The street was silent, save for the scrape of steel against stone as ten halberds lowered in unison. Their polished blades gleamed in the lamplight, a jagged wall closing in on one man.
Liam stood at the center of the avenue, hands loose at his sides, expression calm as a quiet sea. His gaze swept across the guards, then to the gathering crowd, then back to the narrow-eyed captain who glared at him like a wolf about to pounce.
"Bind him!" the captain barked. His voice carried over the rooftops, sharp as a hammer strike.
The squad made their move, as they rushed at him.
One guard lunged first, halberd thrust straight for Liam's chest, aiming to kill and not to subdue. The steel tip should have punched through flesh and bone, but it didn't.
The weapon froze mid-thrust, suspended inches from Liam's sternum as if the air itself had turned solid. The guard's arms trembled, veins bulging, his entire body straining to force it forward.
