Sworn To Defiance by Terah Edun

out to grab her. She shook him off impatiently.
    Thanar wasn’t stupid enough to lay a finger on her. Then again this probably just amused him. She confirmed her intuition as she opened her mind a bit to feel humor rolling off him like a delicious aura of satisfaction.
    Putting both Sebastian and Thanar out of her mind with an impatient shake of her head, she looked down her nose at the man in front of her.
    Which was hard to do seeing as she was barely five feet tall and he had at least three inches on her. It was all in the eyes and the stance though. Project confidence and you could be the smallest person in the room and still be taller than a six-foot-tall giant.
    “Listen here, Corporal—” she started to say.
    “Captain, miss.”
    “Captain then,” she said calmly. “And it’s Lady Weathervane, or ma’am, if you’d prefer.”
    She felt amusement rolling off a different source this time. Sebastian.
    Find something funny , she said haughtily.
    I didn’t realize that the Companions’ Guild had graduated you...
    A situation that needs to be rectified shortly. she replied.
    Yes, it will. His voice held dark portents that she didn’t want to or couldn’t decipher at the moment.
    Ciardis continued her statement to the captain without missing a beat. “You see, we are extremely put out. My group and I came back to the imperial court to warn the nobles of impending doom.”
    “Then you won’t mind being arraigned before their gathering?”
    “No, I would not,” she said in a voice that hinted at irritation at the interruption, “but I have some requirements first.”
    “I don’t think you understand—” the captain said.
    “No, I don’t think you understand,” she said coolly.
    He opened his mouth.
    “Don’t interrupt me again, Captain.”
    His teeth closed with the sound of a snap. Still he was silent which made her happy.
    “We are neither under arrest nor your prisoners. Instead, you have been charged with protecting us. What’s more, we are both members of the imperial court and the nobles’ gathering by the status of our birth. We demand the full rights of a contestant before the nobles’ courts. You’ve named one right. Protection. I demand the full roster—protection, shelter, medical attention, and provisions.”
    Internally Ciardis shivered at the thought of spending one more night in the underground city. The place gave her the creeps. Externally, she projected confidence as if she was an eagle-eyed warrior unmoved by the thought of going back down there.
    This time she felt respect radiating from a different source—Sebastian Athanos Algardis.
    You’ve been studying court history , he commented softly.
    I had no choice. Being laid up in the lord chamberlain’s home gave me the perfect opportunity.
    Outwardly, she waited patiently while the captain thought over her demands. He was studying her face waiting for her to break. He had the manpower to force them to do what he wanted. But not without some serious casualties on his side and probably losing his own life in process if not a half-dozen of his men.
    She was dead serious about that bath.
    He made the right choice. He relented.
    “I’ll escort you to imperial chambers first,” he said.
    She opened her mouth to protest. “Lady Weathervane,” he quickly added on.
    For the first time a happy smile showed on Ciardis Weathervane’s face.
    “Wise choice.”
    He grunted.
    “We’ll need a stretcher for the baby griffin of our group,” she said imperiously.
    He slid eyes to a form behind her. Presumably his gaze caught on Skarar huddled underneath his father’s wing.
    “You’ll have it.”
    She nodded. Then the captain stepped back. “Let me go arrange it.”
    “Of course,” she said.
    An uncertain expression appeared on the captain’s face. Then his shoulders slumped. She had won. It was clear now who would lead and who would follow orders.
    Thanar turned toward her with his arms crossed. “Not bad, Golden