Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 244: Fall of a king (2)

Away from the palace, Kaden and Dante led their men through the town.

"They know we are coming. I saw scouts up ahead," Kaden informed Dante. "It’s too late to turn back now."

"Spread the men to attack from the east and west while we push from the north. We need to circle in on the castle. A bird is in the air," Dante said, hearing the noise up ahead. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Kaden looked up, puzzled as to how Dante could hear a bird. "How are you able to hear them? I have not heard any," he said, failing to hear the sound of a bird.

Dante had successfully heard many messenger birds flying by and shot them down, stopping the messages from leaving the palace.

It confused Kaden since with all the men and horses they travelled with, it should be impossible for anyone to hear what was in the sky.

"Aim," Dante’s order came.

An archer from Dante’s side aimed for the sky.

"There, to the right!"

Kaden watched as the arrow whistled through the air and brought down another bird. He stared in disbelief, curious if Dante was some sort of animal.

"You must tell me what kind of training you endured to be able to hear when there is a bird high in the sky? I have noticed that your men don’t appear to be phased by your abilities. Can you share them?" Kaden asked, but he was met by silence.

Dante got off his horse and joined two men to collect the injured bird.

"Again with the silent treatment," Kaden said as he slid off his horse. "What was the message? Is he still asking for Nigel?"

Dante removed the small note from the bird’s leg and read it. "No. The queen’s family attacked the palace. This was going to the town guards positioned outside the town."

"Could the queen’s family take down Sebastian and Edward?"

"No," Dante shook his head. "The palace army will outnumber the men the queen has on her side. She would have had a better chance of killing Sebastian if she had met with him and had him ambushed. I have a feeling Edward is dead," Dante assumed.

Kaden clenched his fist. "I want to be the one to kill that bastard."

"The queen and crown prince wouldn’t be fighting unless Edward were dead. They are both fighting for the throne. The queen must know that she doesn’t stand a chance, so why attack?" Dante wondered.

"Her father has always been stubborn. All this means is that the palace is in a mess right now. I’ll go ahead with your plans to attack from each side. Let us hope Norman stands true to his word to be ready for the attack," Kaden said, moving to get back on his horse.

Dante followed suit and mounted his horse. "We go right to the palace. Kill the town guards if you must, but not the townspeople."

"Yes, yes. I have heard you before," Kaden said, forced to follow Dante’s orders. "I hope that bastard is still alive so I can kill him myself. I’ll pass on the order to the captains to break off to the west and east. You lead."

Kaden guided his horse away from the front of the men to carry out the order.

Dante led the men further towards the palace. They were close, which meant a defensive attack would soon block their path and try to stop them from reaching the palace.

Dante placed his helmet on his head. He was ready for a fight, but his mind still wandered back to Ophelia.

Had Nigel led an army to their home, or was their assumption wrong?

From the messages Dante stopped from the birds he shot down, there was no mention of attacking the Hastings.

Dante pushed his army forward, taking a faster yet dangerous route to the palace because he was desperate to return home to his loved ones.

This wasn’t a fight he could enter and not care about whether he lived or died. He had someone he needed to return to.

By nightfall, Dante could see the lights from the town and up ahead was the palace.

"It is odd. Scouts should have alerted them that we are on our way. There’s not much of a welcoming party," Kaden commented, finding it suspicious they weren’t met by the king’s army. "The town guards are coming. Is that bastard so cocky to think only the town guards could stop us? His border guards were easy."

Kaden chuckled, ready for his sword to claim more lives. They had pushed through the first round of guards back at the border, but it didn’t satisfy his thirst for blood.

"The scouts didn’t alert the palace," Dante said, grabbing his sword as he prepared to get the guards out of his way. "Stay close to me. We need to get to the palace now."

Though Sebastian might not have been properly warned when they were first spotted, Dante knew that it wouldn’t be long before town guards ran to alert the palace. That, along with the screams of the townspeople, was sending a very noisy warning to the palace.

"You should keep up with me," Kaden said, before riding ahead of Dante to be the first one to strike the town guards.

In the palace, news of Kaden and Dante’s presence had finally reached Sebastian’s ears.

Sebastian grabbed the knight who delivered the news by his throat. "How is it that they got past my border without one of you fools letting me know of it? How did they reach my town without me catching wind of it?"

"Y-Your Majesty. We suspect all the men at the border were killed, and so were all the birds we used to deliver-"

Sebastian shoved the blabbering fool.

Rather than being afraid of Dante and Kaden working together to attack him, Sebastian welcomed it. He welcomed a grand fight to showcase his new power as the king.

Dante and Kaden would be used as examples of what happened to the men who would be so foolish as to be against him becoming the king.

"It’s about time someone dared to face me. Gather my armour and the finest sword in the kingdom. Rally the men to ride out to the town. We have men to slaughter," Sebastian said, grinning from ear to ear.

Sebastian planned to kill the two men as soon as he was named king, so they did him a favour by coming directly to him.

Sebastian rushed out of his chamber to find a window to look out at the town. His gaze fell upon the fires starting in the town.

He would have the same fires burn Dante and Kaden’s corpses.