AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jaime let out a scoff.
Elyse glanced toward the bow, still slung over Killian’s back.
“I can take him,” he said again. He stared into Elyse’s eyes with a vengeful intensity.
Holding his gaze, she nodded. Ymaritis had to be nearly a hundred yards out, but Killian’s expression was confident. If he said he could do it, she believed him.
She turned her sights back toward the clearing, and a movement caught her eye. Figures lurked among the trees. The longer she looked, the more figures she spotted stalking through the forest encircling the clearing.
“Henchmen,” Killian uttered, voicing Elyse’s thoughts.
“At least a dozen of them,” Jaime iterated. He shifted, stirring the rocks. “What’s your plan for them?” he asked, voice haughty, directing his question at Killian.
Elyse shot him a scathing look. “I’ll handle them,” she hissed. “And you’ll help.”
She slid from the edge of the cliff and rocked back onto her heels. To the west, the sun dipped dangerously low, kissing the tops of the trees.
“Ymaritis doesn’t have a shield,” she said, thinking aloud. “And I don’t sense any wards.”
Killian and Jaime both shuffled closer to her. They huddled together, their faces gravely serious.
“What if it’s a trap?” Killian asked.
Elyse had been wondering the same thing.
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “Maybe it is. Maybe he can’t use shields or wards for the spell. But I don’t see any other way.”
Both men nodded. Sunset was nearing too quickly; they were out of options.
“Okay,” Killian sighed as he pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back. “Give me the poison.”
Elyse fished in her pocket and pulled out the vial of glittering green liquid. It looked like a toxin as the luminous liquid swirled in its tiny glass vessel. She uncorked it and held the vial carefully as Killian dipped the tip of the arrow in the venom.
“I hope this works,” Jaime muttered.
Elyse hoped so too. If they could kill Ymaritis from afar, or at least injure him badly enough, then they stood a chance.
Crouching low, she moved toward the edge of the ridge. The wind picked up, its wild movement mirroring Elyse’s anxieties. She realized she was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Clutching a nearby rock, she tried to steady her nerves. She couldn’t afford to be rattled, not when so much was at stake.
Beside her, Killian kneeled on the rocky ledge. He held the bow in both hands, the arrow nocked and ready. His golden eyes reflected the waning sunlight, beautiful yet perilous.
“Get the rose and get out,” he said. “Then come back to me.”
It was a plea in its sweetest form.
Elyse reached out and laid a hand on his cheek. Killian leaned into it, his eyes half closing as he stared back at her.
“I will,” she promised.
She let her hand linger there for a moment before turning to Jaime. Behind him, the sun had crested the distant trees.
“As soon as Ymaritis is down, we go in,” she said, forcing strength into her voice. “Watch my back, and I’ll watch yours.”
Jaime nodded, though his eyes flickered toward Killian.
Elyse pivoted, fully facing Ymaritis once again. This was it. They would either fail, or they would succeed. Either way, they had to act fast.
She heard the groan of the bow string as Killian pulled the arrow back. The forest seemed to quiet, intensifying the sound of Elyse’s racing heart. Ahead of her, Ymaritis knelt in the clearing, tending to something on the ground.
