The guard slumped to the floor when a whole shaft of arrows poured in through the window. The remaining guards drew their weapons but were struck down before they could react.
Rouya could hardly stand let alone run and dropped to the ground. She knocked the table to the side and crawled into cover as hundreds of arrows continued to mark every inch within the guard post. She held her breath, afraid that her racing heart would give her away.
After a few minutes the arrows stopped coming in but Rouya couldn't trust herself to move just yet and listened in hope for help to arrive. Her heart went heavy thinking of what might have happened to her father. In all her childhood years he'd go out campaigning each season but she never once felt as much fear as she did now. Of course he'd win and come back, he had the support of the Battle Maidens but now that they vanished, she could only assume the worst.
Voices drew her attention outside and she risked peeking over the edge of the table. Rouya spotted a group of men leaving the palace. She couldn't claim to know all of them, she hardly cared enough to remember every satrap or official her father employed. Whoever they were, they were far too relaxed for what was going inside.
A realmwalker began opening up a portal in the courtyard when she recognized the women accompanying the men. Battle Maidens. She only counted six of them. It didn't appear to her as if the separatists had the numbers to take control of the entire planet but were instead concentrated on isolating the palace. The portal collapsed, leaving behind a single satrap with Evelyn at his side.
Their eyes locked for a moment but rather than sending Evelyn over to attack her, he began to casually stroll to the guard post.
Rouya felt her heart twist in her chest as his whistling drew nearer. She'd come to the end of the line and failed her family. Her eyes searched the room for a place to hide or flee when the shine of the blade belonging to the Captain drew her attention.
She scrambled along the floor, hoisting herself up on the blade and biting down on the pain threatening to seize control of her body. Swordplay wasn't her strongest suit, but it was all she had to defend herself against Evelyn.
His feet came to a halt just outside the door, she tightened her grip on the hilt and readied herself. Instead of entering, he began talking in an ever increasing volume until an explosion silenced the argument. Metal scraped against metal and in-between the noise she could make out the struggle between two people.
The door burst open, and he stumbled backward inside. Rouya swung out of instinct, catching him off guard and slicing through muscles and bone.
He turned with a ferocious look on his face and charged her as she spun the sword between her fingers and brought it down on his skull. Blood splattered onto her face with a sickly warmth.
His body still twitched.
Rouya eyed the necklace dangling from his neck. Her father's relic. Her knees weakened for a moment as the tears welled in her eyes. She took the Nazar and marveled at the blue glass before shifting her attention to the person he'd been fighting.
Satrap Markus Relius' face lit up as she recognized him. "Princess, you're alive. I'm so glad to see you unharmed."
The archer Mitra appeared at his side with her fingers on the string of her bow. She too once belonged to her father which put Rouya on alert despite Markus' surprise. She moved back and slipped the Nazar around her neck, calling upon the power of the Maiden inside to join her. Evelyn appeared beside her in full armor and readied her glaive.
Rouya felt the connection between her and Evelyn. The magic they shared felt natural to her. "You have three seconds before you wind up with him."
Markus sheathed his dagger and dropped to his knees. He pulled the ring from his finger and held it out to her. "I'm no murderer but yours to command, Your Highness."
Rouya narrowed her eyes, sizing him up. He could have struck out against her at any time before she'd called upon Evelyn but he held back and had been fighting the man outside before. She decided to give him a chance and took the ring from him. "Oh, yeah? What happened and why should I trust you?"
A frown crossed Markus' face. "Because I'm one of the few people you can still trust. Kalim and his supporters launched a coup against your father and killed him on the throne. They took my wife. I managed to take away one of the rings before being driven off."
The truth settled in with the force of a kick to her head. Her suspicions were true. "It can't be."
Markus frowned, the sadness evident in the shine of his eyes. "I failed protecting my dearest friend. The only thing left for me to do is protect his children."
Rouya twirled the ring in her hand, the ember stone glinted in the sun's light. A strong force resided within, awaiting her command. Thousands of years worth of memories locked within a simple ring. "I plan on bringing them to justice. All of them and I don't need any failures holding me back."
"I beg your pardon?"
Evelyn shifted forward, lowering the glaive at Markus.
Rouya tightened her hand around the ring and clenched her jaw. "Take your life here before me. If you find yourself lacking the courage, I'll be more than capable of helping you find your end."
Markus' jaw fell open as he began to fumble for the dagger. He hands were unsteady as he lifted the blade to his neck, his eyes meeting hers in a desperate plea.
"That's enough," she said raising her hand and holding the relic back out to him. "The power of a true leader doesn't come from doing everything themselves but delegating tasks to the most skilled. I'll be relying upon you to help me exert justice."