When we separated, Darion held up a sack.“I brought food, as promised.”
“I also like how you keep feeding me,” I said, taking the sack and inspecting the contents.“Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Darion said.“And I brought some food for you, too, Elena.It’s nice of you to keep watching the cart.”
Elena beamed.“He’s a keeper.”
“So, are you ready to—” Darion broke off as his gaze fell on something past my shoulder, and his eyes widened.Something he saw behind me made the blood drain from his face.I’d never seen him look so shocked.
“Sorry,” he said, then spun around and raced away, disappearing into the crowd.
Stunned, I gawked in his direction with his sack of food still in my hands.I turned to see what had scared him off.Right where Darion had been staring were two figures walking briskly in our direction.The crowd parted around them like lambs who’d spotted a wolf.The woman in front scanned the surrounding crowd with all the prowess of a well-trained bodyguard.Her hand never ventured far from the hilt of her sword.Her clothes were all black with a gold lion embroidered on her vest.
Oh no.
The woman who’d slashed the throat of the man in the square the other day was walking toward us.
Close behind was none other than Orlik Leonom, his burgundy robes spilling over his chain mail armor.His nose was turned up and scrunched as if the act of walking among the market-goers was a disgusting ordeal.
I had to choke back my rage at the sight of him.My hands shook.I steadied them on the hilt of my dagger.
They barely acknowledged our existence as they approached.Elena’s focus was on me, so she didn’t see them marching right toward us.
“Watch out!”I called.
Elena spun around at the last moment, brushing against Orlik’s robes.She barely touched the fabric, but he reeled back as if she had struck him.
“Out of my way!”he shouted, shoving Elena aside, sending her crashing into our cart, knocking over half our display.She cried out as she smashed her knee.
“Elena!”I called out as I rushed between her and Orlik, rage coursing through me like molten iron.“Keep your hands off her!”
My mind flashed to the dagger hidden in my tunic.I could rid the world of this foul man in less than a second.
The bodyguard ran forward, sword drawn.Her face was steady, her eyes neutral, almost vacant.The flat of her sword smacked against my vest.“Do you want to die today?”
I coiled up like a spring.My focus sharpened.The hilt of my dagger was cold against my fingers.The din of the crowd faded into the background.The bodyguard was fast, but I could be faster.If she moved her sword even the slightest bit, she’d hit the ground before she even saw me move.
“Stop!”Elena pleaded, racing to my side.
Her voice snapped me out of my tunnel vision.My one task in life was keeping Elena safe, and I was seconds away from putting her in the greatest danger of her life.
The ruckus had drawn a crowd, everyone eager for some bloody entertainment to break up the monotony of the day.The bodyguard and I stood still as oak trees, eyes piercing each other, in a deadly standoff.
Then an apple flew from the back of the throng of revelers.It struck Orlik squarely on the side of his head, sending chunks of rotten brown fruit flying in all directions.He jumped back, howling in pain.
The crowd that had formed around us gasped.
A second apple followed the first and glanced off the bodyguard’s shoulder.I caught a glimpse of curly brown hair and green eyes near the back of the crowd.
“After him, Syra!”Orlik commanded the bodyguard, who immediately chased after the perpetrator.
The Butcher glared at us.“Elena, is it?”he spat, pointing a crooked finger at my sister and me.“I’ll be back to deal with you two.I never forget a face.”
“Neither do I,” I said, my voice as cold as death itself.I had a brief window of opportunity, a singular moment.It could be over so quickly.With a simple slash of his throat, I could avenge my parents’ deaths.
I felt Elena’s warm hand on my arm.It anchored me, reminding me of the cost of vengeance, bringing me back from the edge.
Orlik sneered, then raced off, following his bodyguard into the crowd, and the moment was gone.
