Chapter Thirty-One
To my relief, I heard the light patter of Tahlia’s slippers against the cobblestones fade into the distance behind me. I gripped the hilt of my mother’s dagger and made myself stand fast against the urge to flee as at least fifty armed men swarmed toward me where I waited between the pair of obsidian obelisks. The heady scent of incense assaulted my nostrils as the copper tang of fear filled my mouth.
I had never practiced for such odds. At most, I had faced both Admon and Tashidi at once, which was no mean feat. Both my foster-father and my former mentor were brilliant opponents, but not quite the same as facing the complete chaos of a host of trained guards who were determined to seize what they thought was a murderer—dead, or alive. My stomach clenched.
I did not w
