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“Are you going to be okay?”
“I have to be.” She stood straighter; her determination had returned.
“Let’s keep going then.”
They left the bloody scene behind them and made their way toward a new one.
They were horrified by what they saw next. There were bodies everywhere. Some intruders, but most were people of Andus. People they knew. She saw Carter’s body frozen where he’d been slain in a pool of his own blood and trampled snow. Terror and shock were frozen on the faces of the dead. The putrid smell of smoke and blood permeated the air.
Who would do something like this? Why would they do something like this? Andus had always been a peaceful community. It made no sense. His friends, his family, hadn’t deserved this.
Ali brought one hand to her mouth. She looked extremely pale, like she might be sick. Eli had the urge to protect this woman at all costs. Had it been a mistake to bring her here? Was it too late to leave?
They weaved their way through the red-soaked battlefield, and inched closer to the main entrance of Andus. The noise of combat grew louder. They snaked between decrepit buildings until they found themselves at the main entrance. This was it.
He turned to Ali. This might be the last time he ever saw her. There was an unbearable weight on his chest as their eyes met. An urgent need. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her in tight against his chest. With the other hand, he tilted her head back and leaned down to kiss her lips. They were cold, but as his lips pressed against hers, they warmed up. His tongue gently slipped out and her lips parted. For a moment, the world stood still as their tongues and limbs tangled.
Then he pulled away and planted one more kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Ali.” His lips brushed her skin. He didn’t need her to respond. “Let’s do this.”
She nodded solemnly.
Then they rounded another corner and charged into chaos.
***
Chapter Five
The scene took Ali’s breath away almost as much as Eli had just moments ago. She couldn’t believe that just that morning she’d been worried that life as his wife wouldn’t be enough. Now she might not have a life with Eli at all. That kiss had felt like a goodbye. Like she was about to lose him, and she wasn't ready to do that. Instead, she focused all her energy and attention on the war zone in front of her.
There was so much happening that it was hard to focus on any one thing. Before she could decide where to go first, an intruder rushed toward her, threw his arms around her waist and tackled her to the ground. The man was at least twice her size and it was too difficult to throw him off. She threw a quick punch to his nose, which knocked him back momentarily. She twisted and crawled along the ground, dirt piling beneath her fingernails. Then he grabbed a leg and pulled her back toward him. She screamed as her arms scraped on the rough surface and the tiny scratches started to bleed. Her attacker flipped her on her back so she faced the sky and gripped her wrists while she squirmed beneath him. His hold was too strong, and she couldn’t free her hands.
“Save that one,” another man with black hair and snow in his beard shouted over the commotion. “Put her with the rest.” He went back to wrestling with his own opponent.
Her heart pounded in her chest. When her attacker reached down to bind her hands, she swung her head at his with all her might. It was the worst pain she’d ever felt, but it worked and knocked him off. Her head seared from the impact. She felt like her skull was being split in half and her vision blurred. He appeared to be in an equal amount of pain, so she scrambled to her feet as quickly as possible, hoping to make her way back to one of the abandoned buildings and regain her composure. She could hardly see past the stars in her eyes, and she stumbled clumsily and fell back to the ground. Her chin crashed into the dirt.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The man with the black hair was back, and he pulled her off the ground by the collar of her shirt. The fabric wrapped tightly around her neck, choking her. She dug her fingers into the fabric, trying to make enough room to breathe. Her legs struggled to find balance as he yanked her to her feet.
She swung wildly at him with her knife. Her vision started to clear, but it still hadn’t returned to normal and she had all the grace of a newborn fawn. He ducked easily out of the way of her weapon and laughed. He laughed. This was the moment she truly felt defeated.
She gritted her teeth and jabbed again, hoping her knife would find its target, but missed once more.
“My, my, you are hopeless. Just a pretty girl with no brains or brawn. What a pity. I’m sure we’ll find a place for you, love.”
It disturbed her to know they didn’t intend to kill her. She didn’t want to know what sinister things they had planned instead.
She swung once more and this time he caught her by the wrist. He was right. She didn’t have the strength to match him. He dug so tightly into her skin that she dropped her weapon and fell to her knees.
“Ali!” She turned her head to see Eli running in her direction. He sliced through one intruder and then another. He was a natural fighter, but it wouldn’t be enough. He ran into two men and sank his knife into the one on his left side, allowing the one on the right to take advantage of his vulnerability. His assailant knocked him over the head with the hilt of a sword and Eli dropped to the ground, out cold, one hand still clinging to his knife. Blood trickled from his hairline down to his face.
“Eli!” Ali panicked. He was the one person she’d thought she could depend on, and now she was very much on her own. Her lip quivered and her heart shattered to see him lifeless like that.
The man knelt on his back and pushed him further into the snow and mud. Eli let out a soft groan and Ali let her tears fall freely.
“We can use him as well. Make sure you bind his hands tightly. Don’t want that one on the loose.” Ali’s captor turned his attention back to her. “Why are you crying, love? We haven’t even done anything yet.” He mimicked his partner, raising the hilt of his sword and bringing it down with force. Everything went black.
When Ali regained consciousness, she was lying on a wet floor. It was dark and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. She wasn’t alone. There were several other people who were also bound and gagged. The cloth was so dry it made her mouth feel like a desert. Her head swiveled on her neck and she fought against the gag. She felt like she was choking. Like she was dying. She couldn’t breathe.
