Blood Rider [Alonia's Queenslayer #1]

9

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The hall suddenly got deathly quiet as a lot of footsteps and heavy breathing were heard. Eli stared outside at the empty hallway, her fork still in air. The long, empty space gave off an ominous vibe, and all Eli's senses were alert as she anxiously waited. Footsteps echoed around the halls, until she saw them.

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And as soon as she saw them, there was panic. Every noble let out a scream as they scrambled to their feet and ran as far as they could in the opposite direction, breaking glasses, throwing down food and sending chairs banging against the ground. Eli managed to block out their noise as she stood up and eyed the threat.

"Protect the king!" Eli yelled out to the guards before they, too, ran away, albeit more gracefully than the civilians.

Eli eyed the monsters that were approaching the entrance slowly as she ignored the panicked screams of people. The elven king was speaking and trying to calm them. In the meantime, Eli cautiously stepped away from the table and pulled her long knife from her boot. She knew that there was no way she alone could fight them off. Maybe she could buy the rest enough time to evacuate. Eli knew that she was going to die. So she had two options – run like the rest and have them all die, or hold them off and consequentially allow the peace treaty to be signed and for Tanya, Ejder, and Valda to live in peace.

She didn't need to think twice.

At the entrance stood an array of monsters. Two trolls, three pasins, and two harpies flying above them. The trolls were bigger than those Eli had faced before, and both wielded large broadswords, slightly rusty. The troll's grey skin was covered by strange blue blemishes, especially their feet – as if their blood had freely flowed down, like their bloodstream had stopped.

Eli had never encountered a pasin before, but its large, bear-like build was enough to make her wish she never would. Its fur was nearly non-existent and both pasins had chunks of flesh seemingly torn off. And the harpies... she really didn't want to deal with them ever again, as their shameless display of all unholy flew above her. Especially not with only a knife as a weapon, with so much more than her life at stake.

A hideous smell was coming from their direction, and Eli was sure that one of the harpies' legs was nearly torn off – it seemed to be hanging on by a bone. She wasn't sure what was going on, and how monsters even managed to slip into the elven castle, but it sure wasn't a mere coincidence.

Eli entered a defensive stance, ready to die.

"We need to hold them off while the rest evacuate through the windows," a familiar voice mused from behind Eli as soft footsteps approached her. Rileigh. Eli turned to see that he, too, carried a steel knife. She was glad that she would have help, and glad that she got to die alongside a handsome, legendary figure. She would likely go down in history if the kings survived and signed the treaty. Eli, the Peacebringer. Or Eli, the Lightbringer.

"There's something off with these monsters," Eli commented as Ril entered a defensive stance next to her, shoulders briefly brushing against each other. All their differences and disagreements were forgotten at that moment. There was something bigger at stake, something that didn't allow personal feuds to get in the way.

"It doesn't matter. Will you do as I say?" he said quickly as the monsters began walking towards them, the pasins leading the trolls while the harpies remained circling. Eli's heart quickened with each step they took towards them.

"Yes. We need to keep an eye on the harpies, they could fly over us," Eli warned, and Rileigh nodded in confirmation.

"Good thinking. We need a plan."