In response he came at her again, a quick, brutal swipe that she barely deflected, the force of it rattling up her arm. She countered, swinging low, aiming for his ribs, but he sidestepped her blow, catching her wrist in an iron grip and twisting.
The blisters on her burns ruptured beneath his hand, and she grimaced, her teeth bared, using the other hand to punch him in the ribs. He grunted, loosening his grip for just an instant—long enough for her to wrench free and backpedal, putting the small table between them.
“I’m not interested in your words,” he growled. “I’ve already paid enough for allowing you inside my head.”
Ahnna’s eyes flicked to the door to Dippy’s stall. She’d never get the latch open before he caught her. But the latch to the cabin’s entrance had been torn off when James had forced his way in, just his saddlebags holding it shut. Unless she killed him, that was the only way out.
She’d get her horse back later.
Ahnna attacked, but when James parried, she allowed him to push her back, hoping to lure him into a rush. Whether it was exhaustion or anger, she didn’t know, but he fell for the ruse and lunged. Shesidestepped and slammed her elbow into his kidney, putting her full weight into it.
He grunted in pain and staggered a step.
She reached for the edge of the door, but James recovered quickly, catching her by the shoulder and yanking her back. Ahnna spun and sliced at him, her sword carving through his coat and into his forearm. He hissed in pain, but rather than recoiling, he grabbed her blade with his gloved hand and yanked.
Her hand was slick with sweat, blood, and fluid from her burst blisters, and he easily wrenched her weapon out of her grip, casting it behind him.
“I didn’t hurt them!” she shouted. “Alexandra staged all of it!”
“He wanted to make you queen!” James screamed back, not even seeming to have heard her words. “He was going to give you what you wanted, and you killed him!”
What?
Ahnna didn’t have time to think before James swiped his blade in a vicious arc toward her face. She ducked, feeling the air move just above her head, but then the tip of his sword caught in the doorframe.
She took advantage, bringing her knee up sharply into his thigh. James staggered back, but only a step. Just enough for her to reach down and yank the knife protruding from his boot top.
Their weapons clashed, the metallic sound ringing through the small room. She gritted her teeth, matching his blows as best she could, her arms burning with the effort. He was stronger, his attacks unrelenting, each swing faster and more ruthless than the last. The only reason she was still alive was that his sword was too big a weapon for the space.
With a desperate burst of energy, she faked a high feint, then dropped low, sweeping her leg under him. James stumbled, his balance shifting, and in that split second, she drove her shoulder into his chest, sending him crashing backward against the table. It buckled under his weight, and he fell hard, his sword clattering from his grasp.
Ahnna bolted to the open door, but James was up in a flash, lunging toward her. He grabbed the back of her coat, yanking her so hard she nearly fell. She twisted around, thrusting her knife blindly. The blade sliced through his coat, and James snarled, releasing her just long enough for her to throw the door open and dash out into the darkness.
The storm had ceased, and the moonlight reflected off the carpet of snow to turn the night brighter than Ahnna would have thought possible.
Behind her, snow crunched as James pursued her through the darkness of the trees. Ahnna didn’t look back. The air was frigid, burning her nose as she ran, the taste of blood in her mouth from where she’d bitten her cheeks as sharp as the rising certainty that one of them had to die tonight.
Perhaps she’d always known that.
Ahnna’s legs pumped and her breath made great billowing clouds as she raced into the cold forest. Fighting hand-to-hand with only a small knife, she knew her chances of coming out alive were not good. James was just as skilled, he was far larger and stronger, and he had the better weapon. She needed to lead him away from the cabin, then circle back for her bow.
Her eyes burned at the thought of filling his body with arrows and watching him fall—as much a victim of Alexandra’s strategies as Edward—but she had no choice. He was beyond reason, exhaustion and grief and God knew what else controlling his thoughts, and she had to survive. Had to get to Aren to warn him, otherwise Alexandra and Katarina would see everyone she loved to the grave.
Her boots slid in the snow and she tripped over a hidden root, nearly falling. Fear was thick and choking in her throat, but the emotion was an old friend and it gave her wings. She headed downslope toward the lake, banking that her many hours of rest would give her the endurance to outpace him on the climb back up.
Thunk.
A gasp tore from her lips as her eyes latched on the shuddering arrow embedded in the tree next to her.
“I told you I’d hunt you.” James’s voice filtered through the trees, pursuing her as she ran on. “I told you that there was nowhere you could go that I wouldn’t find you!”
She flinched and risked a backward glance, spotting James through trees that no longer felt as dense as they had a moment ago. The only thing that would save her now was speed, because with the moonlight gleaming off the snow, it was impossible to hide. Her trail would lead him right to her.
An arrow whooshed past her cheek.
Too close. Too close by far. Her breathing was ragged, a stitch forming in her side. The knee-deep snow was slowing her down, keeping her from getting ahead.
And then Ahnna stumbled out into the open.
