I’ve got this, Auwei said with a calm I certainly didn’t feel.
My right hand reached down and pulled another quickly spun gob of spider-silk from me, splashing up to throw it in the man’s face. It hit home, covering his eyes. He’d be occupied for a moment.
Then we were ducking under the water, avoiding a punch from the woman. Going horizontal, my feet found the wall behind me and pushed off, launching me through the water to the woman. I hit her — head first — in the belly. She folded. Auwei, through me, used that moment to dunk her under the water as we came up. She was off her feet and having trouble regaining them, flailing around frantic as I used every ounce of weight to keep her under the water.
One of her fists caught my ribs hard enough that I’d probably bruise, but doing little else. She struggled for a moment longer, then began to weaken and slow, then… she went still.
Well… that was sickening. I’d killed three people tonight, and I hadn’t liked any of it. My only solace was that they’d been trying to kill me, but even so, it still made bile rise in my throat. But I didn’t have time for that.
Releasing the woman’s head, I turned. The man had managed to scratch some of the spider-silk off his face, enough to free one eye.
I needed to deal with him quickly. Even with the spider’s silk — and my towel-wrapped left arm — over my gut, I knew I was losing far too much blood. I was growing weak. The man saw it too, the growing dark-red cloud around me in the waters. He grinned, a nasty thing, and came at me slowly. He’d managed to find his knife, and the blade gleamed, flashing in the light of that remaining lantern.
“Hazra said you’d be trouble, but I don’t think she foresaw any of this. You’ve killed Lyena there, and the others, but I think maybe all I need to do is wait and you’ll be gone soon enough.” That nasty grin grew.
My sight was growing dim, blackness fading in around the edges. I didn’t want to get close to him, not while he had that knife, but I’d have to do something.
That’s when I saw the two shapes coming out from the shower hall behind him.
“No,” I whispered, but there was no strength left in my voice.
The last thing I saw, before I blacked out was Pebble and Hearth charging at the man in the pool.
Chapter 11
I was rather surprisedto wake up at all, let alone in a comfortable bed.
I groaned as pain, more remembered than real, sank its teeth into my arm and stomach.
Don’t worry, we survived and you’re on the mend,Auwei said, sounding confident.Now that we’re Bonded, I’m only semi-aware while you’re unconscious, but I know we’ve been healed a little and bandaged up.
That sounded good, but I still felt like The Pits. I groaned again.
“Legs?” The voice was familiar.
I pulled my eyes open and rolled my head to the side, feeling groggy and exhausted.
I smiled at that as my gaze focused on the woman sitting next to my bed. First, I saw a pristine white gown, hands folded neatly in her lap. I looked up the strong, slender figure to find features I knew better than my own: golden-blond hair, bright blue eyes, small mouth, slight nose, and a familiar head-tilt.
“Dove,” I murmured, my voice sounding rough. My heart both leaped and settled.
“Hello, sister.”
“When did you get here?”
“I flew from the capital, as soon as I heard the news.” The capital was over five hundred miles away. She must have seen my look of stunned awe. “Doves can fly great distances quickly when needed,” she said with a smile. “And I had good reason to hurry.”
I nodded, head moving against my pillow.
After a moment, as my mind slowly cleared, something… the first word she’d said returned to me. “You called me Legs.” That seemed odd. “My name is Birch.”
She shook her head slowly. “You’re Bonded now. Your Silverveil name no longer applies, and I’m afraid, in your case, you don’t get a say in your True-Bonded name. It was what everyone here was calling you when I arrived. For better or worse, you’re Legs now, Sister.” She couldn’t quite repress her tight-lipped chuckle.
Oh… great.
There are worse names.
Like what?
