Chapter 31 The Attack
Chapter Thirty-One
The Attack
Alex
Alex had braved the busy market, cursing herself for staying in the Underground with her father so long.
She had carefully collected the supplies needed for her upcoming trip, plus what she suspected Davin might need for his place.
Laden down with bags, she regretted not taking the horse into town, choosing to walk instead.
Her own stubbornness was often her downfall.
Dusk was fast approaching, and she was still nowhere near reaching Davin’s cabin yet. She should have been back hours ago.
Sweat beaded her upper lip and brow. She set the packages at her feet, flexing her wrists and arms, stretching her back the best she could, trying to alleviate the pain from the weight of the pack.
She didn’t dare take it off though, it had been a bitch to get it on in the first place.
Blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face, she turned in a circle.
There was nothing out there except a few clusters of trees with groupings of large rocks mingled amongst the hills.
Grumbling, she retrieved the supplies at her feet, hefting them back into her arms.
Alex continued following the road back to Davin’s, with not a soul in sight.
No homes, no wagons, just rolling hills and quiet.
She could see where the forest began stretching behind Davin’s in the distance.
This place was so peaceful; a rare commodity for her to experience as of late.
Her every waking thought centered around Rivka, and to her own dismay, most of her sleeping ones too. It was virtually all consuming.
Every now and again, she would scan the countryside, looking for anything amiss, a habit she couldn’t break if she wanted to.
A creeping feeling told her she was being watched, unnerving her, but she had to be the only one out there.
Cresting another hill, she could finally make out a small trail of smoke in the distance.
Thank Kiel, she was almost there. Her limbs felt like flimsy willow branches at her sides; her phantom wounds aching.
Picking up her pace, Alex was practically jogging, the trees and rocks speeding past her. Her exhaustion pushed her to be done with this day, her thoughts racing about what she needed to do tomorrow and maybe a hot bath to soothe her sore muscles.
Without warning, a man stepped out in front of her, a wicked grin on his face, causing her to shriek in surprise, her arms flinging the supplies directly at him.
Alex leapt backwards, a dagger appearing in each hand before her feet had even hit the ground.
By the Gods, where the fuck had he come from?
Facing each other, she panted heavily, and he angrily wiped the eggs from his face.
Alex gasped, realizing immediately who he was, her thoughts racing on why he was there, and so far from his province.
“What the hell are you doing, Jackson?” She snapped, her head looking behind him, not the least bit afraid anymore, though her body still vibrated with tension, shifting from foot to foot, trying to force energy into her fatigued muscles, anticipating a fight.
Another man moved from behind the rocks to stand next to his brother, his face alight with a matching sinister smile.
Erik. He was by far the worst of the two men, crueler even, the one calling the shots, Alex was sure.
They were twins, one never far from the other, older than her but both built more for the pampered life than the fighting one.
She scanned behind them but saw no guard detail.
Naive, they were so naive to think they could take her on.
Even two against one, she outskilled and outmatched them in every way.
She thought she’d recognized their voices at the inn, but she couldn’t fathom why Vivian had sent them after her, of all people.
And besides, Vivian had been the one to send her in search of Rivka, so none of this made sense.
“We won’t waste our time answering your questions.” Erik snarled, baring his teeth viciously.
She bared her teeth right back. While she might hate Tristan, he was nothing like his younger brothers.
They had inherited their mother’s cruelty and hatred.
Power hungry, selfish, and immoral, they openly despised their older brother.
Jealous, he was the one responsible for carrying on the royal line; they made it their goal to torment him whenever possible.
“We thought you might have come here, to Brynn, after you ran away from the inn in Kalmia. Stealing horses is a new low for you, though.” Jackson chimed in, tilting his head to the side.
“But who rode that second horse?” He looked back over his shoulder towards the curling smoke in the distance.
“A new friend of yours? Maybe we should pay him a visit.”
It wasn’t a question; the threat was clear. Her stomach dropped. Davin had nothing to do with any of this, whatever this was, but she knew that they had just put a target on him because of her.
“Who sent you? Mommy dearest? She sent her lackeys to do her dirty work for her. It makes sense. It’s a win-win for her.
If you succeed, she’ll be rid of me, but if you fail, she won’t have to look at her two biggest disappointments in the face ever again.
Either way, she’ll have no blood on her hands.
” Alex laughed, a fake vibrato that she didn’t feel.
She was exhausted from the last three weeks of travel, the stress of the day's events, and it seemed that they were hell-bent on making it worse.
Anger flared in Erik’s face. Alex’s smile grew wider.
Bingo. Mommy issues for the win. Erik responded exactly how she had expected, letting out an enraged bellow and lunging for her.
She danced back, easily avoiding his blade.
He charged, she sidestepped him, causing him to stumble over his own feet.
Righting himself, he spun to face her, his chest heaving in his anger.
A blur filled the corner of her vision as Jackson moved, trying to get behind her.
There was no way she would let that happen.
Alex measured her next steps carefully, strategically placing her back against the large rocks.
