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Which gave him enough time to recoup and bare his teeth, then lunge at me.
“Fuck!” I wailed.
He had the high ground, a sword, and a massive headache. Meanwhile, I only had half a manacle chain that was still looped around my left wrist. I tried using it as a flail, but I wasn’t trained in such a weapon and the soldier pushed into my guard before I could swing it a second time.
He stabbed at me and I managed to wrap the chain around the middle of his sword, slowing the thrust. I spun to the side and hissed when he caught me just under the ribs in a glancing blow. Pain lanced through me and I stumbled.
“Simon!” the guard at the carriage shouted, seeing our skirmish break out. He moved to join his friend in taking me down.
Then a pair of hands snaked around his shoulders from behind.
“The fuck?” he growled, shrugging off the hand and spinning—
To find Maria there, freed from her cuffs, key in her hand. The woman stabbed wildly with the jagged key at the man’s neck.
I hurled a fruitless punch at Simon, and we circled each other as the chain I’d wrapped around his sword sent sparks flying into the air, iron links sliding down his blade.
My body was weak from lack of food, water, and from being stabbed. The only thing that kept me going was seeing Maria fight, and the fact my blood was still pulsing wildly through my limbs, pumping me with false energy.
Simon yelled incoherently at me and charged again, abandoning his sword to close the gap and wrap his arms around my middle.
I grunted as he tackled me to the ground. The sky spun up and over as we rolled down the slope toward the trees.
I caught sight over his shoulder as blood spurted from the other guard’s neck twenty feet away. Maria jabbed over and over again into him, screaming like a feral animal—
And other girls were getting up from their benches, apparently freed by Maria during the distraction of Red’s attempted rape.
Two other girls barreled out of the carriage and tackled the third guard to the ground as he tried to fight off Maria’s hellbent attack. They swarmed him, howling like wolves, and then I couldn’t see anymore as Simon took up my entire vision on top of me.
We’d come to a stop at the base of the incline and he had the higher ground thanks to his weight and size advantage, and the fact I was exhausted and bleeding from my side.
I fought for my life, writhing and bucking my hips, throwing worthless punches at him that only connected with his chainshirt armor and bloodied my knuckles more than it hurt him.
I won’t die here! I have to survive!
He snarled and spit down on me from above, straddling my chest. He threw an elbow down at my face and my nose crunched, blinding white light shooting through my brain and eyes. “You fucking bitch! You killed him, didn’t you?!”
Simon managed to get the chain of my manacles around my neck, still attached to my left wrist. He pushed down on the taut chain and the links bit into the pale flesh of my throat.
I gagged, snarling, flaring, kicking.
Darkness rimmed my vision and when I blinked Simon came back blurry.
Fuck. No!
I was losing consciousness. He wasn’t letting up. I was going to die here. There was nothing I could do. I wasn’t strong enough against this man, and my best laid plans had failed. I could only hope Maria and the others managed to escape.
“Fucking die!” he yelled.
A ghastly croak escaped my lips, and my lips were so, so cold. I clawed up at Simon’s face, but it was a weak attempt, and I missed. The chain links drew blood as they dug into my neck and split my skin. My veins protruded, and I gasped my final breath—
As a warm shower of fluids splashed onto my face.
My eyes bulged open. The agonizing tightness around my throat loosened. I looked up at the same time as Simon looked down, and we both gazed at the tip of a bloody sword jutting out the base of his neck.
Simon coughed another spurt of blood and it landed on my face, sticky and warm. He gurgled red bubbles, face utterly shocked.
Then he slumped over to the side, off my hips.
