AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Rori—”
My voice tangled into a scream when two sturdy arms wrapped around my waist. I kicked and flung my bound hands around until a palm slapped over my mouth, and the jab of a knife met my ribs.
“Hush. There will be a place for you to scream later.” His voice was death. Dark, cold, unfeeling. Bloodsinger drew a bit of blood from the pressure of his knife, barely splitting the skin, but if I kept thrashing, no mistake, my heart would meet the point.
His breaths grew rough, almost haggard, as he dragged us between the wall of the fort and a stone smokehouse. Woodsy smells coated the sweat on my brow, the blood on his hands.
One arm wrapped possessively around my waist, Bloodsinger kept my body tight to his chest, his hand over my mouth and nose.
“Foolish games bring dangerous rewards,” he hissed near my ear. “Remember that.”
I stomped my foot on his toe, maneuvered out of his hold, and reached for the blade in his hand. Bloodsinger’s face twisted in anger when I grabbed the hilt. With my hands bound, I was no match for him, and with a severe twist he yanked the knife away.
His palm surrounded my throat, squeezing. Not enough to cut off air, but enough to threaten. “Listen to me, love. The sooner you follow my order, the sooner we leave your folk in our wake. Less lives lost. Your choice.”
Each word crept from behind and throttled me. I go. The others live.
How was it even a choice when, if Bloodsinger spoke true, they were under attack because of me?
I didn’t trust the man, but he shared the same mark as me. He appeared not a full day after I touched the bleeding Chasm. This was my fault, and my fault alone. I’d take my fate if it meant my people were safe.
I opened my mouth to agree to his twisted terms, but was interrupted by a voice that cracked my heart.
“Livie!” Rorik’s cry was strong, but beneath the bravado was a quiver of fear. “You let go of my sister.”
Bloodsinger shifted forcefully, causing me to fall back onto my hip. My head whipped around, eyes wide. “No! Rorik, run!”
My brave, stupid brother bit his bottom lip. His skinny arms lifted an axe he must’ve found in the game yard. Too heavy for him to properly swing, he gritted his teeth and lifted it against Bloodsinger.
The sea king tilted his head. “Little one looks just like him.”
His hand choked the hilt of his dagger. The moment it flinched, I bolted to my feet.
“No!” I shoved myself between them, holding out my tethered hands like a supplicant. “Don’t touch him.Please.”
He held my gaze, a wild, manic fire in the strange red of his eyes, then he looked over me at Rorik, the boy still desperately trying to steady his axe.
I whimpered when Bloodsinger gripped the back of my neck and pulled me close. “Keep up, love, or I change my mind and scatter his bones.”
The hilt of his dagger struck Rorik in the head. I screamed, and Bloodsinger caught me around the waist, hand over my mouth. Rorik crumbled to the ground, still as death but for the soft rise and fall of his chest.
“Move.” Bloodsinger gripped my wrists and led us into the storm.
Our pace was rapid, even with the painful lag of his leg. He was limping. In truth, I hadn’t realized I’d kicked him so hard, but it gave me a single glimmer of light to cling to as he ripped me from my world. My folk.
We wove through battles and blades. Thoughts burned to a murky fog in my mind and tears skimmed along my lashes but never fell. Stun gathered like a shield over my body, guarding me away from the screams, the blood, the sharp slice of steel over steel.
A decade of peace had spun into a massacre in a single night.
I drew in shaky breaths, never entirely filling my lungs, and stumbled behind the sea king. Afraid to fight, afraid Bloodsinger would make good on his threat regarding Rorik.
“Livia!” Aleksi’s voice rose over the battle. “He has the Night Folk princess. Go, move,move!”
A wet sob caught somewhere between my throat and my nose. I tried not to look, but one slight glance over my shoulder gave up Aleksi’s frantic expression. My cousin and half a dozen Rave battled their way through the crowd, shouting my name.
Jonas and Sander were there, eyes black with their haunting magic, and both desperately fighting beside Alek. Both held blacksteel blades and sliced through gambesons and chests as they battled like one mind.
“Livie!” Mira shrieked.
