But if she was fated to die today, she wasn’t going down without a fight. She slid her feet into the fighting stance that had become second nature to her over the long nights in the woods. How natural it felt. But how different this opponent would be. How different this fight would be.
“You think you have achoice?” The guard threw his head back and the laugh that left his throat was a mixture of hysterical and excited.
“Ialwayshave a choice,” she spat back at him and threw her gown to the ground. It would be no help to her now and it would only hinder her in hand-to-hand combat. Servant uniforms weren’t made for combat mobility the way the rest of Eltorian fashion was.
The guard stared at her naked body like she’d just spread the kingdom’s greatest feast in front of him. There was no charge around him, so the likelihood of him being a mage was slim at best. She at least had that advantage. But, he had one of his own. The hilt of his sword glinted from his side as his hands expertly raised it from its home.
Ambrose blew out her candle, plunging them both into complete darkness. Their uneven breathing the only sound that cut the air between them.
“I’m going to have a lot of fun breaking you.” His voice echoed off the walls as though coming from every direction.
The crackle under Ambrose’s skin wanted to force its way out. Out of her very nerves. But she forced her channels to calm.
Breathe.
Her magick wasn’t strong enough yet, and she had no weapon to protectherself. If she wanted to live, she was going to have to be smart.
So she turned on her heel and ran.
The night air stung her face and throat as she willed her muscles to run as fast as they could carry her. Her legs burned with every step she took but she pushed on. Where could she go? The servant dorms were now out of the question. As soon as word got out, or if he followed her and told them what happened—that she defied him—she could be executed on the spot.
She knew the city. Knew how to get around without being seen or noticed. She’d done it hundreds of times with Adym. She knew exactly where that crack would be waiting for her to slip outside and be gone forever, nothing but a memory.
Pain exploded into the back of her head with a dull crack and she crumpled to the ground. Something wet dripped from her hair to the marble floors, staining it with her terror. Her vision waved in and out, head spinning as she forced herself to focus.
No. No. No. No. Get up. Move!
She placed the palms of her hands to the cold floor but when she went to lift herself she was met with the force of a boulder on her back. The guard’s knee pressed into her spine, pinning her to the ground.
She couldn’t breathe.
“Oh yes. I’mverymuch going to enjoy breaking you,” he hissed the words in her ear, dragging them out as though savoring the thought.
She wanted to puke.
She couldn’t breathe.
“I’ve never had one fight back before.” His knee pressed harder. “It’s fascinating. Honestly, I think it makes it better.”
She couldn’t breathe!
A blinding light pierced the darkness, assaulting both of them. A light so bright, Ambrose couldn’t see where it ended or began. Just that it filled the entire corridor, the entire wing, maybe even the entire palace. As fast as it appeared, it vanished, allowing her just enough time to take advantage of the guard’s confusion and leap from the floor, his sword in her hands.
She didn’t have time to think. Overthinking right now could get her killed. She had the full advantage. She had her magick, and now his sword. It was bigger than she was used to. Her arms protested, threatening to buckle under the weight but she held strong.
There was no other option. She turned on her heel one final time, with a speed that could only have been born from countless hours of her own training and faced her opponent.
A squelching sound and guttural scream invaded the corridor and echoed off the walls as though the palace itself was screaming. The darkness claiming anything other than sound.
The scream came from the guard, whose facial expression was forever stamped into a look of disbelief as they both looked down at the sword buried in his chest.
This time, there was no cold.
No hunger.
No anger.
Not even a light behind his eyes.