It would mean certain death if either one of them got their arms around her.
Planting her boots in the dirt, her sweat traced lines down her cheek. “Either the two of you leave of your own volition or meet your death by my blade. There is no other option.” She said, voice low but steady.
Jackson smirked. “We’ll see.”
They came at her together, mirrored flashes of motion.
Steel sang as she deflected their blades.
Alex ducked Jackson’s slash, driving an elbow into his gut, before pivoting to block Erik’s thrust. The clang of metal echoed through the hillside.
She struck back with controlled ferocity, blades flashing in an arc that nicked Erik’s cheek.
Hissing at the sudden pain, he staggered back.
Erik regained his composure quickly, both of them advancing in again.
Blow after blow, two minds trained together, attacking in perfect rhythm.
They were twins, and she hadn’t counted on the damn twin telepathy fighting.
Perhaps she had underestimated their training, or maybe she hadn’t recovered quite as much as she thought.
Alex’s arms ached, her footwork slowing.
Erik seized the opportunity, shoulder checking her hard.
She fell to one knee, parrying just in time to keep Jackson’s blade from slicing her open.
She didn’t know how much longer she could keep this up.
Her body was nearing burnout. The bright side was that she could tell they were struggling as well.
A shout rang from the treeline.
“ALEX!”
Davin broke through the brush, on horseback, flying across the terrain.
Erik whirled, caught off guard by the sudden commotion.
Davin flew down the hill, jumping from the mare, striking Erik with a brutal tackle that sent him sprawling.
Jackson turned with his blade raised, but Davin was already swinging.
Steel bit into Jackson’s thigh, sending blood pouring down his leg.
Alex rose, moving to stand beside Davin. Together, they forced the twins back, pushing them toward the treeline. But the advance didn’t last long. Jackson struck out, avoiding full pressure on his right leg, a lucky shot catching Davin’s forearm.
Hearing his cry of pain, Alex spun, distracted for just an instant.
But that instant was all Erik needed. He flung a fistful of dirt into her face, causing her to lose her balance.
Blinded, it gave Jackson the opening he needed.
He swung his blade, aiming for Alex’s side but he was sloppy, his injury slowing him down.
She jumped back out of range but right into Erik’s dagger on her other side. He plunged it into her lower abdomen, yanking it down. Alex froze, pain searing through her torso and down her leg. With a choked groan, she dropped to the ground.
”NO!” Davin roared, lunging forward only to be blocked by Erik.
Davin’s fighting turned ruthless, his face contorted in desperation.
He fought like fire, his swing a blaze of merciless force, driving upward, cleaving a thick gash across Erik’s chest. Erik fell back, his steps faltering, blood dripping from his fingers where he held the ripped flesh together.
Alex couldn't move; she could feel her blood seeping through her leathers onto the hard packed ground. The fucking wound was deep. She was as good as dead, but...Davin.
Jackson had stealthily moved to where Alex slumped on the ground. He knelt over her, his face close to hers.
“You. Lose.” He sneered, unable to hide his ragged breathing. He reached for her braid and yanked her head back, his hand fisted in her hair.
“Don’t.” She spat, struggling to stay conscious; the blood loss causing her head to swim.
But the blade sliced clean, her braid falling into his hand like a trophy. Alex fell back forcefully, her head bouncing off the ground, eyes rolling back as everything went dark for a moment.
Erik let out a strangled cry as Davin’s blade sliced into him yet again. The sound of his brother’s yell had Jackson moving away from her, leaving her to bleed out under the darkening sky.
Jackson attempted to rush Davin but his injured leg wouldn’t allow him the traction he needed to take him down.
“We finished the job! She’s dead! Let’s go! He’s not part of this!” Jackson yelled, holding her braid up for Erik to see. Erik and Davin spun in unison, taking in the view of Alex surrounded by blood, eyes unblinking.
“Alex! Gods, No!” Davin was suddenly there, looming above her.
He quickly ripped a section of his shirt to apply pressure to her wound.
“So much blood.” Davin’s voice shook, his hands roaming across her body, searching as if he couldn’t tell where it was all coming from.
She wanted to guide him, to tell him how to help, but the words wouldn’t form.
Her body and mind felt detached from everything else around her.
The heaviness of her head became too much for her to hold, and she let it loll to the side, just in time to see Jackson grab Erik’s uninjured arm.
“Let’s go!” he barked, roughly shoving him toward the forest where their horses must be.
“We need to confirm she’s dead.” He snarled, yanking his arm out of his brother’s grasp.
“I did! See, her braid to prove it!” He dangled the dark hair in front of his brother’s face.
Erik looked over at her and Davin, who was still trying to staunch the flow of blood, to save her, but Erik must have assumed by the amount of blood beneath her that there was no saving her. And he was right. She was already dead, lying in the dirt, bested by the spawn of Rune filth.
Seeing their chance to escape, the twins limped away, blood gushing from their own wounds. What felt like only moments later, the pounding of hooves echoed into the dusk, fading into the distance. Neither bothered to look back.