Page 48 of Fate and Flame
I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I didn’t want our first kiss to be rushed. I wanted to take my time with her. Stepping into the hall, I heard the lock click behind me as I sprinted towards the fighting.
The way the compound was set up, the entrance would lead the guards into the main landing area. Based on the sounds coming from that direction, that’s where the battle was being fought. From that entrance, several halls stemmed off to form sleeping quarters, the dining hall, and the large meeting room.
As I entered the main landing, I tried to make sense of the chaos, but it was useless. Rook was trying to hand out weapons to any rebel willing to fight while Rhogan and a few others were battling the northern soldiers as they came barreling down the stairs.
“Rook. Weapon!” I screamed.
He tossed me a sword, heavier than I would have liked, and I jumped into the madness. The stark white walls and floor were already splattered in blood. A rebel to my right was just about to be killed when I stepped in, blocking the fatal blow from the soldier.
He turned to me, panicked, and then scurried away.
“Someone needs to guard the halls. Don’t let them leave this room!” I yelled.
“Alto, Griv, Weben, and Hage, take the left four, Rhogan and Vertu, take the right,” Rook ordered.
His confidence and direct nature were a far cry from the rebel leader I had seen in the past, but in this moment, it was the only thing that might save us all. The outside males moved into their positions while Rook, three others, and I continued to battle the soldiers who came down the stairs, into the compound. The bottleneck theory was working, but we were not without our losses.
Now covered in blood, we had to start moving the fallen bodies so we wouldn’t trip over them while fighting. At first, the soldiers filled the stairwell and were pushing each other to get into the room, essentially shoving the first guy onto the sword of the rebel standing there, and we were able to fight them off easily. Then they got smarter and sent only two or three at a time.
A battle cry echoed from behind me and I jerked to see Rhogan fighting two soldiers at once while still trying to protect his hallway. I ran for him and relieved him of one soldier while he continued to fight another particularly large foe, leaving his wings spread as far as he could to block the hall.
“One got past me. You’ll have to go catch him,” he said breathlessly as he brought his broadsword above his head and swung it down onto the large fae he battled.
I sprinted down the hall, listening until I heard screaming. Standing at the end of the hallway were most of the rebel females and Nadra’s mother holding a sword out in front of her as the king’s soldier lurked closer. Her eyes met mine, and I pressed my fingers to my lips. She continued her battle stance, stepping forward to help protect the females and few children within the compound.
The soldier lunged forward. Megere blocked the blow perfectly and then parried, nearly taking out the soldier before I even got to them. He tried to catch his breath and took a step back right into the tip of my sword. He jerked upright, and a few of the females turned away as I thrust my blade farther and yanked up.
“Rhogan is at the front of the hallway blocking it so others cannot get in. Are you okay back here?”
“Perfectly fine,” she said fiercely.
I ran back down the hall and called out so Rhogan could let me through while again he fought another soldier. Arrows were everywhere. Apparently, the soldiers had changed tactics, and it looked like it was working. I tried to take a tally, but the yelling, running, and chaos of the main room was too fluid to track.
“Rotate hall guards,” Rook called out.
It was smart. They weren’t struggling as much as the rebels in front, so a reprieve of any kind was likely the best idea.
I ran to the hall that led to Nadra.“I’ll take this one, Griv.”
The rebel, bouncing on the tips of his toes, was antsy to join the fray, and I was most content to guard the hall that housed my mate. He ran onto the blood-soaked floors while I stood waiting. A soldier slipped past the others and ran for me. Clothed in tattered gear, proof of his earlier fighting, he completely ignored the trickle of blood seeping down his face. He was strong and fought me halfway down the hall until I was able to gain momentum and push him back.
The sword I used was heavy at the tip, something I wasn’t used to, and it threw off my balance multiple times as we fought. Eventually, he moved in so close he stabbed me with a knife he held in his other hand. A fury poured over me as I realized if he got past me, there was one person he would be headed toward. I could not let that happen. I lunged and screamed and nearly lost myself in a feral rage as I killed him and then yanked the knife from my side, running back to the entrance of the hall.
I used magic to heal the small wound, panting while another soldier came for me. I cut him down and kept moving forward until I heard a rebel call for me.
“Rhogan needs help. They’ve pushed him into the meeting room.”
“Take my hall!” I yelled, leaping over the dead bodies while my heart still raced with anger.
I slammed open the door to the meeting room to see Rhogan fighting four soldiers. Three were on top of him and one had a knife about to penetrate his wing.
Why do they always go for the damn wings?
Rhogan screamed in rage, his veins bulging as he struggled.
I bolted across the room, tackling the soldier on top of him as I kept my sword in my left hand and pounded my fist into his face with my right. I heard the scuffle behind me and took the hilt of my sword and slammed it down into the soldier below me.
Three soldiers circled Rhogan like prey.
