Adrenaline thrust me from one task to the next without hesitation. I barged into the prisoners’ tents unannounced. Some gasped at my abrupt intrusion, but I wasted no time revealing our plan. As I worked to free them of their chains with the keys I’d lifted from the fallen guards, the frail men and women seemed almost dazed from disbelief. I restated the importance of speed, and with fractured nods, they gathered their will.
Unlocking Delia’s ankle restraints, I had to stave off the flood of emotions. “Go,” I whispered to the woman who’d been my only confidante in this poisoned pit.
She tenderly cupped my jaw. Her wobbly smile said every word we didn’t have time for. I rested my hand upon her wrist, fighting back tears of guilt and gratitude. She was the sole reason my brothers evaded The Order for as long as they have. With a reassuring squeeze, we said our silent goodbyes.
I directed them east, toward the mountains that framed the sea. They would need to take the least logical path before heading south to avoid Order members who’d be sent to hunt them. I questioned how many would make it, considering their feeble states, but dying free would be better than in captivity, and we needed their distraction.
The dark forest swallowed them all before I focused on retrieving Ro’s friends. With purposeful strides, I made my way to the draining tent. Four guards were still posted out front, peering toward the rising commotion of the ring. I closed the gapby jogging to accentuate urgency. “The prisoners! They’ve taken out the guards and fled into the woods!” I pointed south.
Two stared at me with scrutinizing glares, the other two exchanging a look before silently agreeing that one of them should go. Three guards still remained.
Well, that didn’t go as planned. Each ticking second held the hope of an arrow flying out of the dark to strike them down—but it didn’t come.
“Aren’t you going to go help track them down,hunter?” one of the guards questioned with a bitter edge to his words. Since I’d killed that guard in the ring several nights ago, my reputation had grown. Those who were threatened by my dominance and knew I’d be considered more of an asset to The Order would try to deflate my status with cutting remarks. He had no idea how little I cared about what he thought of me.
Every passing moment of inaction made my presence more suspicious. I debated the consequences of taking all three at once when an axe came out of nowhere, lodging into the spine of the guard who’d questioned me. The remaining two drew their swords and turned to face the oncoming attacker, leaving their backs exposed.
By the time I stepped forward, I’d shifted. My powerful maw wrapped around the midsection of a guard and I jerked my head, sending him flying. He screamed the entire way, silencing when his body thudded against the ground.
The remaining guard focused on the axe thrower. He was my last obstacle. With a single strike, my claws tore through his armor, shredding his flesh. He crumpled to the ground in agony, crying until an axe found its resting place between his collarbone and head. Gasping gurgles faded into deadly silence.
I shifted, staring face-to-face with Kasia. She held no other weapons, and we assessed each other in a silent standoff.
“You freed the prisoners?” she asked, chest heaving, emotion clogging her throat.
No point in lying. Kasia wouldn’t stand a chance against me. “I did.”
Her tense stance softened, her shoulders dropping. She huffed out a breath. “Good. My husband was one of them.” Glistening torchlight in her welling eyes confirmed the truth.
“They headed east,” I said.
“Smart. You breaking these ones out, too?” She gestured to the tent now unguarded.
“You know about them?”
“I’m very good at keeping records.” She smirked.
I ducked into the tent to find Tio and Melody standing upright in unconscious states, chained against angled boards. Metal jingled from behind, then Kasia entered, holding a key.
“The Eleven are probably already on their way. Won’t take them long to figure out what the commotion is about,” she said while fitting the key into Tio’s chains and forcing the lock until it clicked. Her fingers were deft and nimble, targeting Melody’s lock next.
I unfurled the chains that’d been looped around Tio’s midsection. They dropped with a solid thunk. He slumped forward, and I caught him. This was going to be a challenge, if not damned impossible, to get them out of here like this. Melody’s chains fell next, but when I glanced upward, she and Kasia were nowhere in sight.
Icy panic swept over me, wondering if I'd fallen for one of The Order's tricks.
“Come on!” Kasia whispered, her voice sounding as close as she had been, with no evidence of her being there.
My eyes were wide, gaze frantic as I peered around the small, darkened enclosure barely lit from a small lantern in the corner. She appeared before my eyes in an instant, Melody’s arm slungover her shoulder while the blonde remained unconscious. Kasia reached her hand toward me. “I can shield us. Hurry!”
I didn’t waste time. We pushed through the tent opening to see on duty patrol and members running in all directions. From the sounds of it, the crowd had only grown more unstable. Kasia tugged me forward, heading toward the front gates. She was visible to me now that she held onto me, but from the way others passed without a single glance in our direction, I knew we were invisible.
“Wait,” I said.
She didn’t stop moving, trying to pull me when I resisted. “What are you doing!?”
“I can’t leave Ro.” I gazed around. She was supposed to meet up with me at the tent. I thought it had been her throwing the axes, but she hadn’t shown up yet.
And not even the gods could make me leave her behind.
