I’m too much of a coward to do anything. Too craven to walk right up to the guards and show them who they’re looking for.
I can’t protect these women. So, I protect myself.
Slipping in the blacksmith’s door, I pull my hood down. Myles stands at the back, sheathing swords and daggers. He turns, surprised to see me here, but registers the pain in my face. Nothing he could say would help, not this time. If the guards caught me, I’d face worse.
“What happened? Are you okay?” he asks.
“Some guards found Wyatt and me while we were waiting at the bridge. They demanded I show them my back before they would let me leave. Wyatt punched one of them, but they hit him on the back of the head.” I pace back and forth. “I had to leave him. He was bleeding so much, but I had to, they chased me through the streets. I ran as fast as I could to you.”
Myles strides towards me, wrapping his arms around me. “Breathe, love, Wyatt will be fine. We’ll be fine.” Taking a few shaky breaths, Myles reaches past me, picking up his bag. “Ready?”
We head out of the door, hoping to slip through the lanes, away from the crowd.
“There you are, lovely.”
Chapter Ten
Andi
The voice of the toothless guard shivers down my spine, paralysing every muscle in my body. Myles tightens his grip around my waist.
“We can do this the easy way—” Toothless gestures to the temple behind him. “Or the hard way.”
The sharp sound of his sword being drawn from its sheath is reminiscent of the thin ice on the lake, fracturing beneath my feet. The looming threat of the frozen depths waiting to submerge me.
My pounding heart pulsates in my ears. Four guards stalk around the edge of my peripheral vision, predators pursuing their prey. I swivel on my heels, my wide eyes meeting the vicious glare of toothless.
Myles’s fingers slip off my waist as he reaches for a wooden barrel, throwing it towards the guards. The crash caught one unprepared, knocking him to the ground. Within seconds, the others draw their weapons and step towards us. Myles grabs my arm and drags me with him.
We sprint down the lane, tumble around corners, leaving clattering objects in our wake. Terrified to slow down as we barrel past folk, the yells of protest rebound off the cramped alley. Myles tips over a tower of wooden boxes and crates onto the ground behind us, hoping all the debris will slow our hunters down.
Blocking our exit are waiting guards, with swords drawn. We skid to a stop, creating a fog of gravel sailing through the air. Using the distraction, we search for another escape route.
An army of red emerges through the mist. “Myles…” I say, my voice quivering as I reach for him.
He doesn’t answer; instead, he focuses his attention on a decaying door to our right. With one almighty kick, the door flies off its hinges, flying into a dusty storeroom. Myles yanks my arm, dragging me behind him, and my feet barely touch the floor. Once inside, he heaves a bookshelf over barricading the door. Giving us just enough time to run.
The guards kick the bookshelf out of the way, while we rush through the old building, until we reach the front door. Having been lying dormant for a while, it creaks and groans when opened. We speed down the cobblestoned roads of Oldtown, slipping past the drunken clientele of the tavern and stumbling down the wooden steps into the cellar. Hearing shouting from above, we conceal ourselves between whisky barrels and crates of wine.
The cellar is silent, save a few rats, squeaking and scavenging. Above us stomp heavy footsteps and loud voices. I hold my breath waiting for the guards to find us hiding down here. Several harrowing minutes pass before the footsteps disappear, and I let out an unsteady breath. Myles rests his head against the back wall as relief washes over us both. He stares at me with his eyes full of pain.
Pain for the woman he loves being chased.
Or pain from the loss of a peaceful life he dreamed of, destroyed.Because of me. His dream of the house by the willow tree was always a fantasy, a dream not made for us.Or at least for me.
Myles strains his neck to look over the barrels before whispering, “I think it’s safe.”
One quiet step at a time, we make our way to the cellar exit. Myles lifts the door open, peering outside before allowing me to follow. We walk towards the bridge, making no sound that would alert them to our presence. With no sign of anyone at all, we make the quick decision to run for it.
“Gotcha.”
A guard slips out of a door behind us, smashing the hilt of his sword into Myles’ head, another grabs me from behind and covers my mouth.I bite the hand as hard as I can and my mouth fills with a metallic taste, making my stomach churn, but it does the job. The guard screams, dropping me to the ground. I crawl along towards Myles, wiping the blood from my chin. Someone smacks me over the back of my head.
My vision blurs, and I feel as though I weigh nothing. I am thrown over a shoulder and taken back into town.Through spotty vision, I watch as multiple guards kick and punch Myles, leaving him beaten on the ground, blood pouring down his face.Kicking and screaming, I’m followed by the guards who viciously beat Myles.
Tossed onto the steps of the temple, landing with a thud and a loud crack at my ribs, my breath hitches at the pain.
“We have been lenient with you all, yet you still disobey Lord Adrian’s orders.”
