Page 58 of The Black Lotus
“Took you long enough.”
My head snaps up at the sound of Kara’s voice.When did she walk in? How did I not hear the loud creak of the door?
“What do you mean?” I groan, my knuckles white against the warm wood. I slowly stand, turning to face her.
“You really didn’t think I was stupid enough to tie you down with such an easy way of escaping did you?”
“You wanted me to escape.” I shake my head, not believing her.
She walks into the room, one of her swords skidding across the floor and stopping at my feet. “I wanted to see how long it would take for you to be desperate enough to try.” She draws her sword, staying where she is. “Turns out all I had to do was threaten Serena.”
“Don’t say her name.” I growl, fisting my hands.
A wicked smile flashes in the low light. “Se-re-na,” she says slowly, taunting me with every syllable.
She points her sword toward mine, motioning for me to pick it. I keep my gaze on her as I lean down to retrieve my weapon.
“Let’s see how well you can fight in your condition.”
She lunges, her sword clashing against mine, the sound of metal on metal echoing around us. My arm shakes against her attack, my teeth cracking with the effort I need to hold her back.For someone so tiny her strength is impressive.
We go blow for blow, back and forth, sparks flying around us. The sweat on my head and chest drips, my blade loose in my grip as my eyes burn. I want to swipe it away, but that would give her an opening and the look in her eyes tells me this is a fight to the death. I’m worried this is one fight I might lose, but I know if I want to see Serena again Ican’tlose. No matter what.
l position my feet as she jabs and flinch out of the way before her sword can pierce my ribs. Slicing in response, she spins out my way, her kimono swirling as her katana glints in the air around her.
Her sword flashes through the air, grazing my arm, a thin red line appearing. Adrenaline swirls through me, and I swing like my life depends on it. I’ve never fought with a sword before, but I’m finding I’m a natural when it means life or death.
I land a shot on her leg, the slice doing nothing to the momentum she has. I stagger as I blink, my hazy vision giving her an opening to slice my arm again. I don’t have time to react, so I shake my head and press forward. She brings her blade up and I block her strike, crossing my arms above my head. Her sword slices my other arm, but before she can cut through my flesh I swipe my foot under hers, sending her crashing to the ground.
My chest rises and falls erratically as I step over her and I can see the panic swirling in her eyes. She swipes the air as I smack her sword away with mine, her grip loosening as it goes skittering across the room and I pin my sword to her chest.
“Any last words?” I ask, pressing the blade deeper, blood seeping into her kimono.
She looks up at me with half her face covered by her hair. “Did you know Serena is alone with your sister right now?”
“You’re lying,” I grit out as my grip on my sword tightens.
“I’m not. I’ve been watching them. They have teamed up trying to locate you.”
I scoff. “If that was true, Zephira would have found me by now.”
Her head lolls as an evil chuckle slips past her lips. “The Man-Eater. The woman who matches me in my hacking skills. Well, I thought she did. Until she had to ask your mother who took you.”
Her tongue glides across her lip as if she was tasting my fear. My hand twitches, the grip on my katana loosening.She did what?I search Kara’s eyes for any lies, but find none.
“No,” I breathe out, stumbling backwards.
“Yes!” she cackles, getting to her knees as she stands. “She told her my name. But lucky for me she never knew mytruename.” Her eyes go wild as her hands fly through the air. “Without that information, no one can find me. No one can save you.”
I slam my hand to her chest, pushing her up against the wall and angle the sword to her throat. “If that’s true then why hasn’t she used my kidnapping to her advantage? Why hasn’t Zephira tried to kill Serena?”
She wraps both hands around the blade as blood drips down her arms. “She isn’t allowed to.” I press the blade deeper, the tip of the sword disappearing into her flesh. “Your mother has plans for Serena. Plans I won’t tell you no matter what you do to me,” she chokes out.
I pull the sword away from her neck, her hands falling at her sides as she laughs at me.What does my mother have planned?I step away from Kara as negative thoughts plague my mind of what else my mother is capable of that she hasn’t done already.
Kara uses the distraction to her advantage as she runs towards me with no weapons, shrieking. I quickly lift my blade and silence her scream by piercing her stomach, the steel sliding smoothly through her flesh. She wheezes, spitting up blood. “I knew you’d be the one to kill me one day,” she coughs with a sad smile, “Tell your mother to go to hell.”
I push the blade all the way through, watching her eyes flutter before she falls over. I bring two fingers to her neck, needing to check that her pulse has truly stopped.
