Chapter 32 #2
“Fuck.” Ottoh moved faster than I’d ever seen him, slamming his sister’s back against the trunk of the tree and placing himself before her, hands out like he planned to catch the arrows in the air.
“Get the fuck down,” Darcke roared when more arrows followed, their thuds biting into the bark of the golden oaks and snapping all of us out of our frozen state.
Another one nicked my shoulder, and I stood rooted when four men crested the darkness. One took charge, throwing a dagger aimed at Darcke’s unprotected back.
I didn’t think; I only reacted with the instincts Viljan had honed over the years.
I threw myself at the warrior to try to get him onto the ground. He cursed before striking me midair, sending me sprawling against a tree.
There was a sickening wet sound as the dagger found its target, and I whipped my head up to find Darcke with his back against me, the dagger lodged in his shoulder and blood gushing down his dark leathers.
That didn’t stop him from snarling and stalking toward the four men like a wildling.
“A’lian,” Ottoh screamed. “Run!”
“I. Don’t. Run,” the warrior growled.
In another situation I would have laughed. Darcke was violently insulted that these foreigners had managed to draw blood, and that made him hunger for theirs so fiercely that my hands reached for the sword that no longer rested across my back.
“He’s fucking crazy,” Ottoh hissed. “He’s unarmed. You better catch up with him, because that’s your life at stake.”
That realization had just dawned on me as well.
“Stop,” I screamed, trying to tug at the bond—trying to get him to remember that this wasn’t only about him. But Darcke only continued forward.
That’s when I noticed the fifth man hiding behind a tree.
“No!” I cried as the man sent another dagger straight toward Darcke’s heart.
He felt my dread, and at the last moment Darcke spun my way.
The dagger struck him in his side. There was a spark of surprise in Darcke’s eyes as his hand pressed against his gut. I huffed when white-hot pain shot through me, making me stumble over a root as I sprinted toward my second.
The man who’d cast the knife jumped out from the tree’s shadow, making a rush for Darcke as he fell to his knees.
I grabbed for whatever I could on the ground, finding a rock that fit well enough in my palm, and threw it with everything in me.
It bounced off the man’s temple with a crack, and as he tumbled backward, I felt a presence to my side.
I got another rock into my hand, and I was about to throw it as well when Ivren’s blue eyes widened. “Woah.” His hands flew into the air. “On your side.”
Viljan came up behind him, and as another arrow cut right over my old guard’s scalp, I screamed, “Over there.”
They reacted instantly. Viljan took the lead, using the trees to avoid the arrows raining through the air as he breached the distance between us and the men.
Ivren followed, picking up rocks and branches on his way. I decided to trust them to handle it as Darcke tumbled to the ground.
With my heart in my throat, I fell to the forest bed beside him.
“Remove one in the back,” he gritted.
I nodded as I pulled out the dagger. To Darcke’s credit he didn’t even flinch, although it could have been because the pain from the one sticking out of his side overshadowed anything else.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I inspected the wound. It was deep, with dark blood oozing out, but it was the bubbles by his mouth that worried me the most. Especially with the pressure lacing my own chest and the wheezing breaths trying to find their way into Darcke’s lungs.
“Elvara!” Ottoh called.
I turned my head over my shoulder. Ottoh’s arm was wrapped around his sister’s shoulders, and she had her head turned into his chest, her weight entirely on her left foot. There was no way she could fight if there were more of them out there.
“Go,” I urged. “We’ll come after you.”
The heir shifted back and forth.
“It’s fine! Go!” I screamed again.
Ottoh gave me a final look before he started dragging his sister out of there.
Darcke coughed. “You should leave me behind.”
“I die if you die, you idiot,” I snarled.
Ivren and Viljan had managed to take down one of the men, but the three others had axes in their hands as they spread out before them, wicked smiles on their faces as the heir and his second started backing up.
“Otherwise you’d be long gone, right?” Darcke asked.
“Otherwise I’d be long gone,” I agreed against the thudding in my chest.
Blood stained Darcke’s teeth when he smiled.
“What’s that for?” I asked as I eyed the area around Viljan and Ivren.
“It’s the first lie of yours I didn’t mind,” Darcke said.
I stilled for a second before he coughed again, his blood splattering onto my face.
“We need to get you out of here.” I looked up once more. Viljan was fighting two men while Ivren was cornered against a tree, ducking the axe driving into it.
“I…” I gestured to them. “I’ll be right back.”
Darcke’s hand found mine as I got up.
“Make Helheim proud.”
I felt his smugness as if it were my own when I giggled.
“Bastard,” I mumbled as I rose, sneaking behind a tree.
Viljan needed my help first. He was trying to get the men to hurt each other with the vicious swings of their weapons, but they were too well trained. The axes whistled through the air as Viljan spun and ducked and flew backward to avoid the sharp edges.
Behind him was a low-hanging branch. Sprinting around the men, I waved to my guard, praying that I wouldn’t accidentally cause his death with my distraction. When he caught my eyes, I pointed to the branch, then to myself, and he gave me a quick nod before he started his dance of death.
Running back so fast my chest hurt, I scaled the back of the tree I’d pointed at while Viljan drew the men my way. My back was pressed against the bark, and I waited until Viljan was two feet away, then I took a deep breath and climbed out on the branch.
“Now,” I screamed as I threw myself at the closest man.
It had the intended effect. They both looked up at the same time, and Viljan was able to kick the axe out of the hands of the man I aimed for.
As I crashed into him, I locked my legs around his neck.
When we hit the ground, I shut out the sound of cracking bones as I twisted my body until his neck snapped.
I shuffled backward as Viljan evaded the other man’s axe. When the attacker turned his back on me, I stuck out my leg, tripping him. Viljan’s foot followed, and he stomped a wide hole in the man’s chest, crushing his heart under his boot.
“I’ve got him,” Viljan screamed as he spun and sprinted to Ivren. “Get to the bay.”
I didn’t hesitate as I sprinted back to my second.
Darcke groaned as I slipped my hands under his shoulders and started dragging him toward the beach. “Stop complaining,” I hissed, hiding my worry. “I’m the one who’ll have sore muscles tomorrow.”
“Don’t… don’t pretend you haven’t admired my muscles,” he replied.
I couldn’t stop the grimace weaving over my features at how weak his voice was.
“That was not the intended response,” Darcke said.
“Shut up. I need to focus if I’m going to get you out alive.”
Darcke felt the worry coiling inside me, but thankfully he didn’t say anything as I pulled him through bushes and dirt and weeds. It wasn’t until we were almost where the tree line met the beach that he spoke again.
“I thought the bond was supposed to make us stronger, but…” More blood bubbled out of his mouth, something I wasn’t sure I should try to understand flashing across his features. “I think being close to you is making me worse.”
“Thanks,” I muttered as I finally got him onto the sand and allowed myself to slump down beside him.
“No.” Darcke turned his head so he could find my eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean, then?”
But Darcke’s eyes had closed, and my heart stuttered when I felt his breathing slow.
“Help!” I called. “Help us!”