Page 309 of Blade of the Nightking

Saskia straightened, squaring her shoulders, and then began to check all her weapons.

“Saskia,” I whispered. “Please... don't do this.”

A sad smile touched her lips. “It’s already done.”

“You cannot sacrifice yourself for our cause!” I caught a glimpse of the Prince Rìan had once been. The command in his voice brooked no defiance as he pointed at Saskia. “I forbid it. You will not die here.”

Her eyes dropped.

“No,” she said quietly, shaking her head. “That honor is not mine, not today.”

The color drained from Rìan's face. Another curse slipped beneath his breath before he raked a hand through his hair.

Saskia stepped closer. “When they draw away the Infected, we run for Midland. I will stand guard and warn you if they start to return.”

A slow, sick realization settled over me.

“Saskia,” I said carefully. “The others…”

She gave me a knowing look. “One would never be enough to lead them away.”

Cold shock rippled through me. “No…”

“Your cause is our cause.”

Before I could protest again, she turned and cupped her hands around her mouth. One long, warbling cry drifted across the clearing. It sounded almost like a farewell.

Movement stirred to our left, as the Bone Women stepped from the shelter of the trees and into the open, revealing themselves to the Infected.

Dozens of heads snapped toward them.

As one, the Bone Women drew their knives. The hiss of steel sliding free of leather cut through the silence as, in perfect unison, they dragged the blades across their forearms. Deep crimson welled at once, brilliant as fresh rubies against the endless rot ahead of them.

Bodies convulsed. The first shriek split the air. Another answered it.

The stillness shattered as the Bone Women wheeled and sprinted for the forest.

The Infected exploded after them. Those already beyond Midland's walls lurched into motion, while inside the settlement, countless more poured through the breaches and front gate, scrambling over heaps of fallen stone in their frenzy to follow.

“Down,” Saskia hissed.

Rìan's hand caught my arm, dragging me into the dirt beside him.

The ground trembled beneath hundreds of pounding feet, the screams of the Infected so deafening I clapped my hands over my ears. The stench of decay rolled over us in suffocating waves as they rushed past, drawn ever deeper into the woods. Gradually, the din faded into the distance.

Saskia cautiously raised her head, scanning the old town.

“They're gone,” she breathed.

Rìan hauled me to my feet before the words had even left her mouth. “Run.”

We burst from the forest. My boots hammered across the trampled grass as I leaped over human corpses. The broken walls loomed larger with every stride.

Behind us, a bloodcurdling scream rang from the depths of the forest. It cut off abruptly.

Saskia didn't falter.

We flew through the battered gates and into Midland. I stumbled to a halt just beyond the walls, the sight before me stopping me cold.