The Unraveling

Prologue

"Run." He growled.

"If the spell only makes you attack the people you love, I'll be fine. I'll stay here and keep you from attacking anyone you actually love."

"I love you!" He snarled, concrete fracturing under his fingers. "Now RUN."

"Stupid spell." She turned and ran, not giving a second thought to what he had said. There would be time for that later. Much later. Surviving him was the first task at hand.

Stupid spell. Stupid witch. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He loved her? Why? How? When? She shook off the thoughts that threatened to lead to a spiral...one that would end in her death. She couldn't afford any distractions. Especially if he did love her. Because that meant she was number one on his kill list right now. And with his skills, her odds of living long enough to get answers to the questions swirling around in her brain were not high. In fact, they were zero to none.

"Think Nesta, what are his weaknesses?" She spoke out loud, hoping to quiet her thoughts. His weaknesses were few. At least the ones that mattered and the ones that she knew. He did have a slightly creaky knee, but he was determined to kill her. The adrenaline alone would ensure that his knee wouldn't be the cause of his failure. Unless. She just needed to find a way to trap him. She couldn't outrun him and she couldn't outfight him, but she could outwit him.

"NESTA! YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME! I KNOW YOU!"

Okay. Whatever she was going to do, she needed to do it fast. She dodged trees and bushes, knowing full well that he was only a few minutes behind her. The love that would normally restrain someone from hurting another was what drove the fire with this spell. And that was deadly. Aielle knew her shit, Nesta would give her that. She knew exactly how to cut to the heart of someone. This spell had unusually high death counts simply because after the spelled killed their loved ones, they often killed themselves. Love was tricky like that. Aielle managed to take the most beautiful force in all the world and turn it into the deadliest weapon known.

Runelight broke through the trees behind her, so bright she couldn't see the trees in front of her. She slammed into the trunk of one, but quickly spun...stumbling to gain her feet. Red dotted her vision, blood streaming into her eyes making it even more difficult to see. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Why did he have to love her? Now she was going to die. And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. She couldn't beat him in hand to hand combat. She knew that. Training session after training session had proven this truth. She couldn't outrun him, especially not now with the blood that kept getting into her eyes. She couldn't see far enough ahead of her to put any real distance between them. She was going to die. And she was afraid.