Page 3 of The Throne's Undoing

"What do you think the chances are that Domitius was crushed?" Terin wondered.

Graeson snorted. "Not likely."

Terin's lips parted, but before he could say more, footsteps pounded down the hall, causing them to straighten.

"We need to go," Graeson urged, his mind spiraling. The Frenzian soldiers must have broken through the door to the tunnels beneath the temple. There was only one way out now,and based on the echo of the steps and the rattling of the cages, Graeson was not hopeful of an easy escape. He turned and called out, "Dani, enough."

But Dani didn't react. She kept digging as she repeated the same words over and over again. "He can't get away. He can't get away..."

She scratched at the wall, trying to get a hold of one of the fallen rocks in an attempt to reach the other side. Streaks of red smeared the stones from her bloodied nails.

Cursing under his breath, Graeson rushed over to her, pulling her up by the shoulders.

Mangled screams poured from Dani's lungs as she cried out, a desperate plea.

"Dani," Graeson rasped, tightening his hold around her. "He's gone."

"He can't be gone!" Dani shouted, twisting and clawing at Graeson's arms. "I have to kill him. Ihaveto!"

As Graeson struggled to hold onto his friend without causing any harm, the pounding of the strangers' footsteps only grew louder. They had to move.

"We have more pressing things to deal with right now, Dani!"

"What could be more pressing than--" Dani choked on her words and froze in his arms.

The footsteps were now thunderous claps across the hard ground.

"Shit," Dani hissed.

With Dani finally regaining her senses, Graeson released her and swiftly drew the sword from its sheath. "If you want someone to kill, you're about to be in luck."

Dani wiped the tears away, leaving a wet streak through the thin layer of ash and grime that covered her brown cheeks. She pulled out a set of throwing knives from their holster, reeling in the rage. While Dani may not have a god inside her likeGraeson, she was a born warrior--a fighter. She could turn off her emotions, bury the paralyzing anger, and transform it into something deadly.

This was the Dani Graeson had grown up with.

This was Fynn's wife--Danisinia Ferrios, the youngest general in Pontian history.

And by the gods, Graeson had forgotten how much he missed her. Even if he knew, deep down, that this face she wore was only a mask that hid the pain that was unfurling like a dark web inside her body.

Still, it was good to have her back, even for a moment.

"Terin, grab Kalisandre and get behind us," Dani commanded. "When we say run, you run. From the pattern of their footsteps, I would guess there are maybe three coming our way. Graeson and I will hold them off as you get out of here. You're weak--"

Terin bristled at the remark. "I'm not--"

"Protect her," Dani ordered, grabbing Terin by the collar as she cut him off. "We didn't come all this way for nothing. Got it?"

Frowning, Terin nodded in defeat, though his hand twitched at his hip where his short blade was sheathed.

Dani released him and turned to Graeson next. Sweat dripped from Dani's brow as she bounced on her feet. A glimmer of fear sparked in her hazel eyes, but she quickly hid it. "We strike first and ask questions later, yeah?"

"Works for me," Graeson said, twisting his sword as he readied himself.

Despite the exhaustion from the earlier battle that interrupted the royal wedding and the force of the explosion that had thrown them back, Graeson still had some fight left in him. If it meant Kalisandre and his friends could escape the temple alive, he would do whatever it took.

As the footsteps grew louder, his heart rate accelerated, hammering against his ribcage.

You would have nothing to fear if you just let go,the god whispered in the back of Graeson's mind.