The animals growl, and then Gabriel curses. My eyes find him immediately.
Oh, suns. Oh, gods. Oh,no. Panic is a fist squeezing my lungs, and a strangled gasp escapes me.
Gabriel is cornered in a tightly packed cluster of trees, the trunks as wide as several men put together. There’s nowhere for him to run.
A scream rises in my throat as Hedran raises his sword, slicing downwards. Gabriel moves out of the way, but he isn’t fast enough. His sleeve gapes open, and blood streaks down his arm.
No, no, no.
Thatthingdeep inside me grows barbs, twisting tighter and tighter. Forcing me to pay attention. Urging me forward. The only thing holding me back is Gabriel’s warning.
I don’t know what to do.
“You should’ve let me take her,” Hedran says menacingly. “It didn’t have to come to this.”
Their swords clash once more, a resounding shriek that I’ll remember for the rest of my days. Gabriel’s movements are slowing, and sweat is beading on his forehead. The red patch on his right arm has reached beyond his elbow.
“You can’t have her,” Gabriel grits out, blocking blow after blow.
With each movement, that wet patch grows and grows and fucking grows.
“When you’re dead, no one will stop me.” Hedran smirks as if he’s eager for Gabriel’s demise, and he advances.
Burning suns, there’s nowhere for Gabriel to go. My Hunter’s eyes widen as he seems to realize the same thing I do.
“I saw the posters,” Hedran taunts, slashing his sword. Gabriel groans as a crimson line blooms across his chest. “I know the girl is a pretty little thing.”
Another slash. Another red line. A pained groan from the man I’m supposed to hate. That I used to hate.
But why is my heart twisting? Why am I leaning towards Gabriel? Why am I swallowing a scream as the other Hunter mercilessly brings his sword down again and again.
“Perhaps I’ll taste her before I hand her over to the king,” Hedran suggests.
“No,” Gabriel growls, pushing off the tree. Staggering towards the other man. He ducks and twists, evading Hedran’s next blow. “I won’t let you have her.”
Metal sings as their swords meet once again. On and on, they fight, but blood keeps pouring from Gabriel’s wounds. Each of his movements is slower than the last. They are no longer effortless or graceful but filled with echoes of deep pain.
And then, in a move that’s too quick for my untrained eye to follow, Hedran disarms Gabriel and flings his sword deep into the woods, away from us all.
My hand flies to my mouth, muffling my cry as Hedran points his sword at Gabriel’s chest.
Panic twists my heart as Hedran forces Gabriel to walk backwards until his back hits the tree once more. The other man keeps advancing. He presses his forearm against Gabriel’s throat and chuckles darkly. The tussling animals yelp, but I can’t bear to look away even for a moment. Hedran angles the tip of his sword towards Gabriel’s heart, and horror grips me in its clutches.
My Hunter struggles, trying to shove the other man away, but between his weakened state and the tree at his back, he’s caught in a trap.
Once a predator, now he’s prey. The dark irony has bile rising in my throat.
Hunter Erlet laughs, and the disturbing sound rattles me to my core, reminding me far too much of the head priestess who stole Amelia’s life.
Hedran is going to kill Gabriel. The knowledge settles in my stomach like a heavy stone, and I swallow roughly.
I can’t let that happen.
Even though Gabriel hunted me, even though we haven’t dealt with all the problems between us, I refuse to stand by and watch him die. I must help him.
My feet are moving before I can form an actual plan.
“Don’t!” I shout, my voice carrying through the forest as I dart out of my hiding place. My hood falls back in my haste, the sky-blue glow pushing back the darkness as I race towards the pair. “Don’t kill him!”
