𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 | ʜᴇʟᴍᴜᴛ ᴢᴇᴍᴏ

𝟏𝟒 ᴘᴇᴀᴄᴇ

Diving behind the sofa, Kalina fumbled with the cold, metal pistol in her hands, situating it in a way that she was comfortable with. The sweat from her palms was making it difficult to maneuver, but the gunshots echoing off the walls reminded her that she needed to act quickly. Peeking up from the sofa, she saw Helmut plastered against the wall next to the door, having shifted to the opposite side and away from the unseen assailants in the hall outside of the library.

The fire roared behind them up into the chimney, and Kalina's body radiated just as much heat. Her heart was pounding in her ribcage, and the beat was fast and desperate. Watching her partner fire several shots blindly in the darkness, a man's yelp from an unknown location in the hall cried out. One of the assailants had been shot, but it was clear now that there were more.

Kalina rose from her hiding spot, releasing any fear that once consumed her, and quickly pushed toward the wall next to Helmut, holding the pistol close and ready to aim. There was no time for anxiety, no time to question decisions: this was the time to move and it had never been so immediate. As she pressed her back against the wall, the woman let out a frustrated huff as Helmut fired two more shots down the dark corridor before dropping the magazine and replacing it with another he had taken from the weapons holster.

"This is the only other magazine I have, we need to reach the cellar." Helmut slammed the bullets into the weapon and cocked it back. The weapons cache hidden behind the wine cellar would have all the weapons they needed, but they were trapped inside the library with only one exit. There was no way to tell who had infiltrated or how many of them there were, but these were no Dora Milaje. Someone had been planning an attack on the estate before the Sokovians had even arrived.

Looking to Kalina, he slowed his breath. "Are you ready?"

Gulping back a bit of uncertainty that had creeped in, Kalina nodded in response. Her face tightened as she pressed her lips together, mentally preparing to face whatever lurked outside of the library doors. She knew Helmut never expected her to be a pro at combat, but she fully intended to embrace the situation. It was what she had chosen and she would be a partner, not extra weight or baggage.

Helmut reached to Kalina's head with his free hand and pulled her to him. He placed an urgent kiss to her forehead before returning his attention to the weapon in his hand and nodding once more. "Poshli!"

With Helmut's exclamation of 'let's go,' he dove into the dark hallway, leaving Kalina behind in the illumination of the library. She looked to her bare feet and the satin robe she wore. A quick chuckle resonated from her throat, looking at herself from the outside in. Her still damp hair fell down her shoulders and her nightdress slipped out of the cracks of the barely tied down robe. The woman was not at all prepared for battle, and looked like a rich, trophy wife.

The chuckle erupted into an outright cackle, and Kalina felt maniacal in that moment. In the heat of the gunfire crashing down the hallway, she was nearing tears as she cracked herself up. The woman had always been elegance and grace, as she appeared here now in the library, but now she was also something else. She was power.