So that was ano.
“It’s okay. I got you.” She hoped.
Leya dropped her jacket, slipped her arms under his chest, and tugged. Damn, Aerén was no lightweight, and it was near impossible. None of it mattered; she refused to leave him.
She hooked her hands under his heavily muscled arms. Teeth clenched, her sore muscles straining, with everything in her, she dragged him, inch by inch, into the murky cave.
Breathing like she’d run miles, Leya gently swiped his wet hair away from his pallid features. His eyes remained shut. He’d passed out.
Dammit. She had to find a way to get help. “I’ll be back, my love—”
Through the raging storm, voices drifted to her from further inside the cave. Hope surged. They must be from the castle.
About to shout out, oily snickering echoed, freezing her.
“Did he think we wouldn’t get him eventually?”
“You should thank my aim.” A grunt followed. “It’s incomparable.”
“Only because our lord covered your skinny arse while underwater. You’d be fish food if theishkhenhad gotten you.”
Ishkhen,meaning Aerén?Oh, shit!Rebels?
Blood pounding, she hastily searched around her for a weapon, then darted outside to grab the broken arrows. She stuck the shafts in the back waistband of her jeans and shoved the arrowheads in her pocket, pulling her wet shirt over all of it. The burn from the shafts against her skin was a small price to pay for the weapons she now had.
“The only reason we got lucky was because he appeared more interested in the human,” the other mumbled. “If we return without theishkhenagain, he’ll set his mad hounds on us like he did with Skoles. Come on. Grab him, and let’s go—”
They burst through the darkness, two silhouettes.
There was nowhere to hide.
Leya rushed back into the cave and stepped in front of Aerén, her feet squelching in her watery boots. She had no idea what to do. They were powerful, and she…all she had was her cosplaying sword skills and two broken arrows.
“She was supposed to die,” the skinny one growled, glaring at her like it was her fault she still breathed. “I saw her fall and the current drag her under.”
“Never too late,” the shorter crud-spawn drawled, his dagger drawn. “Maybe I’ll have a little fun first.”
“Just break her damn neck, already,” Skinny snapped. “And let’s get going before this cave floods again.”
Her heart hammering, Leya fisted her tingling hands, wishing she had some damn ability. Anything!
Shorty dove for her.
She snatched one of the broken shafts from its hiding place, ramming it hard into his chest. “How does that feel?” she snarled, as it slid between bone and flesh.
He stumbled back, eyes wide. “Bitch stabbed me with the spelled arrow!” He fell to his ass. “Kill her!”
Skinny hurled a dagger at her, and she ducked, the blade narrowly missing her head. He flew at her. Leya grabbed the other shaft and lunged for his chest. He evaded, and her momentum threw her forward.
Shit! A heavyweight crashed into her before she found her balance, slamming her onto her back on the sandy granite ground. He grabbed her wrist, hammering her hand down. Her weapon flew free. Pain exploded through her arm. He straddled her thighs, his fingers wrapped around her throat.
He grinned as he squeezed. “Die,lupa!”
Leya coughed, grasping his thick wrists. Fuck you!She wasn’t going to die by this sewer rat’s hands, or let them take Aerén.
Adrenaline exploded. She grabbed an arrowhead from her pocket and rammed the sharp tip into his belly. He jerked back—
She wriggled a leg free, and with everything in her, she kneed the stinking rat in the balls—
