I knew what she wasn’t saying. They wouldn’t kill her, but they may not help her either.
But a shooting pain in my shoulder reminded me that we didn’t have time to debate what Malheim would and would not do for my cousin. I was wounded.
“You’re right,” I agreed with Ena, running for the door, her footsteps ringing out on the floor behind me. “Let’s go.”
The courtyard was a blood bath, and making our way to the door which led to the exterior was full of obstacles. From falling men to swinging weapons, and arrows flying over thewall, many of them landing indiscriminately in friends and foe alike.
Ena was faster than I was, likely because my left arm was already burning and tingling, but she stuck with me, dragging me along by my right hand when I lagged behind. I was her ticket out of here and she knew it.
We finally managed to break through the outside door, the only thing between us and freedom was the large field and a climb of the outer stone wall. I took a deep breath to settle my resolve.
Digging deep into my battered body, I called up the last dregs of my energy, taking off at a sprint through the tall grass.
The wall was visible, but that was the least of our problems as arrows continued to whizz overhead. I attempted to direct my magic to keep the arrows away from us, but I hadn’t ever attempted to use my magic while moving before, and it was difficult to focus on both that and my feet. Ena tried to guide me, her knowledge of the area surrounding the keep superior to my own, but we still found ourselves facing the lake, which was the only path to the wall that was free from arrows.
“Come on, we can swim. It goes beneath the exterior wall even,” Ena explained between gasps.
“I can’t swim,” I admitted, wondering how many times that small fact would come back to bite me. “And my wound . . .” I could feel the blood, sticky, on my back.
Ena cringed, she had forgotten about the knife protruding from my shoulder apparently. “We can stay in the shallows, and then I’ll help you beneath the wall.”
“Okay,” I agreed, letting Ena take the lead once more as we splashed through the water at ankle height. It was easy at first, but then the water entered my boots, weighing them down.
“Take off your shoes,” Ena demanded, already reaching down to unlace her own.
I did so, tossing them on the shore. The mud between my toes made me feel uneasy, but at least we weren’t dodging arrows.
Then water was to my knees.
Our pace slowed significantly, having to lift our knees high to run, something that was difficult in the long dresses we both wore. Ena held what she could of her dress in the hand that wasn’t carrying the pack, and I did the same with the arm that wasn’t burning in pain. I wished I had the breeches I’d arrived in, but they’d been taken to be laundered and not returned.
The wall came into view, just as my vision began to blur.
I was losing too much blood.
“Ena,” I gasped just as I started to collapse.
“I got you!” she called, releasing her dress in favor of grabbing me around the midsection as I lost my footing. “I’ve got to go deeper so the water can help carry your weight.”
I had no idea what she was saying, but I nodded my consent as she waded deeper, the sound of rushing water intensifying. We must be close to where it ventured beneath the wall.
I don’t know when I shut my eyes, or how long it took to get to that point. But suddenly, Ena was nudging me. “Hold your breath, and don’t breathe until I say so.”
I nodded again. Then I was enveloped by the water. And fear.
Cold seeped through my clothing and skin, and though I’d captured what little air I could in my lungs, it became clear that it wasn’t enough. I was going to drown.
My lungs burned, right along with the wound on my shoulder, but Ena’s grip didn’t release. I wanted to open my eyes, to make sure she was okay, but I knew the water would probably burn.
Suddenly, it didn’t matter anymore.
I was going to die if I didn’t get air soon.
I snapped open my eyelids, only to be met by darkness, the water feeling like tiny needles as the oppressive liquid came in contact with my eyeballs. I couldn’t see Ena.
I felt for her arm, which was still around my midsection. I tapped it, trying to indicate we needed to surface.
Nothing changed.
