She needed to move.
She needed torun.
Off she went, though slower than normal because of the bow. Warriors glanced in her direction as she flew past. Then one stepped into her path, forcing her to pull up. Panicked, she lifted her bow and aimed it at his face. The man raised his shield, smacking the arrow aside before continuing towards her. Reaching back, she loaded her bow and tried again. The warrior hit it away with his axe this time.
Her hands slackened around the bow.
Turning back was no longer an option, and even if it was, she was not sure she would choose it. Not when Harlan was in the water.
She reloaded her bow and aimed it at the warrior’s face. When he raised his shield this time, she dropped her aim and shot him in the leg.
The man roared.
It was enough to get past him. She was off running again, arms pumping and eyes focused on the sea. She feared what she would see if she turned her head in either direction.
Her feet finally hit the water, but she did not slow down. Slinging her bow over her head, she dove into the frigid sea, emerging twenty feet from shore with a gasp. Her lungs closed in protest as she breathed in thick smoke. Boats burned in the distance. She coughed and looked around.
‘Harlan.’
The beach was long, the ocean big, and her voice was carried away by the smoke blowing in from the west. She swam away from it as Harlan would have done if he were alive. She turned in the water, glancing back at the beach where defenders now outnumbered the warriors. And yet they were no better off for it.
‘Harlan,’ she called.
Her mind raced, and her heart pounded in her ears. She stilled when she saw something floating in the distance. A body with multiple arrows protruding from it. A wave rolled the man towards the rocks at the end of the beach. She swam towards him, fighting the current the entire way.
‘Harlan!’
She could tell by the fletching that the arrows belonged to the sea warriors. The closer she got, the faster she swam. When she reached him, she caught him by the arm and rolled him over, taking in bloody water as she did so.
At first she did not think it was Harlan. Her eyes searched the pale face and blue lips that did not resemble the powerful defender she knew. But the longer she stared at him, the more familiar he became.
‘Harlan,’ she breathed. She resisted the urge to shake him and checked for a pulse instead. Her hands were shaking too much, her fingers too frozen to tell if he were alive or dead. Dead, surely. There were five arrows in him.
Five.
He coughed, and hope soared in Blake. She pulled his icy body closer to her, breathing against his cheek. ‘You’re all right. I’ve got you.’
His eyes opened for a moment, and he coughed again, this time bringing up water.
‘Good,’ she said. ‘Get it out. You’re alive, and you’re going to stay alive. You hear me?’
She knew she needed to get him out of the water if he stood any chance of surviving his injuries.
Get him warm.
Stop the bleeding.
She wrapped an arm around him and positioned herself beneath him, careful to avoid the arrow in his shoulder. How many arrow wounds could a person survive? She had no idea. There were another two in his arm, one in his side, and one in his back. That one scared her the most.
She studied his face as she began swimming towards the rocks at the end of the beach. His eyes were shut, his mouth slack. ‘Open your eyes. You need to stay awake.’
His eyes fluttered open, looking straight up at the sky. He coughed again, more seawater exiting his body.
‘Good,’ she said. ‘That’s good. Almost there.’
The weight of him kept pushing her head under the water. She was not the strongest swimmer, which did not help matters. She kicked her legs as hard as she could until finally her feet touched the bottom.
Relief pulsed through her.
