With lightning speed, Leo tied one end of his rope around a block of crenellation and the other end to a metal arrow. Meanwhile, all the guards ran toward Tatiana.
The soldier jumped up and took aim. His arrow released, zipping through the air straight for Tatiana.
Chapter Nineteen
Luciana slammed onto her back hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs. The fact that Jensen had suddenly tossed her aside and pounced on her was shocking enough, but she barely noticed his body covering hers. It was the arrow that had struck the ground a few feet away that held her attention.
That arrow had been meant for her.
It quivered from the force of impact. Enough force to have pierced her through.
“My lady!” Jensen lifted his weight off her. “Are you all right?”
She shifted her gaze to the brilliant, blue sky overhead, and with a gasp she resumed breathing. But too quickly. The clouds swirled, and for a moment she had trouble focusing. “I—I…”
Above her, something shot across the sky. Another arrow? She blinked. Now there was a rope going from the keep to the turret on the southern tower. The rope shook as it was pulled taut.
“What—” As the initial shock faded away, she found her senses suddenly sharpening to a keen edge as if an inner, instinctual need for survival had seized hold of her. In a few seconds, the time it took her to sit up, she understood everything that was happening.
The second assassin had shot an arrow at her from the battlements atop the keep. Jensen had saved her, and two of Leo’s personal guard and his squire, Edmund, had joined her other guards. She now had a total of six men circled about her to protect her. Three wore the blue and white colors of Vindalyn, while the other three wore the red and black of the royal army.
As she scrambled to her feet, she spotted movement on the top of the southern tower. Her heart lurched. By the goddesses, had Leo lost his mind? He had looped a belt over the rope and was swooping down it, his feet dangling in the air. He zoomed past them, then swung his body over the crenellated battlements to land on top of the keep.
Is he trying to kill himself? Luciana thought. “How does he do that?”
Edmund chuckled. “That’s normal for the Lord—”
“My lady,” Jensen interrupted. “We should take you to the tower immediately.”
“I’ll be safe as long as I’m with you.” Luciana dashed toward the south gate to the keep. “It’s more important that we help Leo catch the assassin.”
“But, my lady—” Jensen jogged to keep up with her.
“Where do you think the assassin will go?” Luciana asked as the six men entered the courtyard and surrounded her.
“He’ll head down the stairs to the courtyard,” Jensen replied.
“Then we should close the gates!” Luciana motioned for the men to go. “Hurry!”
Four of her companions sprinted toward the gates, yelling at the soldiers posted there to bolt them shut. Jensen and Edmund remained at her side, their swords drawn.
Luciana looked around. The newly built scaffold was next to her, the hangman’s noose dangling from the top beam. Workers in the courtyard stopped what they were doing when they noticed swords being drawn and gates being shut. A few ran inside the keep, no doubt intending to spread the news that something was about to happen.
With a gasp, Luciana spotted Leo on the western side of the keep. He was sliding down the steep slate roof, his bare hands shooting sparks as they controlled his descent. His feet went off the edge. She cried out, afraid he’d plummet to the stone courtyard three floors below. His body kept skidding off the roof till he caught himself with his hands. His boots found a foothold on the upper frame of a window below him.
Luciana watched, stunned and breathless, as he fell downward and stopped, his hands catching on a stone windowsill. He dropped again, this time his hands grabbing onto a stone arch above the gallery. His boots landed on the stone balustrade. He ducked his head and jumped onto the black-and-white-tiled floor of the gallery. He was now one floor up. And safe.
Luciana pressed a hand to her racing heart and resumed breathing. She didn’t know whether to be amazed by him or angry that he couldn’t take the stairs like a normal, sane person.
He shouted at something across the courtyard. Luciana turned sharply and spotted the assassin entering the gallery on the eastern side of the keep. He’d taken the stairs, so he was a few seconds behind Leo. He stiffened at the sight of Leo and ran back to the stairwell. One flight of stairs and he would reach the courtyard.
Leo dashed along the gallery, his speed so fast, his form became a blur. He reached the southern side of the gallery, just above the newly constructed gallows, then jumped onto the stone balustrade.
Luciana gasped. He leaped off the balustrade, caught the top beam of the gallows, then swung forward to land on the wooden platform. As soon as his feet hit, he ran forward then jumped off the edge. After a somersault in the air, he landed in the courtyard and kept running.
He was halfway to the door on the eastern side of the keep when the assassin emerged. With a stunned look on his face, the assassin dashed toward the north gate, no doubt hoping to get through it to the gatehouse.
The assassin skidded to a stop when he noticed the northern gate was bolted shut. Two Vindalyn guards and one of Leo’s personal guard fanned out, blocking the assassin. He whirled about and froze at the sight of Leo only a few yards away.
A tense silence fell over the courtyard. Workers had lined the perimeter of the courtyard to watch. Servants were standing along the gallery. Everyone waited to see what would happen next.