Knights in Shining Armor (And Princes in Love)

xiii

As Cirthe traversed through the palace corridors with the Mage by her side, she was relieved to know that her subordinate had successfully managed to alert the Tretho knights as evident by the plethora of familiar faces of her fellow knights attempting to subdue the Amon Knights. The latter, once sporting deceptively calm and almost friendly expressions, now wore a stoic viciousness that would have thrown her off-guard had she not been already aware of the suspicious on-goings behind their backs. 

Now, the Tretho Knights slashed their way against the very men they had to cooperate with mere hours ago. 

Her search for Edmund Fergo was by no means easy. Though the Trethi /knights cleared a path for her to the best of their abilities, Esther still had to ward off a few Amon knights as did Cirthe.

She blocked a swing aimed at her head and countered with a swift strike that sent her opponent staggering back. By her side, Esther unleashed bursts of crackling energy, sending arcs of it through the mess of bodies blocking their way, providing cover for Cirthe as she strode onwards. 

"You hold your own surprisingly well, Mage", Cirthe grunted as her dagger plunged through one of the men from Amon.

"I may not be the most skilled with a blade," Esther huffed, knocking out the same man with a push of hot energy, "but I've had my fair share of combats and run-ins with a few unpleasant beings so I had to learn some defensive moves."

The hit may have been an impressive show of her skills as a Mage, however, Cirthe could spot the thin layer of sweat on the young woman's temples.

Combat, in whatever form, was taxing and physically gruelling. She was all too aware. The energy Mages needed to their work seemed to take an even heavier toll on their bodies. All the more reason for her to find Fergo soon. The Mage would not be able to keep up with her otherwise for long.

Just in time Cirthe spotted one of Fergo's cronies and as she latched on to his uniform with a hard grip and a swift swing of her dagger nicking his throat, she demanded, "You will tell me where your little friend Edmund is and you will tell me now before I drive this blade clean through your neck."

"If you think you ca-"

The hilt of her dagger slamming against his jaw cut off the rest of his useless words.

"I don't have time to listen to your nonsense so either you tell me what I wish to know or I end you right now and hop on to the next fool from your group."

This time when the man opened his mouth, his words were tinged with terror, "He's in the hall below. He might have even left by now but that's all I know."

With no further time or energy to waste, Cirthe delivered a final blow to his head, tossing his unconscious figure to the side as she broke into a jog.

"Esther," she called out as they both hurried to the hall the cronie had mentioned, "I need you to head to the servants' quarters and find Greta and the rest. They know what to do while keeping themselves safe."

The Mage looked uncertain for a split second but with both of them all too aware of how precious each moment was, Esther nodded in her direction before splitting off in another direction.

True to his word, Cirthe found Edmund pacing around in the nearly empty hall. There were a few slumped bodies that she hoped did not belong to anyone innocent before her gaze snapped to the traitorous man's figure. 

Every so often his head would snap towards a particularly loud clash of weapons or cry of pain from somewhere in the palace. It seemed to Cirthe as if he was waiting on something. Or perhaps on someone.