The Water Howlers - Book II ✔

Chapter 42 - Ori

It was as if time itself had both slowed down and sped up at the same time. Ori's mind was trying to catch up, but it was as if his brain was trying to walk through thick mud. Several things seemed to happen at once. King Edmond, surprisingly quick for his age and physique, swung his hand left and right, stabbing both guards in the gut with his hidden knife, one guard barely managed to let out a surprised yelp before the king then lunged towards Luka who was standing on the dais in front of the two ornate thrones. Ori felt like he and everyone else were moving in slow motion, felt like he was suddenly miles away and his body wouldn't cooperate in moving forward.
The enraged king had flung himself at Luka and Ori watched as the they of them tumbled to the marble floor, scrambling to get the upper hand. King Edmond lifted the knife, still bloodied from stabbing the two guards when it suddenly clattered to the floor and Edmond started clutching his throat, gasping, and heaving for air. Realizing the king had stopped fighting him, Luka pushed Edmond off of him and the king fell heavily on his back, heaving for air.
People were shouting, unsure whether to approach the king or Luka or stay back. Queen Arina's piercing scream cut through all of the noise as her husband struggled for survival, and Ori, Emmie and Thatch slowly turned towards Kianna, who was clutching her outstretched hand in a tight fist. Her eyes appeared darker, like some force had taken over. Ori turned inwards and prodded at Ki's mental shield, but it didn't budge. She had blocked them all and he watched as a drop of sweat trickled down her forehead.

"Ki, that's enough," Emmie said stepping up to their friend, but it was as if Ki didn't sense her at all. She continued to restrict King Edmond's airways and from the reddish and blue tint of the man's face, he didn't have long unless they did something to stop her.

"Kianna!" Ori finally got his legs moving and rushed towards Ki, but out of nowhere, Thatch moved in front of him and stopped Ori with a hand on his chest. Ori blinked.

"What are you doing, Thatch?"

"What needs to be done." He didn't remove his hand from Ori's chest and Ori stared at his friend with an incredulous look on his face. What the hell was going on with the two of them? He would let Ki murder a man just like that. Sure, Thatch had never been in favor of this royal family, but did that justify killing him in such a way? Just then King Edmond stopped struggling and his limbs splayed out on the floor as Ki slowly lowered her hand.

"I'm sorry, you guys. I had to." Her voice echoed in Ori's mind, but now it was his turn to block out her. He found it hard to form words to say to her and turned away from Thatch and Ki to instead focus on what was happening around them. He'd deal with them later. Afterall, they had a ten-day journey back home and plenty of time to talk things through before reaching Aethorin.

Another guard, one that had not been stabbed, knelt to the floor by the king's body and checked for a pulse. After what felt like forever, the guard looked up at Luka and slowly shook his head.

"Dead." This one single word seemed to cause an eruption of chaos.

Prince Edmond pointed a finger accusingly at Kianna, shouting something that couldn't be heard over rest of the noise. Ki was still just standing there, staring at the dead king, her fist still clenched at her side. It was Thatch who went up to her, positioned himself right in front of her, blocking her view of the king on the floor and cupped her face in both his hands.

"Kianna, love, come back to me, please." His voice was calm, calmer than Ori had ever heard him before. He had suspected there was something going on between the two of them and there was no denying the care and love in Thatch's words. Ki blinked, coming out of whatever daze she had been captured in. She looked around before her eyes settled on Thatch's. Her body was tense, muscles clenched tightly like she couldn't get herself to relax.