Chapter 4 #3
I could do nothing but watch. The moment felt equally instantaneous and agonizingly slow. The Defender pulled a lever, and the floor underneath Annora’s feet vanished, robbing the air from her lungs. The air she deserved so much more than I did.
I thrashed, kicked, and screamed to free myself, fighting to reach her before it was too late. To tell her that I loved her too.
But all I could do was watch helplessly as my friend struggled to take her last breaths.
Her body writhed, face contorted in a silent scream.
Then she went still, her arms hanging limply from her sides, head lolling as if she was sleeping.
But her unblinking eyes couldn’t conceal her horrible end.
Her motionless body swung from side to side, the only indication of her last, desperate efforts.
I fell to the ground, hiding my face in my hands. Annora, who’d helped me not only survive, but live in this hostile city. Dead. I should never have accepted the kindness of the sweet stranger in the fruit tent that day many summers ago.
“It’s a one-week ride to the prison,” Kenric said, pulling me mercilessly to my feet. My legs shook violently, threatening to give way. “We better get going, so you can start making some new friends.”
The intense sun left a twinging, burning sensation crawling up my exposed arms and legs.
I sat on the horse in front of Kenric, his arms caging me as he held the reins loosely in his hands.
The steady sound of clopping hooves against soft grass had me in a trance. I stared blankly into the ground. Empty. I felt utterly, consumingly, empty.
The events of the past few days had left me nothing but a shell.
I almost didn’t care what happened to me.
I’d stopped worrying about the whereabouts of the prison or the excruciating pain they’d surely put me through.
I’d stopped agonizing over the physical pain in my body, merely embracing the sensation. I deserved it, after all.
For days, my mind had conjured up horrible images of Lili being held captive and Archie running towards me on the bridge. And Annora. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block the visions from my mind.
Kenric and I had been riding for three days, barely stopping to eat and sleep.
He’d been his usual, horrible self, only I couldn’t muster a reaction to his taunts.
A bead of sweat trickled down my neck. I wiped it away with my hand, the chains around my wrists clanging loudly in the quiet field.
The metal had left scolding marks on my skin, and every time I moved, it pressed against a new spot not yet used to the heat.
My throat felt rough and scratched. I reached for the water bottle sitting in a holder by the saddle. Kenric’s hand shot down and grabbed mine, crushing my fingers. I startled, pulling away, but his grip tightened.
“What?” I sneered, turning my head to glare at him over my shoulder. “I can’t have a drink of water?”
He smiled maddeningly. “Not unless you ask nicely.”
“Forget it then,” I said, pulling my hand free. I was sick of him and his power trips.
Kenric slowed the horse to a stop, dismounted, and pulled me down with him. We neared the edge of the grassland, and I realized I’d never been this far south. My stomach twisted, thinking of everything I was leaving behind.
“Just drink,” he said, shoving the water bottle into my hands. “You’re no good to me dead.”
I ignored his remarks and took a sip of the tepid water. Still, I savored the liquid running down my throat.
I returned the bottle to him, and he drank greedily.
His curly hair caught in the wind, and I rolled my eyes as I watched him brush his long fingers through the strands.
His white shirt was rolled up to his elbows, his Defender tattoo clearly visible on his forearm.
A knight’s sword rising from half a sun, representing his loyalty to the King.
“So, did we just stop for a drink?” I asked, annoyed and wanting nothing more than to be free of his company, even if that meant getting stuck in a prison for the rest of my life.
His hazel eyes blazed. Up close, I could see the small beads of sweat forming on his brow and the rosy glow of his cheeks. He pulled off the leather vest that protected his vitals and stuffed it into the saddlebag.
“We stopped because I wanted to,” he retorted.
He probably didn’t expect the journey to require that much effort. How could he have known when he hadn’t worked hard a day in his life.
An idea took form in my head as I watched him wipe sweat off his face. He looked exhausted. If I could knock him out, just for a few hours, I would be able to escape. Hide until he gave up, then sneak back to Erobred to grab Lili and flee.
My mind raced. I peeked around us. There was nothing but grass and flowers as far as the eye could see. He was better at wielding than me because he’d had actual training, and my powers were restricted by the cuffs. But with the element of surprise, maybe I could pull it off.
Before I had time to execute my plan, he grabbed the chain connected to my cuffs and pulled forcefully.
I stumbled forward, slamming into him. He didn’t move as he stared down at me, his features serious.
Deadly. “Don’t you think I can see what that little mind of yours is planning?
” he whispered, leaning closer to my face with a sneer plastered on his. “Don’t try a thing.”
He leaned down, lips brushing against the sore scabs on my neck. “Though I wouldn’t mind having to punish you. Again.” I winced, retreating as soon as he let go of me.
My breathing came out ragged and fast compared to his slow, steady one. My mind wandered to the wounds covering my legs and back. As if his threat wasn’t warning enough, he conjured a whip of light from thin air, and ran it through his fingers.
We journeyed in silence for a few more hours before setting up camp, while the sun retreated from the horizon. The green grass offered a little padding from the otherwise hard ground, and I curled around myself, my back against the warm fire.
Facing away from Kenric, I let my tears flow freely, though I made sure to keep my sobs silent.
I drifted into an uneasy sleep, not escaping the nightmarish days even in my unconsciousness.
Annora hung limply from the noose around her broken neck, eyes staring blankly ahead. But her lips were moving, mouthing silently at me. I leaned closer, trying to make out what she was trying to tell me.
“Your fault. Your fault. Your fault,” she repeated, her voice hoarse, as if the noose was still stealing her breath.
But her chest was void of movement. Her eyes turned black, her neck snapping back into place with a crack.
Then I noticed the bodies hanging next to her.
A scream echoed, bouncing off the walls of my mind.
“No, please,” I whimpered, staring into the lifeless eyes of Lili, Archie, and my parents.
Everyone I’d ever known and cared about.
A hand gripped my arm, and I jerked back, continuing my chants of disbelief.
The hand shook me, and I screamed, out loud this time, as my head whipped from side to side.
The pressure of the grip intensified, seizing me from every angle. Then a force exploded within me, wrenching me away from the invading hands.
I shot up from my crumbled position on the ground, my heartbeat matching my rapid breaths. Mind racing, I looked around.
Kenric laid ten feet away from me, an expression of pure disbelief on his face. His features were hazy, as if he was behind a wall of dirty glass. Until I realized, he wasn’t the one behind a wall. I was.