the red that dripped from her fingers but not registering it.
The short, squat soldier pulled a knife, and Esha snarled.
She unleashed her whip, deciding then that none of these soldiers would be able to leave alive, and circled the attacker’s arms with the metal tip. He let out a cry as he went down.
She cracked her whip again, almost as an invitation. The second soldier pounced forward from the left. Esha spun out of the way before the soldier could land, then lashed upward with her whip, wrapping around his torso and launching him forward.
He flew into the nearby tree, groaning.
Something rammed into Esha. She pitched forward but couldn’t roll into the fall. Instead, she landed in a sprawl. Kunal took down the soldier he had been facing diagonal to her, cracking him over the head.
She turned back around, scrambling in the dirt away from the first soldier, who looked angry.
Well, that made two of them.
Esha reached down her leg and grabbed the secondary knife she wore on her calf. She threw it, knowing it wouldn’t kill her attacker.
But it would slow him down.
He gasped as it found its mark in his thigh. Esha got to her feet and lashed her whip again as her attacker grunted and yanked the knife from his thigh.
He tried to throw it at her, but she knocked it out of his hand and then lashed him. Once. Twice. He fell back on the second one and she bounded forward, using the momentum from her running start to take him down.
Before he could get up again, Esha wrapped her whip around his neck and pulled tight. She waited. One, two, three, four, and the man collapsed.
Esha rose to her feet. Kunal was facing the last soldier, in a deadly dance of knives, before he took a deep breath and simply barreled the attacker into a tree.
The soldier slumped down the bark and Kunal stepped back, catching sight of her. Kunal backhanded him with the hilt of his sword.
“Are there any others?” she said.
Kunal shook his head, dragging the three attackers together. “No, and I can’t hear any other troops in the area. I think we’re clear.”
Esha stopped behind him, a faint pain climbing up her side. She ignored it and grabbed her knife to slit the soldiers’ throats. A strangled sound came from Kunal.
“They’re liabilities if they’re alive. They’ve seen us.”
Esha looked up and felt the weight of judgment in his gaze. She had become more aware of her own code now, how it differed from and converged with Kunal’s.
But she was protecting them. She would always protect the people closest to her first.
“They’re near death anyway.” When that didn’t seem to shake the frown off his lips she tried another tack, already thinking about the soldiers who had gotten away. “If a few soldiers in Gwali mention us, it could be ignored. But a squadron? We won’t be able to set foot in the city.”
“We shouldn’t be killing anyone. I’ve seen enough death recently.”
“Kunal, you’re a soldier. Don’t go soft on me now.”
Kunal looked as if he was going to turn away.
“It’ll be painless.”
And before Kunal even fully turned away, Esha had slit the soldiers’ throats. There was still one more in Gwali, which she’d have to clean up later.
“We let him get away,” Esha said.
“They ambushed us. It was ten men against two and we still managed to hold our own.”
Esha sighed, rubbing her eyes. “You’re right. I don’t have to like it, though. Do you think we should try to catch up?”
“They’ll be on high alert. It’ll be suicide,” he said. “They won’t be taking any breaks until they get to Gwali. Protocol will demand the shield formation I mentioned—it’ll be impossible to get through.”
“It sounds like we’re going to need help. They’ll be sure to double protection after encountering us,” she said. Esha looked down at her torn and bloodied clothing. “I don’t think we can do this alone anymore. Not after being outnumbered like that, even if it was mostly just infantry.”
“You know, infantry still train a lot. They’re decent fighters,” he said.
“Not enough.” Esha snorted. “You’re too kind, Kunal. How did you become a top soldier at the Fort again?”
Kunal gave her a sly grin. “I’m good with my hands.”
Esha let out a laugh, but she knew it must be hard for him to be on this side, fighting against men he had seen as comrades for years.
“I sent a hawk earlier,” she said slowly.
Recognition alighted in his eyes—he had noticed. Good for him.
“The rest of the team—Bhandu, Arpiya, and the twins, Aahal and Farhan—are accompanying the royal procession to Jansa. We can debrief together, figure out a new plan.”
“You could’ve mentioned you had written for backup. But I agree. We can’t do this alone anymore.”
“The note wasn’t about backup, actually. I had promised to keep Harun apprised of our relative location.” Esha raised an eyebrow at Kunal. “He’s furious with me, especially when another squad found our contact murdered and us missing.”
“He’ll survive,” Kunal muttered.
Esha held back a laugh.
“Let’s clean up and then head west toward their camp,” she said. Esha glanced back at the fallen soldiers. “Grab their weapons as well.”
Esha moved away, making a face as she realized she was a filthy mess. She loosened her tight waist sash and a sharp pain shot up her torso, adrenaline finally leaving her body. Her hands flew to her side as another stab of pain followed, a dull ache spreading through her torso. And when she lifted a hand, it was streaked in red.
Blood began to soak the side of her shirt, her waist sash no longer acting as a tourniquet.
Her vision began to blur, and Esha pitched forward.
Chapter 3
Esha woke up to the scowling face of Harun. She rubbed her eyes, willing the image away. It remained, and it might have been her imagination, but even his beard quaked in anger.
“How—how did I get here?” Esha asked, her voice hoarse.
“Your soldier found our camp,” a woman’s voice said from the back of their small tent. Arpiya. She’d recognize her friend and fellow Blade’s voice anywhere. “Apparently, Kunal was able to track us from the directions we sent in the note.”