Page 27 of Veil of Web and Ruin

The knife clatters to the ground.

‘Why did you have to do that, Flower?’ he yells. ‘Why did you have to ruin it?’

I’m bent over double, struggling to breathe as he reaches down and grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks me upwards. ‘You think you’re too good for me, Lady Kultavaris? Is that it? You think you’re too good for me, but you’re fine with fucking that hot water bottle? Fuck you!’

He moves to kick me, but I swing out of the way, using his own momentum to make him topple forward. The lack of balance is all I need to pull myself free from his grasp.

As I do so, I spot the knife on the ground beneath him.

Can I get it?

My pulse pounds against my ribs, slowing my thoughts when I so desperately need them to be sharp.

He’s drunk. Maybe I could beat him without needing to stab him, but maybe not.

And something tells me he wouldn’t hesitate to reach for the blade if he sees it.

With my adrenaline rushing in my ears, I reach down between us, but I’m not fast enough. His fist collides with my rib cage.

A crack resonates through my side, causing a gasp to fly from my lungs.

Tears stream from my eyes as I fall to the ground. There, on all fours, he kicks me again, landing the blow in exactly the same place. The force is enough to lift me off the ground and cause me to drop down again.

He spits at me. ‘You! Rula! Jack! You all think you’re better than me.’

‘No!’ I try to cough out my response, but my lungs are struggling to draw in a breath.

‘You picked the wrong side, Flower! Too bad … but maybe your sister will pick right when I go and pay her a visit next.’

The thought of this vile creature’s hands anywhere near Kay is enough for me to find a fresh surge of strength, and the knife is still there on the ground. Pain sears across my torso as I stretch out. It’s no longer a case of not wanting to do it. Either I kill him or he kills me, and whatever future I secured for Kay with Rula no longer applies.

I draw in a breath – trying to ignore the blinding agony that such a simple action causes – as I reach again for the knife there on the dank ground. It’s so close, a hair’s breadth away from my fingertips. All I need is to move a tiny bit more.

But the pain of moving my arm is enough to make my body scream, and the coppery tang of blood fills my mouth.

Another kick is all it’s going to take for me to black out entirely, and I can’t let that happen. I can’t. I need to move. Move away from him. Protect myself. Protect Kay.

I can’t let him get to Kay.

I lift my head and see him lifting his foot, ready to strike me again, and I grit my teeth, bracing for more pain.

‘Tella?’ Rula’s voice cuts through the quiet. ‘Tella! What do you think you’re doing?’

Never did I think I’d feel genuine relief at the sound of Rula’s voice, and yet there it is, accompanied by a hammering of footsteps. It takes me a moment to realise Tella is running away.

‘Rose? Fuck.’ The woman’s hands wrap around my middle, causing me to gasp as she guides me up to my feet. ‘I told you to go home! What the fuck happened?’

‘I … I don’t know. He wanted me to join him. Said I was on his side or against him.’

‘Against him?’

My head is swimming. Tella has gone. That’s good, isn’t it? It’s got to be. Only …

‘Kay!’ My voice cracks, causing a sharp pain to radiate all the way down my throat. If he goes for her, she won’t stand a chance. ‘I need to get to Kay.’

‘I’ll get you back to your sister, but I need you to tell me what Tella just said to you,’ Rula insists.

I shake my head, trying to move away from her, but my body’s not working properly. The cracked ribs make even lifting my legs nothing short of agony.