Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Ryker
This time, when we entered the servants’ passage, it wasn’t as empty as before. A woman carrying a tray of medical supplies sprinted around the corner. The contents of the tray rattled in her hands but didn’t fall off.
The second she saw us, she skidded to a halt, and a pair of scissors slid off to bounce across the ground. Her eyes bulged, her hands trembled, and her lower lip quivered as she took a small step back.
“We won’t hurt you,” Ellery said.
I wasn’t sure we could uphold that promise; we couldn’t send her anywhere to prevent her from revealing our location. Bandages tumbled from the tray as the woman continued her retreat.
“Don’t move any further,” I told her.
The tray fell from the woman’s hands and clattered across the floor as she turned to run. Before she could make it more than three feet, a dagger flashed past me and embedded in her nape.
Her arms and legs flew out before the woman sprawled across the ground. Her fingers and feet twitched, but she didn’t move.
“Oh,” Scarlet breathed.
Samael brushed past me, bent over the woman, and removed his blade from her spine. No one spoke as he severed her head and dropped it next to her.
When I glanced at Ellery, she bit her bottom lip as she stared at the decapitated woman. However, she didn’t protest Samael’s actions. She hadn’t made it this far without developing an understanding of what to do to survive and protect others.
I held my hand out to her, and she clasped it. When her gaze shifted to me, she managed a tremulous smile.
“We have to move,” Samael said. “More servants will come… soon.”
As he led the way, we jogged after him. Our feet thudding against the ground and our soft breaths were the only sounds as we followed him through the tunnels and toward the library.
While we ran, we encountered two more servants. I dispatched one while Samael took out the other.
When we reached the door to the library, Samael stopped outside it and rested his hands against the stone facade. I wanted to think the room beyond remained quiet, but we had no idea what was on the other side.
“Be ready for an attack,” Samael said and pushed a rock to open the door.