Chapter 55
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Tucker
When the cannonball tore through his chest, more blood sprayed my face as the woman screamed. Even before I saw the gaping hole where Fletcher’s heart used to be, I knew he was dead.
Closing my eyes, I tried to ignore the anguish clawing at my chest. I’d gotten to know him well since he joined the encampment. He was a good man with a family who loved him dearly… and now he was gone.
I wiped away the blood dripping off my chin before flicking it off my fingers. It wasn’t the first time the blood of a friend had covered me, and it wouldn’t be the last, but it never got any easier.
“Fuck,” I snarled. “FUCK!”
Across from me, blood also coated the woman who trembled as she gazed at me from bulging eyes. She looked ready to bolt but had no idea which way to go.
More cannons boomed. The woman hit the ground as the projectiles whistled through the air.
I fell to the ground. My cheek hit the earth, and my fingers dug into the cold mud as trees shattered and splintered wood mixed with the hail to pelt me.
When the last of the destruction finished raining down, I turned my head to look at Fletcher’s feet. I almost grabbed his body to drag him away and ensure no more damage occurred to it, but unfortunately, I didn’t have time for that.
If we stayed here, we’d end up dead.
“We have to move!” I yelled at the woman.
She blinked at me a few times before wiping blood and mud off her face. She still looked more than a little shell-shocked, but she gathered herself enough to stand again.
As I turned away from the forest, my gaze felt drawn to where I last saw Fletcher, but I didn’t look back. If Scarlet survived this, the loss of her father would devastate her. Did Ruby, who was back in the cavern with her son, somehow know she’d lost her husband?
Their bond had been precious. And now it was broken.
Focus, I schooled myself.
I could worry about Scarlet, Ruby, and Billy later; right now, I had a battle to win. Lifting my sword, I screamed as I charged back toward the field to slaughter the assholes who’d pushed us all to the edge of madness.
It was time for them to reap what they’d sown.