I would’ve taken a moment to appreciate my friend's efficient sword work if I weren’t gasping from exhaustion. His movements were a dance, gliding and shifting effortlessly across the room while taking on a man twice his size. Meanwhile, Maris and I were shaking and barely holding off the other guard.
A female stood from the group and threw out her hand. A gust of wind threw Asher against the wall, and her head hit with a sickly crack. Maris flung her sword through the guard’s chest a moment later. My heart sank as the woman fell to the ground, grappling for the blade that remained buried.
Jaspar took on the male guard I’d been struggling to fend off. He ended it swiftly by slicing through his neck. The last guardlay in the corner, body scorched by someone’s fire magic I hadn’t seen deployed.
I turned away and found a blonde woman wrapping Fisher’s leg. I cringed seeing his skin so ashen; he’d lost too much blood. Bending down, I knelt beside him, examining the white bandage that was turning crimson.
“It needs to be tighter,” I said, tearing off the sleeves of my dress and making strips to tie around the leg just above the wound. Maris and I worked together, each pulling opposite sides tight before knotting the material. Several ties later, the flow of blood began to slow. But he still risked losing the limb if we waited too long to get him to a proper healer.
“Audryn,” Fisher groaned, “I’m sorry. For everything. You need to know that, in case I don’t make?—”
“The only way you’re dying is if I kill youmyself,” I interrupted and smiled. “And that will not happen today. So don’t get your hopes up.”
Shouts roared through the hall, drawing all of our attention. Several pairs of boots smacked against the stone floors, and their echoes grew louder. I looked at the too-small windows, realizing we were trapped if we stayed.
“You three will carry him,” Jaspar ordered. “You two, take Maris and Audryn’s swords and stay at the back while I take the lead and get us the fuck out of here!” Nobody questioned his orders; they simply fell in line, and we moved.
We made our way through the halls of the prison, occasionally stopping to fight off the onslaught of guards coming at us. The hallways felt longer; the guards increased both in size and numbers.
Prisoners shouted as we passed, and as much as I wanted to free them, there was nothing I could do without a key. “I’m sorry,” I muttered as we continued forward.
A single door stood ajar, and I almost didn’t push it open, thinking it might be a trap. But when my eyes saw the roaringfire, a small table with chairs around it, and food scattered on various surfaces, I realized it was a room for guards to rest. They had left in a hurry, hadn’t locked it behind them and, thank the land, left it open.
I motioned the group inside.
A small rectangular window was toward the top of one wall, a couple of feet from the ceiling. It was the only access to the outside, and since we had found no other exit, it was our best hope for getting out of there.
“Shut the door and lock it,” Jaspar shouted at me, and then turned to a blonde male who looked Kamden’s age. “Push the table under the window,” Jaspar commanded.
I glanced out to the still-empty hall, confirming we weren’t followed. Closing the door and engaging the lock, I finished my job while others worked together to complete their tasks.
“How are we going to get Fisher out?” I whispered to Jaspar, seeing he had the same idea to use the window as an exit.
“I’m not sure.” He shook his head and looked at the guard lying limp next to the roaring flames.
“You don’t have a plan to get him out? He needs a healer, or he’s going to die!” My voice was still hoarse.
“You don’t have a plan either, and he’syourfriend,” Jaspar snapped at me, and then paused. “I’m sorry. I just saw my friends killed.” He shook his head and inhaled. “Give me a minute. I’ll figure something out.”
One person knelt on top of the table while boosting another up. The woman standing gave updates while she peeked out. “There are guards running towards us with gaps in between every time they go through the door to the prison.”
“For every gap, two of you go. Take swords with you, but leave a couple behind,” Jaspar ordered. “Find a place with cover until we all get out. We leave together.”
We’d collected several swords along the way, and nearly half of us had one in hand. I had Jaspar’s dagger and had offered it tohim. But when he’d asked if I'd completed the task and I shook my head, he’d told me to hold on to it until I accomplished my goal.
Two by two, members of the resistance left through the window. The opening was so small, only one could pass at a time. One of the larger members nearly couldn’t fit at all, but he sucked in his belly, giving him a few more inches of clearance to shimmy through.
Jaspar, Fisher, Maris, and I were the only ones left by the time the banging on the door started. It wasn’t just the pounding, but the voices behind it that told me their sole purpose would be to kill everyone they found inside.
Leaving Fisher’s side, I knelt down on the table. “Okay, you two next.”
“What? No. I’m not leaving you.” Jaspar’s eyes bore into me.
“No offense, Audryn, but I won’t be waiting around.” Maris stepped into my interlaced hands. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
“Thank you for everything,” I said. “And just so you know, I was never the one that?—”
She smirked. “It was that bitch Leanna, wasn’t it?”
