I didn’t like the answer.

“You’re going to exterminate the Elves?” I hurried to climb up the stairs beside him. “There are a lot of diplomats here!” My mind went to Starna. “And half Elves that have been helping us!”

“I thought Arkun was my best friend after your father and look at what he did.” My uncle paused as he looked around the room.

The crew of the Mage's Bane were in the hall fighting off mostly guards with a few of the diplomats sprinkled in. I saw both Krav and Talia mixed in with them, as well as Blanch, who looked like she was particularly enjoying herself.

Starna was on the floor near the western wall and my desire to dissuade my uncle from a rampage was trumped by the need to check on her.

I ran over to the half Elf and looked her over. She was still alive, but had a nasty hole in her side and her hair smelled like burnt rubber. She’d been ganged up on by multiple mages and left here to bleed out.

I cradled her in my lap and started to take her wounds, when the abbreviated screams of the elves in the room being drained by the king. Someone was going to have to stop him and I couldn’t do that if I was this wounded.

“Sect!” Vin ran over to me. “She doesn’t look good.”

“No.” I looked around. “How are you guys here?”

“Dad figured that you must have got caught when the navy ships quit chasing us and headed back here. So we turned around and followed them back.” He nodded at the gorgon, who knelt in front of my uncle as he killed the elves she had been fighting. “Talia told us what you were doing and we all hurried here to help you as fast as we could.” Confusion and awe were all over his face as he turned back to me. “Who’s the scary dude?”

“That’s Alessa’s dad, the King.” I touched Starna’s brown hair. I wanted to get her to safety, but I needed to know something first. “Did you know that I’m her cousin? Prince Sectum Malus?”

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“Seriously?” Vin started laughing. “I knew you were different, but not that different.”

I had a feeling that the rest of the crew knew. I could remember a lot of them being there the night I’d been fished out of the bay. There was a part of me that felt betrayed, but I could see why they did it. All it would take was one slip of the tongue by a little kid and the entire Golden Guard would have hunted us down to kill me.

“Look.” I gently picked up the half Elf in front of me. “I need you to get her back to the ship. She…”

“We left the ship on the other side of the bay.” Vin cut me off.

“Okay…” I tried to think of somewhere else that would be safe. “Take her to the secret room at Talia’s place. Bandage her up as best you can.” I nodded at where the king was finishing off the last of the elves in the room. “Get out of here before he sees her.”

My brother looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but he took Starna from me and shouldered his way through the locked door on the western wall.

I didn’t know how he was going to get out, but I felt sorry for whoever tried to stop him.

I got up and walked over to where everyone except Krav was kneeling in front of my uncle.

“My king.” Garm was in front of everyone. “I’m so glad that you’re okay. What about..?”

“Gravis and Oline are dead.” The king grit his teeth. “I watched Arkun kill them both, then chased him through the tower. He brought it down on top of me before I could kill him.” He looked over the people kneeling in front of him. “Who knows where the slime is?” Venom laced his question.

“He ran to the Senate building when Garm and his men showed up.” Krav reported as he leaned against a stone pillar on the eastern wall.

“Thank you Krav, you’ve always been a good friend of the family.” The King’s attitude softened. “Things are about to get bloody, so it’s probably best that you weren’t here so Banrion can have deniability.”

The Grim looked over at me then pushed off the wall. “Glad to see you’re alive, Keller.”

I watched him walk out the open front doors.

“Captain Garm Irongut!” My uncle turned his attention back to the people in the room. “You are reinstated as captain of the royal guard.” He scanned the rest of the group. “Your men are drafted as members of the royal guard and your first task is a very important one…” He took a deep breath. “Herd all the Elves in the city to the senate.”