The Scarlet Assassin

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sinking into nothing but the dirt, the spearman's eyes widened with shock. He hadn't missed... but at the last second, Sophie had rolled out of its path. Then, unarmed, Sophie got to her feet and kicked the man to the ground before his hands came off the tip of his weapon. At this point, he was on the ground, and when Sophie pulled his own spear out of the ground and drove it down, she did not miss.

She did it.

The adrenaline from the win slowly subsided from her. I watched her stumble back a step in shock, gasping for a breath. Blood was on her shirt.

Rafe charged for her, pushing past me, embracing her in a hug which she returned. And to my surprise, she laughed with sweet relief--that she was alive, that she had done it. He pulled away and looked at her, his hands cradling her face softly, before leaning in and kissing her fiercely. The crease between her brows smoothed out and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.

I heard a sniffle, then Ace's voice. "Carter, are you crying?" He wiped his face and sniffed.

"No. It's just cold."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed back.

"It is!"

I allowed myself a small smile because it was the only thing I could do to keep myself from falling apart. 

Asik's words stayed with me. The person you're more scared of than anyone. Damn him. He always had a love for mind games. I don't even know if he knew who he was talking about unless of course he decided to do his research and was just fucking with me. Or, the more disturbing thought, that he had been paid a visit and was telling the truth.

That very thought turned my blood cold. I have no idea how he was alive. If he was alive, I reminded myself. I'd seen his corpse, his pale skin. But you didn't stop long enough to check his pulse, to make sure he was really dead. And now he might be prowling around, trying to find you. Then again, this was ridiculous, because why the hell would he be trying to find me? If he was alive, he'd have plenty of other things to do. But you did destroy his life. He destroyed mine first. He deserved it. But you don't really believe that, do you?

The snow brought me back to the present. I was standing next to Sorin, Carter, and Ace. After a moment, I turned and said, "We need to keep going."

Sorin called my name. I gave a half turn.

"What?" He walked over to me and gently picked up my arm, bringing my hand up to my gaze.

"You're dripping blood, little assassin." As I glanced down, I saw blood trickling down my wrist, to my finger, and into the snow. I was leaving a trail behind me.

"Oh, right. That." I looked at Carter. "Can you help?" He nodded. "Good. We can camp up there." I pointed out a little way, and with a nod from Sorin, I continued walking.

"Rafe! Sophie! You fall behind, you stay behind!" Ace called. The two broke apart and started walking. I could hear Sophie say quietly,

"Just to be clear, I'm still pissed at you."

I heard the small smile in his voice. "Of course, darling."

"And that kiss meant nothing."

He was smiling. "Of course."

"You were an asshole and one nearly fatal experience is not going to change that."

"I wouldn't dream of it, love." But after a moment, he added, "Will you ever forgive me?"

"Mmm," she hummed. "I'll think about it."

And then they were silent.

_______________