Page 12 of A Hunter for Luna

Biting my lip, I squeezed Rose's fingers and quickened my steps, eager to conclude our mission and return to the palazzo. Thesooner we fetched Sofia's herbs, the sooner this inexplicable dread might pass.

As we hurried along the way we always took down to the base of the hill and turned the corner onto a narrow, shadowed street, my unease grew. I’d never thought about it before, but several alleys off this street led toward Subura, where poverty and desperation bred in equal measure. Glancing back, I met the guard's wary eyes and saw my own disquiet mirrored there.

"Luna," Rose said, her fingers tightening around mine. "Something feels off."

I quickened our pace down the street. "We'll be through in a moment."

No sooner had the words left my lips than six figures emerged from the last alley ahead of us, blocking our path. My breath caught as sunlight glinted off polished armor and bared steel. These were no mere cutpurses or back-alley thugs.

Confusion warred with fear as I pushed Rose behind me, my free hand fumbling for the fan lopped to my bodice. The people of Subura could scarce afford bread and oil, let alone arms and armor. Who were these men?

"Stay back," our guard said, unsheathing his sword and moving in front of us.

The tallest of the men laughed, a harsh, cruel sound that turned my spine to ice. "The girls. Hand them over and you may yet live."

Bitter realization crashed over me. This was no chance encounter. They'd come for us specifically. Who would wantboth of us? Who felt strong enough politically to challenge the d’Alvarez clan?

The men surged forward, blades flashing. Our guard met their charge with a defiant shout, steel ringing against steel.

I shifted into a fighting stance, angling myself to shield Rose. "Stay behind me."

The odds weren’t good, but I didn’t want to run in case there were others stationed behind us. It also went against the grain to desert our guard. One of the stragglers shifted within reach and I slashed at him with the razor-edged fan, aiming for the underside of his arm. The area was lightly armored and bled freely if you hit it right.

He yelled as a tide of red flowed from his arm and I danced back, keeping myself between Rose and the others.

My heart hammered against my ribs. There was a strange feeling of freedom in this moment, rather than fear.

I pivoted, slashing at another thug trying to maneuver past me. The first had fallen to his knees, trying to stem the steady pulse of his life flowing onto the dirty cobblestones.

"Luna, what do we do?" Rose's terrified words barely reached my notice over the thrum of blood in my ears.

The thug narrowly avoided my slash, backing away.

Vala had taught me to take advantage of the way a gown concealed my body, so it was harder to guess my next move. The downside was that it did hamper free movement.

Movement in the corner of my eye. I shifted my attention just in time to see our guard stagger, a crimson stain bloomingacross his chest. He crumpled to the ground, his sword clattering uselessly on the cobblestones.

"Dead gods rotting." The curse ripped from my throat, raw and angry.

The leader stepped over his body, The leader of the pack smirked, twirling his blade with a casual menace. "Nowhere to run now, bitches. You hurt one of mine? You want to play? Let's see what you're made of, girl."

He lunged faster than I'd anticipated. I barely managed to deflect his strike, the impact shuddering up my arm even as the fan deflected it. Absent gods, he was strong.

Kill him fast, don’t let him wear me down. Rose hung in the balance.

I countered with a slash of my own, aiming for the gap in his armor at the shoulder. He dodged, circling like a predator toying with its prey.

"Feisty. I like that. More fun to break."

The thugs chuckled, a loathsome chorus that only stoked the inferno raging inside me. I wouldn't let them touch her. Wouldn't let them snuff out her simple happiness in life like some cheap candle.

Snarling, I charged, a whirlwind of desperate strikes fueled by long hard lessons. He had the advantage of strength and reach, but I was fast and stronger than I looked.

The leader's eyes widened in surprise as I pressed the attack, driving him back a step. Then another. For one glorious, fleeting instant, I dared to hope.

Until his blade caught the fan at just the right angle, sending it flying from my grasp. It skittered across the ground, well out of reach, leaving me defenseless.

No. Not defenseless. Never again.

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