Page 76 of Memory of Ashes

“Then we have no need for you anymore.”

The words drained all the blood from her body. She’d stupidly thought there might have been some part of him that still felt something for her.

She leaped back as he drew his sword. It barely missed her stomach.

She was weaponless. Defenceless.

He stood blocking the exit, sword raised. She bolted in the opposite direction, deeper into the mines. His footsteps echoed through the tunnel close behind her.

Skidding on the dusty floor, she twisted into a passageway. It was a dead end.

A discarded pickaxe lay on the floor. She grabbed it and made her stand, knowing it wouldn’t be enough.

He rounded the corner and halted as she stood there in his path, ready to face him.

He came within striking distance.

She swung the axe. He stayed back, wary of her. The handle shook in her grasp.

He advanced. The weapons clanged as his sword met her axe. The metal scraped as she pushed it away.

She caught his next blow with the wooden handle of the axe. It snapped. He was too strong. She had no chance, even with all her training.

He swung again, and she lashed out at him desperately, throwing all her strength and power at him, hoping to block something, to slow him down.

He dropped his sword. It clattered to the rocky ground, echoing through the mine.

She looked up at him, shocked.

His eyes closed, and pain contorted his face. Sweat ran from his forehead, and when his eyes opened, they shone with the glow that had been missing.

“Run, Amelia!” he shouted.

What just happened?

She ran through the mine towards the exit without a thought for the guards waiting outside. She skidded to a halt when she reached the surface. The guards sat shackled together, with Tharos, Ruven, and Danae standing over them.

“Where is he?” Tharos asked.

“He’s still in there. He was going to kill me, but he told me to run.”

“Let’s go quickly,” Danae said.

“What’s happening?”

“No time. We need to go now.”

They mounted, taking one of the guard’s horses for Amelia, and they galloped hard.

Why had he stopped? She’d tried to block his strength, hoping to slow his movements, but he’d completely stopped. She almost didn’t want to leave him there. He looked so broken.

“Where are we going?” Amelia asked.

“Back,” Tharos said.

Amelia went stiff. What did he mean, back? She thought they’d come to rescue her.

He noticed her stiffen.