It was quite the sight: the fae on the ground, one star embedded in his forehead, the other close to his heart, and the redhead standing over him, fae blood staining her brass knuckles.
She turned to Lora, breathing heavily, brown eyes looking up at her. “Are there others with you?”
Lora shook her head. Her voice seemed to have left her. Right, she wasn’t here for her. There were more humans captured. Lora sucked in a sharp breath. She had been too preoccupied by the fight to fully realise that this girl lookedhuman.She didn’t look fae at all. Her eyes held no otherworldly shine to them or unique colour.
“Where are the others?” the girl demanded, pressing the star further into the fae’s flesh as she leaned in.
His face constricted in pain. “Like I’d tell you. Go ahead, kill me. I bet you don’t have the guts to go through with it.”
The girl laughed, her voice carrying threats. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
“He said they would sell them somewhere,” Lora said as she finally found her voice.
“Is that so?” She put pressure on the wound in his chest and the fae coughed blood. “Tell me where or I promise, you’ll wish I already killed you.”
The fae remained quiet. The girl had placed a hand on the star in his forehead when a loud shriek caught her attention. Her gaze shifted, turning every direction to whatever was happening close by. Lora realised she had tuned out all the noise around them. There was another fight happening. People shouting, curses traveling in the air. There was a ringing in Lora’s ear that made it difficult to make out concrete sounds. Her head felt hollowed out.
The girl grabbed the fae by his hair and knocked his head against the hard ground. The fae went limp, but Lora assumed he couldn’t be dead. Not yet.
A young face appeared in her vision. The girl’s eyes travelled over Lora before settling on Lora’s hands. She stepped into the carriage and moved to unbind them. “Sorry, I probably should’ve done that sooner.”
Lora looked over the girl’s shoulder to the unconscious fae. “I think you were kind of busy saving my life and all.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Trust me, I enjoyed punching the smile off his face.”
Lora’s hands came free and she rubbed at her irritated skin.
“Can you walk?” the girl asked.
Lora braced her arm against the bench next to her and pulled herself up. She hissed in pain as her ankle protested and her skull threatened to explode.
She hadn’t realised she was so close to losing her balance until she felt an arm bracing her, guiding her to the bench.
There was a loud crashing noise in the distance again. The girl glanced between the door and Lora. “Did someone shout something?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe?”
The redhead angled her head back to get a better glimpse of the outside. “I hate to do this, but it seems like some ass kicking is needed. I’ll be back, okay? Take a breather.” She turned her gaze to Lora, then to the unconscious fae. “He’ll be out for a while. I’m not done with him yet. I promised him a painful death.”
Lora merely nodded. Her whole body felt heavy, as if being dragged down by weights. She followed the girl’s movement with tired eyes. The redhead took the rope and bound the unconscious fae’s hands before running off to join another fight.
Left alone, Lora felt like she was moving under thick water. She couldn’t think clearly anymore, but she could think enough to realise that that was a bad sign. Glancing at her captor’s face again, Lora decided she couldn’t stay here. If he woke up, how much would the rope and throwing stars slow him down? She didn’t have much strength left and she couldn’t run. She needed to get away while she was still conscious and the fae wasn’t.
Bracing herself for the pain, Lora gripped the doorframe and stood up, shifting her weight to her left foot. She carefully stepped out of the carriage. Her body was screaming, making her skin feel icy. Her eyes landed on the fae, now directly in front of her feet. Lora leaned against the carriage as her hand slipped into her pocket and curled around the stone.
Noises drew her eyes to the front of the carriage and further off. She could make out figures encircling someone, maybe the fae who had been driving the carriage. The seat that had once been occupied was now empty. He must have left before the redhead had shown up.
Lora could feel her focus slipping. She used her free hand to steady herself as she slid forward, her weight on her left leg, heading in the opposite direction of the commotion. Every step felt like agony. Her hair was falling into her face but she didn’t have a free hand to pull it back. She neared the end of the carriage and noted the distance she’d have to cross to get to the nearest building. Maybe she could find a hiding spot in the alley. Somewhere. Anywhere. The carriage was too risky. If Lora passed out, she’d make it easy for them to drive away with her.
Her ears picked up rushed footsteps within the chaos of her mind. She turned as fast as she could without falling, setting her injured food on the ground even as pain shot up her leg.
The stone left her hand before she even took a good look at the figure heading straight at her. It barely missed his face as he ducked out of the way, dark curls falling into his familiar face.
“By Caelo, that’s not the reaction I imagined.” Ice blue eyes found hers as a smile started to form on his lips. “Actually, I shouldn’t have expected anything else.”
Lora’s head was pounding. Was she imagining things? Did she actually pass out and create this scenario in her mind?
“Lora? Are you okay?” the figure who looked like Eyden asked, worry etched into his features.
