Behind My Shadow - Book Three

26. Right Before Your Eyes I'm Breaking

I'm beginning to understand how Vyndren must've felt trying to keep me alive when we were together now that I'm trying to keep Queen Lyna out of harm's way.

Being the bodyguard is a very stressful assignment.

I quickly pull the Queen aside as an arrow zooms through the air and it just misses us by inches. "This way!" I pull her after me and only realize now how clumsy the poor woman is. She yelps as she slips on the mud and falls down right as an assassin on horseback looms over us.

The horse rears up and brandishes its hooves above Lyna.

"No!" I frantically summon earth and make the ground slope to the side so Lyna slides out of the way right as the horse drops down where she was just lying. "You gotta keep moving!" I tell the Queen as I snatch her hand and yank her back up.

"Behind you!" She screams.

I whirl around and just manage to catch an assassin's wrists in my hands as they attempt to stab me. The edge of their dagger snakes down suddenly and nicks me above the eye. Blood blurs my vison as it runs into my eye.

I swiftly sweep the assassin's leg and throw them to the ground where I twist the knife out of their hand. I whip the knife around once in my grip, slashing open the assassin's hand. The assassin clutches their bleeding hand and rolls away from me with a curse.

"We gotta go!" I snatch Lyna's hand as I dart past. As soon as I get her to some place safe, I can join the others fighting.

But already I can tell this isn't a battle that can be won.

Bodies of slaughtered palace knights and spectators alike are scattered around the forest between the trees as even more assassins rush us from all sides. The entire forest is just teeming with Black Hearts.

Arrows savagely fly overhead as archers clash, the sound of swords and shields colliding clatter in time with the thunder erupting overhead and the overwhelming scent of blood is heavy on the humid air despite the downpour of rain.

An assassin galloping past on horseback abruptly seizes me by the back of my jacket and I'm wrenched off the ground as they ride past. I scream as I swing my dagger, blindly slashing until I luckily stab flesh. The assassin falls from the horse and we both wildly roll over the ground before sliding to a stop in the middle of an overflowing pool of mud.

The assassin staggers up to their feet and suddenly procures a mace from their back.

A mace?! I briefly glance at the dagger in my hands. How the hell?!

I desperately scramble up just as they swing and I duck low as I throw myself at them. We crash back down into the mud and now I summon as much force I can as I plunge the dagger through the assassin's wrist wielding the mace. They screech and abruptly backhand me.

I'm flung face-first into the mud, gasping and panting as I resurface.

The assassin rips the dagger free from their wrist and now hurls it at me. I dive out of the way so it misses my throat, but the dagger still finds a home in my shoulder.

I scream at the burning pain and frantically clutch the handle as I force myself up to my feet. Despite my aching desire to wrench the blade free, I'm too afraid of bleeding out to pull it free so I leave it in my shoulder as I summon fire to my other hand.

The assassin in front of me catches on fire and wildly throws themselves back into the mud with a scream.

"Omigods! Adara!" Lyna is at my side, staring at the dagger in my arm with horror. "Wha...what can I do?!" She frantically sobs.

"Get down!" I swiftly push her out of the way as a sword swings for the back of her neck. I just manage to sidestep out of the way as the sword hisses through the space we'd just occupied.

The Black Heart sword wielder takes another swing at me.

I backpedal another step, luring them forward as they advance with another swing. I summon earth and abruptly make a ditch appear beneath them. The assassin plunges down and I manage to snatch their sword from their grip as they fall.

"Run!" I tell Lyna frantically. She turns and stumbles through the swamp while I whip around to cut an arrow in half that zips through the air. "Keep going! Get to those rocks!" I call after her, swinging my sword again to dispatch of another arrow. I swiftly turn and take off after Lyna, wildly looking around for the nearest threat.

Danger is everywhere. I've never been in a battle before, and I certainly feel like I'm being baptized by fire out here in the middle of this massacre.

Lyna slides to a halt against the rocky outcropping and frantically looks it over. "It's too high to climb!" She stammers with fear, clawing at the rocks.

"I don't want you to climb them, I need you to hide here!" I pant, shakily point with my sword to the large split between boulders partly concealed by a bush. "You'll...you'll be safe here," I struggle to swallow down the bile I feel sloshing in the back of my throat. The pain radiating from the knife still stuck in my arm makes my vision double with agony.

"I have to hide? You have to hide! You're who they're searching for to kill!"

"Yeah and they're going to kill whoever they find with me which is why I need to get away from you!" I frantically insist. "Lyna, please! I don't want anything to happen to you!" I suddenly sway and drop the sword with a wince. "Damn it," I hiss, feeling too lightheaded to bend and pick up my weapon.

"You can't even stand!" Lyna shakily lifts the sword for me. I reach for it but she pulls back. "I-I am supposed to be protecting you," she wobblily insists, tears mix with rain as the storm continues to pour down around us. "An Alice is more important than a Queen. You hide. You're hurt! I'll protect you."

"Lyna," I wince with agony. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't have time for this! Gimme the sword and -"

"Look out!" She quickly darts in front of me as an arrow flies for my face. She swiftly swings the blade and -by either a miracle or skill- she manages to decapitate the arrow before it can shoot me.

"Thanks," I pant with a strained smile.

Lyna makes a faint smile too.

Suddenly the ground beneath us starts to savagely tremble and my sixth sense of spirit shrilly warns me of a swiftly approaching threat.

I whip around and stare in horror as trees are bowed over as an enormous golden crocodile charges for me.

One of these Black Hearts is using their animal soul spirit to hunt for me, only the hunt's over now. I'm stand right here exposed out in the open.

Now the only thing left for this crocodile to do is kill me.