Carissa slipped into a sprint and rounded the corner of a building, following Mera’s voice.
Mera stood at the end of an alley, her expression contorted in fury, though the quick darting of her eyes bespoke of fear. Three sizable men had cornered her. Their clothes were so stained that the colors of the cloth were rendered indistinguishable. Beards frizzed around their jaws, matted and filthy.
What had Mera gotten herself into now?
Carissa slipped a dagger from her sleeve. “You there! Halt!”
The men turned toward her and Ryther. One eyed her beneath the shadows of his brows. “Who are you?”
Wife of Elon. Queen of Nysia. Carissa. “None of your concern. Back away slowly from the girl, and no one has to be hurt.”
The man grinned, revealing brown teeth. “If someone’s to be hurt, it won’t be us, darlin’.”