Defy by Sara B. Larson

through the door, sword
    drawn and ready — just in case.
    “Alex, go assist Nolen. Asher, come over here,” Deron shouted
    the moment I rushed through the door.
    The entire guard stood around the outer room, swords drawn.
    There were also some of King Hector’s men standing near Prince
    Damian’s door — which was shut. I hurried across the room to
    where Nolen stood behind his desk.
    Asher had filled me in on the way back, telling me that the
    would-be assassin had been a girl masquerading as a maid deliver-
    ing the luncheon service to Prince Damian’s rooms. It was unusual
    that he had been in his room for lunch. He usually joined his
    father, the king, and the rest of court for luncheon and dinner.
    When the girl had pushed the cart into his room, she’d drawn a
    knife from her waist and lunged at the prince. Antonio had stopped
    her in time and supposedly she was now being detained for ques-
    tioning before being executed.
    “Where is the prince?” I asked when I was close enough to
    speak quietly to Nolen.
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    “In his room. It was quite a shock to him, I’m sure. He’s not
    used to women attempting to murder him.” Perspiration dotted
    Nolen’s forehead, which he wiped with an already limp handker-
    chief. It looked like Nolen was suffering from quite a bit of shock
    himself.
    “Where is the girl now?”
    “Over there.” Nolen pointed to the other side of the room,
    and I realized the king’s men were not hovering near the door, as
    I first thought, but surrounding a chair just to the side of it.
    Nolen continued to chatter in my ear, but I stopped listening
    the moment one of the largest men shifted his weight, moving
    aside so I had a clear view of the would-be assassin. She was tied to the chair and gagged. But when our eyes met across the room, hers
    widened.
    “Asheshka!”
    She struggled in the chair, trying to speak around the gag.
    Panic burned hot in my veins. What was Tanoori doing here?
    When had she left our village and become an assassin ?
    “Why hasn’t someone taken her to the dungeons yet?” I yelled
    over her attempts to speak my name. “Remove her from the
    prince’s rooms immediately! Keep her tied up and gagged.”
    The other guards looked to Deron. His dark eyes met mine
    questioningly, but then he nodded. “Do as Alex says. One of us
    will be down to interrogate her as soon as possible. No one else
    speaks to her until then, is that understood?”
    “Yes, sir,” the tallest man said. “You heard ’im, let’s get her
    down in the dark where she belongs.”
    I watched as the other men took her from the room, still
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    struggling, her neck straining as she tried to speak through the
    gag. With what I hoped was an imperceptible shudder, I forced
    myself to turn away, to remain in control. Calm, collected.
    “Asher, take Jerrod and Kai out in the hall,” Deron barked
    out. “No one enters or leaves these chambers without being
    searched — do you understand? No one!”
    “Yes, sir!” Kai responded first. Jerrod and Asher both nodded
    as they all trooped out the door.
    “Alex, you, Rylan, and Jude stay here with me outside the
    prince’s bedroom door. The rest of you may leave. We have this
    under control.”
    “I’m not sure we should leave. Maybe you aren’t capable of
    handling this job. The king will want a report of how something
    like this happened,” the largest of the king’s men said.
    “I am the one in charge of the prince’s safety,” Deron said. “If
    you have a problem, you are welcome to make it known, but not
    right now. Right now we need to make sure he is secure.” Deron
    met the man glare for glare. “Alex,” he continued, without turn-
    ing to look at me, “go to the prince and check on him.”
    “Yes, sir,” I said. My heart skipped a beat as I turned, heading
    to the door of Prince Damian’s bedroom. Hopefully this time, he
    would be his normal, petulant self. I didn’t think I could handle
    any more surprises today.
    I