Page 10 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 2

“Whoever she is, she’s one hell of a shot hitting Havel like that with a handgun,” the first soldier muttered. “Do you think that’s why he turned on his own people, a woman?”

“What fuck does it matter? A traitor is a traitor, and if we can use his corpse here in Southern territory to spur our soldiers to victory, then what does it matter who the bitch is?” the second man spat.

The more these two idiots kept talking, the deeper my frown grew. Why the hell would they think Lucian turned on his people? I’d never met a person more committed to the North. Well, maybe that twat Omega Coral from the breeder house could give him a run for his money. Regardless, Lucian would never be the one to betray his own.

“He couldn’t have gotten far, not with a woman weighing him down. Let’s circle back and see if we can trap him before those Southern soldiers who’ve been tracking us catch up.”

The fact they had soldiers tracking them didn’t bode well for us, since they’d clearly been following us. This needed to be handled, and fast, before it turned into something worse like getting us caught or killed. Shifting my position, I took a deep calming breath and ran through everything Petru had taught me. There was a lot we still needed to cover, but I was a decent shot with a still-standing target like these two. What kept playing through my head was hearing him tell me that to pull the trigger was to take a life.

Was I willing to bear that burden for the rest of my life? Yes.

Is this the only answer to this problem? No, but it was the simplest one that would keep it from biting us in the ass later.

With one more deep breath in, I took aim and just as they started to walk away, I shot the man on the right. Then I instantly shifted to do the same for the man on the left. I waited for the feeling of regret, shame, or sadness at taking their lives, yet nothing happened. Another shot reverberated through the quiet, which I assumed was Lucian taking out the third man they’d said I’d wounded. If they’d been honest, which having no reason to lie, I assumed they were. The danger was now passed. Save for the matter of the Southern soldiers heading this way.

“Dani,” a voice whispered.

Cocking my head, I stayed silent until I saw Lucian appear kneeling by the men to check to see if they were alive or not.

“Dani, it’s safe. You can come out now,” Lucian reassured.

At the sound of my climbing down, his head snapped up, spotting me with surprise on his face. Getting to the last branch, I crouched and dropped to the ground, lessening the impact on my feet.

“Did you deal with these two?” he asked, keeping his voice low as he started to search their bodies.

“Why would they think you deserted the North?” I questioned.

Lucian froze for a second, then took the extra ammo and a few other supplies we needed. The second man had a pack, so I yanked that off him and grabbed whatever I could off his body as well.

“My father ordered me home right after the massacre at the outpost. He wanted to hold me responsible for it, and I decided to ignore the summons to find you,” Lucian informed me. “It’s been about a week, and I still haven’t followed that direct order.”

“Why would your father blame you for what happened?” I demanded, my voice growing louder with my irritation. “You had nothing to do with it. Fuck, you weren’t even there.”

“There might be a few reasons for that, one being that he’s a sadistic bastard who hasn’t had the opportunity to beat up and threaten his son in a while. It’s been years since I’ve seen him, and he probably fears that I might forget who holds the end of my leash,” Lucian answered bitterly. “He’s right to be worried, although the problem is he’s realized it too late. That and it’s been mentioned that these attacks on our border outposts might not be as random as they’d like us to think they are.”

That last comment had me reeling back. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Babaka said with her dying breath that I needed to look at this differently, and my father might be working with someone in the South,” Lucian explained, rising to his feet. “The more I think about it and see what’s happened, it makes sense. Whenever we think we’re going to lose the battle and there’s no reason to keep fighting, something stokes that anger back into an inferno.”

“Do you know what that will do if anyone else realizes that theory?” I snapped. “Lucian, he just sent people to kill you because you didn’t follow an order. The hell that will break loose when he discovers that you not only are turning against him but plan to overthrow him will be monumental.”

Shouldering his pack, Lucian took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m incredibly aware of how incredibly fucking pissed my father will be. This won’t be the last time we see a hit squad out for me, either. The biggest blessing is he has no idea about you, and with these men dead, he won’t for a while longer.”

“That’s not all we have to worry about…” I shared, pausing to look him in the eye. “Southern soldiers were tracking these three, and they mentioned they weren’t far behind them.”

“Fuck, we won’t be able to rest any longer. We need to be on the move,” Lucian announced, telling me what I had already assumed.

Nodding, I adjusted the pack and motioned for him to lead the way. “Then let’s get the hell outta here.”