Chapter 23 #2
He was getting too close. We ran for our lives as he closed in. I was quick, but not as fast as a horse. And neither, it appeared, was Kormac.
How to outrun an elf on horseback without—
The whip cracked and snapped around my legs, locking them together.
The sword flew out of my hand as I braced myself against my fall.
I went down. My hands met the forest floor first, scraping through dirt and bramble.
I slid forward on my face, right cheek grazing.
Unable to move my legs. Helpless as the horse slowed to a trot.
“No!” I yelled.
The horse pawed at the dirt next to me, its legs filling my vision. I lifted my head farther to see the elf swing off and meet Kormac’s charge. Their weapons clashed. The horse panicked, rearing. So close to crushing me with its hooves.
Danu!
I rolled away from it, almost being trampled by the fighting men. Danger in whatever direction I moved in. Curse it!
“Do not try to run!” the elf barked down at me, deflecting a mighty swing from Kormac.
I rolled some more to get clear. Everything hurt from my fall.
My hands burned, my cheek stung with a nasty throb.
I tried to wiggle free from the whip. It’d locked tight, though the handle now lay on the ground inches away.
Tantalizingly close between me, the two men, and the horse.
I’d have to roll quick—in and out and grab it and get free.
The human caught my attention with his movement, halting my action.
Fluid, no action wasted in attack and defense.
Not the light moves of my sword fighting, but the determination of a battle-worn warrior.
Brutal strikes that hadn’t been there when he’d fought Maeve.
He’d unleashed heavy power packed with aggression.
Goodness.
The elf moved with killing grace, yet he didn’t match the human’s strength. Every blow clanged with a deafening ring, pushing the elf back. At one point, I thought he’d lost his weapon.
Kormac. Had he held back the first time? Had he been tired from the road? I suppose the threat to Ren had stopped him. If not, he would have unleashed on Maeve and she’d…
…she was dead.
I’d killed her.
I watched the fight, unable to move. Willing the human to win. Such a strange position to be in. Cheering for the human and not the elf. Hoping and praying to Danu for Kormac’s killing blow and for us to be on the run again. The city guards were coming. They would be here any minute.
My prayers were answered when the human drove his sword through the elf’s face.
The poor man hadn’t been wearing any protection on his head.
His arrogance being his downfall—an arrogance we’d all been guilty of many a time.
I watched the display in shock, disgusted and relieved at the same time.
Kormac withdrew his sword from the elf and kicked the body away.
The horse bolted back in the direction of the palace.
More hoofbeats were closing in, the cries of our hunters. I saw them through the dense gathering of trees, almost upon us, glinting golden beasts charging for the honor of their king. To take down their prince.
“Oh, Danu…” I breathed and crawled for the whip.
Kormac didn’t give me a chance. He scooped me up and flung me over his shoulder, bounding through the forest. My face bounced off his back, my arms dangling over my head limply. I didn’t resist, let him carry me away. He was my only chance.
I wept silently, unable to see how we could escape this. Goodness, how laughable I’d become. Scared for my life, a weakling rescued by a human man I hated so much.
Didn’t hate.
Did.
Didn’t.
He swung me back off his shoulder and shoved me into the crack of a hollow tree. He followed, pressing himself against my back, crushing me flush against the bark. With my legs still bound, I wanted to slide down, but his weight didn’t let me.
My limited view allowed me to discern the size of this space. Big enough to accommodate us, dark enough to hide us as long as no one got too close.
I trembled against the bark, Kormac’s hot breath tickling the back of my neck.
My pulse surged with fear and something else, at him having me in this position.
Once again, to my shame, my lust stirred.
How dare it stir when my loved ones were dead, when this was happening to me?
Especially for him! His friend had cursed me, and now we were connected by an old woman’s magic.
But a part of me didn’t want him to ease the pressure, wanting him to stay pressed against me for as long as he needed. To… To… To nothing!
The ground thrummed with the pounding of horses, the forest ringing with the shouts of guards. They were close. I closed my eyes, staying as still as I could, sending so many prayers to Danu, tears pouring down my face.
A small spider landed on my wounded cheek, its legs stinging my wound.
It crawled across my face, then down my neck.
Tiny spiders were either harmless or the most poisonous in the forest. It made its way down my neck.
I held my breath, not wanting to frighten it into biting me.
What rotten luck to be bitten by a venomous arachnid.
Mercifully, it changed its mind and returned via its initial route across my face. It lingered on my wounded check, then departed.
I released the heaviest of sighs, noticing Kormac’s hands were on my waist.
Boyd. Maeve. I need you so much…