The Witch's Retribution

Chapter 33

"We could just charge out there."

"No. We couldn't." Lily sat with her head leaned back against the cool wall behind her and trying in vain to ignore both Owen's pacing and his suicidal ideas.

"We can't stay here for much longer." Andrew said, watching the injured huddling nearby.

They had attempted to leave several hours before, but the pale knights had surrounded the castle almost immediately. They barely had time to return to the castle to avoid being attacked. Lily had no idea what those knights were planning--it seemed a mess of confusion and disorder to her--but either way, they were trapped. It would be far too easy for their enemies to storm the castle and strike them down where they sat, but for now, they stayed outside. She suspected they were waiting to see if reinforcements were on the way, but the only two people who knew of their location had stayed behind in the village.

"If you've got a better idea, we'd all love to hear it." Owen said, snapping her from her thoughts.

"Right." She thought about it.

Her magic was weak and difficult to control; it seemed her baby decided the worst possible moment to make itself known. She still felt ill, but it came and went so she was sure she'd be able to wield her sword. Perhaps some type of diversion. She looked at the amount of injured crowding around in the corridor; they looked worse than they had in the dungeons, pale and exhausted, some with bloody clothes and hands. For every injured one they had saved, at least two had been lost, either already dead or succumbing to their injuries by the time Lily and the others had arrived.

She jumped up at the sound of boots pounding down the corridors. Aisha placed herself before the unarmed servants and badly injured Pierake knights, her sword already drawn. A second Pierake knight limped to Aisha's side. Andrew and Owen also drew their swords, their faces lined with tension. Lily gripped hers tightly, swallowing back a wave of nausea. The torches flickered in the gloomy corridor, and no one dared to breath as the five knights prepared for the worst.

Lily walked farther down the corridor, motioning for the others to stay put, and caught a faint glint of armor. A slow, disbelieving smile crawled its way onto her face, and she spun her sword in her hand carelessly rather than readying it to attack. She only hoped she wasn't starting to hallucinate.

"Liam?" She called and saw one of the arriving knights freeze. "Don't attack!" She turned to the knights behind her and watched as they looked at one another then hesitantly lowered their weapons.

She paid no attention to the two knights accompanying Liam, completely ignored them as she walked towards him. There was a rare hesitancy in his bright blue eyes accompanied by a dull spark of anger. As if he didn't know whether he wanted to kill her or kiss her. Lily held back the urge to run into his arms and gave him a weak smile instead. "Wasn't expecting to see you here."

His hands, gloved in worn leather, reached out and cupped her face. "You're okay." He breathed.

Lily blinked at him, surprised by the concern. "Um, yeah, I'm...I'm okay."

"Thank the Gods." He crushed her to him in a suffocating hug.

She slowly wrapped her arms around his waist. "Not that I'm not enjoying this, but--"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as he pulled her back, hands gripping her shoulders. She saw the spark of anger grow, but his words were calm. "You were supposed to be spending time with your family."

"I was!" She protested, keeping her voice low. "Then my eldest brother decided to send a patrol out here so naturally I tagged along."

"Naturally." He repeated dryly, but his eyes softened as they flicked down to her lips. "Can I kiss you?"