Athello would have gone for guards.They would be looking for me.
The colors of my vision distorted.I didn’t know if the tourniquet was working, but it held me together.Kept me going even as adrenaline pushed me.
Even if I could escape the palace grounds, I might not make it, might not—
I had to stop and hide from sentries several times before I made it to the part of the wall where the rope was hanging beneath the ivy.I took a deep breath, bracing for the pain I was about to endure.I tasted blood on the inside of my mouth a I bit my cheek, making my way to the top of the wall and sliding down the other side.I lost my grip on the rope, barely catching myself before hitting the ground again.
The back of the inn loomed before me.I couldn’t go through the lobby.I could be seen; someone could identify me as injured and Athello’s attacker would be traced back to me.There was also a great chance of me passing out on the stairs, but I had to get to our room.
That was all I could think about.
I stared up at our window on the sixth floor.My only hope was to reach Nadiyah and Desmond inside.If they could stop the bleeding, they might be able to save me.
I wiped my blood-slick hands on my leggings.I could do this.I had completed one of the assassin’s tests in training when I was delirious with a high fever, barely able to stand.I could do this.
I started my trek up, the rain lightening to a drizzle as if having sympathy for me.My feet and hands sought for all of the familiar footholds, my limbs shaking, half my body curled in around my wound to keep it from stretching.Tears poured down my face from the pain as I pushed upward.My vision blackened at the edges, threatening to go out completely.My left fingers slipped off their hold and I whimpered.If I fell from this height, I would die.
But it didn’t matter.
I would die either way.
My strength was gone, my muscles weak.The movement only made my wound bleed more, only made me fade faster.I made it one story, and then another.I couldn’t stop.Couldn’t rest.The window to our room drew closer and closer.I forced myself to push for the last few feet, wanting to cry out for Desmond and Nadiyah.Every motion was pure agony.Pure terror.
I reached the ledge, hooking my arm over the top and hauling the rest of my body inside.I toppled to the ground, my strength evaporating.I needed help.Needed reprieve.I was still alive.Maybe that meant the knife hadn’t punctured anything vital.Maybe I would live.
I struggled to breathe, my body feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds.Turning my head felt like rolling a boulder, but the view didn’t provide me with what I wanted.Darkness shrouded the room, the only noise the night air and pattering of the rain filtering in through the window.
Desmond and Nadiyah were gone.
Panic.
Fear.
I no longer had the energy to cry.
I forced myself to stay strong.There were bandages in my room.If I could stop the bleeding, I could fix this.I tried to flip my body over so I could crawl, but it did not obey.My hand returned to the cloth above my wound, slick with blood.Thinking was too difficult.Maybe it would be better to sleep.Something in the back of my mind tried to tell me that it was wrong, but sleep sounded good, and the blackness around the corners of my vision expanded, enclosing my entire world in darkness.
