The King's Blood by S. E. Zbasnik, Sabrina Zbasnik

"Stop."
    But only the night answered back, the wind whispering warnings he couldn't comprehend and the owls growing restless at the trespassers stalking their home. For the first time, Aldrin was completely alone. He tried to rub some relief back into his ankle, but it was so twisted he was destined to walk with a limp for a fortnight. Or worse , he thought, grimly assessing the damage. But he still had all his head and none of his blood littered the ground, so, stein half full and all.
    Aldrin put his hands up to his mouth and called "Ciara!"
    Again, no answer but the near distant sound of the forest relenting to an unstoppable force. It could be hours before she noticed he was missing. The prince laughed mirthlessly to himself. Dropped in a bear trap, nearly pulled into a bar brawl, sent into a headlong run into the night forest, and now left with a twisted ankle at the roots of what was probably a haunted tree. The girl wasn't very good at this rescuing stuff.
      He chuckled again under his breath when a twig snapped, far closer than he'd been expecting. Aldrin jumped, even while his mind cooed, It was probably a bunny. Or maybe she doubled back.
    "Ciara, is that you?" he whispered under his breath.
    "I am afraid not, little Ostero," the voice dropped from the trees as a shadow darker than the ones in the forest disentangled from the branches.  
    Aldrin gasped. The assassin's brains lay pooling across the floor. How could he have tracked them so quickly? The prince struggled to his feet, the gnarled bark shredding his fingers.
    "Good, good," the man walked into the lonely ray of moonlight, posing in the Lady's eye, "I prefer a prey that stands its ground."
    His dagger glinted like diamonds, looking sharper than a sunbeam. "You and your little servant left a trail so easy to follow a blind man could have stalked you into the forest."
    Aldrin gulped, words locked away beneath a stomach that took up fresh residence in his throat.
    "I admit, I didn't expect your backwater glacier of a family to offer much of a challenge, but not even a mile out of town. Tsk tsk," the assassin gloated, savoring his moment crossing the finish line. "Perhaps I'll weave a better tale for the Emperor."
    Sorry, I couldn't die overtop a fiery lava pit, Aldrin's traitorous brain tossed out, even as his body betrayed him. His twisted ankle buckled beneath him, any escape impossible. Royal fingers dug into the tree's bark. Come on haunted tree, go! Kill! Smash?
    The assassin walked with purpose, unaware of the mental battle being fought in his prey's mind. His fingers grabbed onto the tottering boy's shoulder, steadying him. "Say hello to your father for me," the man crowed as he pulled his dagger back, aimed for Aldrin's heart.
    A rock whipped through the trees and smashed into the Assassin's shoulder, throwing off his aim. The blade bit into Aldrin's side, piercing flesh and muscle, but leaving that vital organ untouched. He screamed and tumbled down to his knees as blood gushed from the jagged wound, coating the dead leaves.
    The assassin whirled around, his prey wounded but not dead, and waved his dagger at the challenger. Cloaked in the shadows of the forest, Ciara stepped into the moonlight, her own dagger out. She held it at stomach level, but had about as much experience with it as a cleric does a butcher's cleaver.
    Sensing fear in the air, the assassin smiled, and stood taller, wanting to properly savor his kills tonight. The girl's skin ashed, terror rimming her set mouth as the tip of her dagger vibrated in fear. Perhaps it could make a good tale after all. He waved his own blade to catch the glint of the fading moon.
    Out of the treetops, an arrow whizzed through sleeping leaves, cracked branches, and stuck straight into the assassin's eye. The mouth opened to scream but didn't get far before a second arrow pierced his throat, sending the body flopping to the ground, exsanguinating over the dying forest floor.
    Aldrin kicked his would be