Worlds of Waves and Shadows

Thirteen

It took her a second to realise what was happening as the hand on her mouth, muffled her screams. 

She thrashed wildly, to free herself from an iron chokehold that gripped her throat a second later.

Kaenisa clawed at her attacker's arm, feeling her chest tighten to a point that she had never experienced before, lungs begging for a breath of air. At this rate, she would be out in a minute at best.

'Think, Kaenisa. Think!' She urged internally, forcing the panic down and attempting to clear her head, which proved immensely difficult when you were in the middle of being strangled to death. 

But then, with a hope that her assailant was close enough, Kaenisa jerked her head back. The moment was small, since her neck was a bit stiff. 

But by the grace of Shiv Ji, powerful enough that when it collided with presumably, the attacker's nose, he let out a satisfactory howl of pain, releasing her almost instantly.  

Kaenisa whirled, trying hard not to succumb into a coughing fit, before kicking, what was a man, judging by his build, right in the middle of his chest.  

From the quality of his gear, and technique, this man seemed like a pro. 

That meant, this was definitely a hit.

Anger stirred within her as the assassin, clad from head to toe in black, recovered faster than she would have liked. 

When she was done with this guy, Kaenisa was going to stomp up to the King and give him a piece of her mind. Some hospitable people they were, with a fantastic way to treat their guests. 

She watched with narrowed eyes and slanting brows as her attacker lunged. If they wanted to get rid of her so bad, then why even bother dragging her down here in the first place. 

“Ugh. I was starting to like it.” Kaenisa sighed, dodging the hitman’s punch before kicking him from behind.

But instead of falling face down like she had expected him to, the hitman angled his body, mid-fall, landing on his side. 

Her focus shifted for a heartbeat, eyes darted around the room with a sense of rushed urgency, hoping to find something that she could use to her advantage. 

Big mistake.

Because by the time she returned her attention to the hitman on her floor, he had already freed what looked to be a gun. 

And then, the next thing she knew was the ground, followed by colourful patches decorating her vision. 

But the pain. It seeped in slowly, like water leaking from a half-closed tap, one drop at a time. 

The agony left Kaenisa gasping for air, setting her lungs on fire before spreading through her shoulder and abdomen.

To describe the anguish was an impossible task. It paralyzed her, flowing through her abdomen like lava.

She saw him approach, his gait, smug and victorious.

No. Kaenisa forced her body to move, pushing through the pain. There was no way in hell that she would allow herself to die at the hands of an assassin. 

Hauling herself to her feet, with more effort than Kaenisa ever thought she’d need to put in getting her ass off the floor, she willed her body to co-operate, straightening with lacerating agony.

Stars danced in front of her eyes, but she was not one to give up. 

Then, he lunged. 

Kaenisa couldn’t describe what happened next even if she tried.