Ambrose threw her body down the hallway but only made it a few steps when Rowland’s fingers wrapped in her hair and threw her onto the soggy floor.
Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to leave part of it down.
Rowland’s eyes shone bright in the darkness, even with no firelights to illuminate them.
“I thought I already killed you.” Rowland stepped closer as Ambrose rolled backwards and up onto her feet.
She pulled the dagger from her side—learning from the fight she just saw—leaving her sword untouched at her hip.
Rowland lunged and wrapped a giant hand around her throat and squeezed, stealing the air from her lungs.
“Not yet,” she gritted out and sank the dagger into his wrist and pulled with all her might. Putting everything she had into it, metal bit through flesh until it connected with bone. Then she kept pushing until her blade touched nothing but air.
Rowland howled, bringing the now severed stump to his chest as his blood soaked her face, choking her in it.
She pried the fingers from his hand still wrapped around her throat and let it fall to the ground as air came rushing back into her burning throat. She gulped it in as her body crumpled to the ground, jumping back a few paces to get as far away from his death grip as she could.
Rowland’s scream sounded like there were multiple of him as the sound bounced off the stone and reverberated back to her. He tried to run to close the distance she’d made but with how large and awkward his body was, his shoulders hit the sides as his head scraped the top, giving him no room to get to her quickly.
This gave Ambrose all the time she needed.
Crouching low, she pressed her hands into the ground and called to the stone around them. Her charge filled the space quickly, vibrating against the stone as she willed the material to answer. Demanded that it did. It vibrated as though eager to respond.
When she felt the hum inside of her flow jaggedly throughout the stone, she pulled her hands together and the walls shook violently. Obeying her command, the rock burst from the walls as stone and debris fell on top of Rowland’s body, burying him where he fell. Crushed under the impact, only his head and remaining good hand were left exposed as he ground his teeth together in fury. Teeth large enough to crush human bone.
“I’ll find you. And Iwillkill you.” He glared as he shifted his body under the rubble but all it did was manage to bury him deeper in it as stone broke and fell.
Ambrose cocked a smile at him. “Maybe another day. But not today.” Relief and terror bubbling in her throat as she took off down the hall.
She tucked her dagger back into her corset and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Right.
Left.
Unlike the tunnels in the palace that went every which way but often led to dead ends in a stuffy room, these tunnels guided her further in with no end in sight. Curving and twisting, some led her to a blank wall in which she’d have to backtrack and try another one. She quickly realized that what she did know about the tunnels would be no help to her there.
She stepped over bodies that had been taken down by weapons and claws, limbs littering spaces. She did her best not to look. She forced herself to ignore the fallen warriors and keep pressing forward no matter what. She almost vomited when she came across three dismembered bodies and told herself to keep moving.
There had to be an exit.
Left.
Right.
Left.
She reached another dead end when she stopped again to catch her breath.
She took a moment to calm her nerves, breathing deeply as she tried to assess her options.
She didn’t stand there long before a chill ran up her spine.
