He yelped, then went to swing once more. I barely dodged, and the tip of his sword slashed my cheek, blood now coursing down my face.
The man saw an opening and took it, slamming his body into me. The force had me on the ground in seconds, my tailbone throbbing in pain from the blunt force. He stepped forward and kicked me in my side, and I choked as the wind was knocked out of me.
“You know,” he hissed, “a few of my men are missing. I wonder if you had anything to do with that, considering your boyfriend glared them down last week.” He delivered another kick to my side, and I cried out, his comrades cheering beside us. “But, seeing as though you’re a weak bitch, I don’t see that as a possibility.”
I clenched my fists, holding on to my dagger as tears flooded my eyes. He kicked me over and over again.
He wasn’t wrong. Quill was the one who had taken out those men, and I had just stood there and watched. If they took Quill, how could I stand a chance?
My head was spinning as another kick turned me to my front, and I took that opportunity to shove my dagger into his lower leg. He cried out, and just as the other men came charging at me, I heard a voice yelling my name.
“LENA!”
Chapter Twelve
Myeyesshottomy right, and I saw Quill rushing to me. Not imprisoned. Not being tortured.
Fuck, he wasn’t even here!
The man with my dagger in his shin ripped it from his leg, and blood spurted out. He gave me a savage smile as Quill came closer.
“Quill, watch out!” I screamed.
His eyes widened, and he moved out of the way just in time as the man launched my dagger toward him, barely missing.
“Let her go!” Quill raged. The darkness in his eyes was unlike any time I’d seen him, even during what happened at Amethyst Pond.
One of the other men let out a dry laugh. “Let her go? She’s the one who charged in here and attacked!”
His eyes shot down to me in disbelief.
“Why would you do that?!” Quill demanded.
“You…you didn’t show up. I-I was worried they took you…” I slapped my hand to my forehead, feeling like a complete idiot.
A second later, the man I had stabbed seized me by the neck, raising me to his eye level. I reached for his grasp and began to choke.
Quill unsheathed his sword and walked closer.
“Put. Her. Down.”
The man laughed. “You think I’m scared of you, boy?”
Quill gave a dark smile, his voice low as he said, "Your friends sure as hell were."
I couldn’t breathe.
“Q-Quill—” I barely stifled out as the man bared his teeth and tightened his grip on my throat. I wanted to tell him to run, but I couldn’t get out any more words as the man squeezed harder.
In the blink of an eye, Quill charged forward, moving savagely as he pierced his sword through the man’s side.
His eyes enlarged as they slowly traveled to his fatal wound. Even the men around him stilled in fright, gaping at what they witnessed.
Quill’s expression remained dark as he withdrew his sword, causing the man to collapse, me with him. My body hit the stony ground once more, and I gasped for air. Quill took a stance as he eyed all the men readying their weapons, but Otacian soldiers infiltrated the area before they could strike.
“Drop to your knees!” they ordered. The men of Serpent’s Cove snarled but obeyed.
“Are you alright, miss?” one of them asked as they raised me from the ground and surveyed my wounds.
