Page 87 of The Heartless Archer

Chapter 34

Noora

It felt like the roots were snapping at her, snagging around her easily breakable ankles. With every hurried step she took, it felt like the forest was trying to slow her down in her sprint through it. She could hear the trampled steps of Sören approximately five metres away from her, stumbling and falling to his knees with almost every step he took.

Birds were taking flight when they heard the branches snap under his shoes, as loud as trumpets announcing great devastation.

Noora tried to make out Kekoa and Pika but their skilled witch-hunter steps made it impossible for her to figure out their location.

Since they dropped off every contestant at a different spot on the borderline of the forest, with the same distance toward the lake, they did not cross each other’s paths. But not only did she need to be careful of the overgrown roots, protruding from the dry lands of the forest. The squirrels and owls watching her curiously from their cosy places on branches and the crowns of pine trees, told her she also had to be aware of the other contestants.

It was forbidden for them to maim or kill each other but she did not trust them one bit, if Kekoa ever got the chance of slicing Noora to pieces she knew he would take it.

She dared to suspect that maiming her would be more fun than winning this tournament. For what use was it, when he could bathe in the triumph of his ego that came with destroying her?

Ducking under a low branch she kept her eyes trained before her, focusing on the slither of light peeking through the rather sparse trees, littering the forest grounds.

It would take her approximately two more minutes until Noora would break through the border and end up at the south side of Opal Lake.

She had no time to consider the possibility of how she was even able to hold her breath long enough to reach the underwater cave. Nor did she have the time to think of the legend and what kind of malevolent creature would await her inside the mountain range.

A branch cracked to her left and she turned alarmed but it was only a scrambling badger, probably searching for food.

Noora relaxed just when something hit her with the force of a hundred carriages. A surprised breath left her lips as she could do nothing but fly through the air, her vision blurred before her back collided with the hard forest ground.

“Oof,” she groaned as she felt her barely healed ribs crack again like the branches crushed to death underneath her. Her ears rang, her vision still blurred as a man-shaped thing moved into her periphery.

“You did not think you could escape me, did you?” A voice droned toward her from the depths of her confusion and her eyes finally focused as she felt the cold metal of a knife against her throat.

Kekoa had tackled her to the ground, his strong legs caging her lower body, her hands shackled between his legs and her hips. A satisfied grin sat on his lips as he stared down at her, drops of exertion trailing down his temples.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Noora spewed as she stared angrily into his face. Gods, she had seen this coming and she still was not prepared. She tried to inch up her left leg, to grab the knife stashed at her calf but Kekoa blocked her attempt.

“Nuh-uh, your leg stays where it is, half-breed. Do you know how long I have waited for this?”

“No, but I am sure you will enlighten me in a moment,“ she told him nonchalantly, despite her ribs spewing fire inside her body like no other.

Kekoa’s face grew into an angry grimace. “Even now when you’re bested you have a lot to say. Why don’t we stuff it so you’ll finally stop talking.” He increased the pressure of his blade but did not follow up on his words. It seemed like her mere presence was putting him into a rage. Good. That made him sloppy.

“I know exactly why you’re in this tournament, the whole ruse of tolerance and equality is nothing but a joke. Just like the king is. If he would know what disgusting creatures you and your pack are he would not hesitate but flock you on display.”

“How creative.”

Kekoa started to trail the knife up her jaw, across her cheek, ignoring her words. He looked like he was in a complete trance. “Gifting a creature like you a face like this is one of the worst sins. Maybe we should cut you up all nice so the king will see that even Djevel was beautiful once, he was Odin’s favorite after all. I must reveal your true nature.”

And then he began to cut.

A blood-curdling scream left Noora’s lips as burning fire erupted along her cheekbone, his knife cutting deep enough to leave a mark.

“You call me Djevel but it is you who is the real demon, Kekoa, condemning a whole species for crimes they never conducted,“ she yelled at him, trashing beneath his body but it was impossible to move.

“Who are you calling a demon, you slut!” He plunged the knife into her arm and Noora’s vision went black as he dragged a zigzagged line across her bicep.

“Only atonement can save you. We need to fight it at the source. I want to see your awfully weak heart now, witch.”Kekoa’s eyes glinted so crazily that Noora feared he was turning into the real Djevel. His eyes protruded unnaturally from his skull, so deep and dark it felt like they were cursing her. Blood trickled from the deep wound in her arm, and she could hear the drops collide with the ground beneath her. It was the sound that stirred her, like raindrops diving into a lake.

She could feel the earth come alive with her blood and her eyes lazily drew upward to look at the man above her, raising his knife again to carve out her cold heart.

“You can’t have my heart,“ she mumbled weakly, drawing his attention to her face.

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