Page 115 of The Puppeteer and the Poisoned Pawn

Determination locks my jaw and hardens my hands into fists. I’d rather die here than have them take me to their country.

“Basnakèz!”Hurry!

Something dark and the size of a bear zooms through the air, barreling the two men to the ground. The sound that escapes them is the screams of sinners straight from hell. Grown men howling as DaiSzek rips into their necks, mutilating them with only three quick movements.

I scream, not at the mess of blood and shredded flesh he left behind, but at the swarm of men in scaly black uniforms charging DaiSzek.

I know he can hold his own. Maybe it’s absurd of me to get hysterical, but this sweet beast has protected us at all costs every time we’ve been in danger. I can’t let this be the one time he gets hurt. Because ofme.

“Warrose!” I shout at the top of my lungs, shaking the net frantically. Because they try to overpower DaiSzek with throwing knives, swords, crossbows, and spears. Each shiny piece of metal that zings through the air barely misses DaiSzek’s large body. He’s fast. An otherworldly kind of speed that defies all laws of gravity. And the massiveness of his frame shouldn’t be able to twist through the air, dodging each weapon with ease.

But he does. And he does it like a dragon darting through the clouds.

“Dessin!” I scream again.

With one clench of his jaws, DaiSzek snaps a spear in half, tossing it to the side as he chomps down on the heads of two soldiers.

But there are so many running through the forest, ready to fight to the death. And what are the odds that one of them has the winning swing of his sword?

I pat down my clothes for anything I can use to help me. A realization clicking in place as I look down at my boots. Warrose armed me with a small dagger, strapping it to the outside of my ankle.

Thank you, Warrose!

Before I can unstrap the dagger, the energy in the forest shifts, a low thrumming of ruthlessness. A war drum beating in the distance.

Skylenna springs from the trees first, her long blonde hair whipping across her wrathful face as she adjusts a pair of gloves on her hands and throws herself into a crowd of men surrounding DaiSzek. And she’s nothing of the woman I’ve known. She’s a demonic spirit cutting through flesh without consequence. She’s graceful and elegant as she swipes her fists through jaws and throats, eyes gleaming as blood sprays across her face. And the way she looks at each opponent is hard to miss. Her eyes seem to dig in deep, dissecting their weaknesses, pausing time and space to understand the art of how to defeat this enemy.

Dessin rushes to DaiSzek’s side, throwing men off his back and fighting alongside him. Warrose immediately locks eyes with me, scoping out my predicament. And he’s throwing his whip to have Skylenna’s back, beheading anyone that comes close to her while also trying to figure out how to get me down.

“I’ll free myself!” I yell down at him. “Keep fighting!” I flash him the dagger he gave me, waving him off.

With a spark of adrenaline and the fiery need to prove myself, I use the sharp side of the blade to start carving myself out of the trap. Meanwhile, the sounds of cracking bones, clanking metal, guttural moans, and slurping sounds of weapons piercing organs make my hands tremble with anticipation. What am I supposed to do when I get down there? I’ve learned basic self-defense. But that isn’t even close to what I need to help them fight. Sweat rolls down my temple as I saw my dagger through the thick twine of rope.

“It’s a good thing I’m better at this than you are.” A familiar voice comes from behind me, so close I can feel his breath on my neck. I spin around to see Niles dangling from a branch above me, untying the rope that holds my net together.

“Niles!” I shriek in relief.

He flashes me a gorgeous smile, continuing his work to set me free.

“I’m sorry!” I spit out, panting as the fighting only grows louder beneath my feet. “I didn’t think they’d be in this forest. I thought it was safe to go on a run.”

“Are you kidding? Skylenna and Dessin were totally about to try and have sex quietly next to us while we slept. You just saved Chekiss from having to puncture his own eardrums.” If I didn’t just hear the sound of a man choking on his own blood, I might laugh at Niles’s attempt to lighten the mood.

“Please, hurry.”

“We’ll have to make a run for it,” Niles says, deeply focused on his task. “They have us outnumbered fifteen to one.”

“We can’t just leave them!” No. Absolutely not. I won’t leave my friends to fight because I was stupid and wanted to go on a run alone. Tears burn my eyes as I look up at him.

“We’ll only get in the way. Let them do what they’re best at.”

The feeling of helplessness swims in my lungs until I’m choking back a cry. I want to fucking help! It’s maddening being this much of a burden. I feel like a small child in their care.

“Defesuionòs fi conazaxc! Hauxverwàz fe ugaszes nosvatyui eq!”

Take out the beast! Aim the saphrine oil arrows at it!

Shit. They’re trying to knock DaiSzek out. I look around at the ongoing slaughter, seeing that Dessin is closest to me.

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