Page 73 of Forged By Heart and Claws
The axe blade cried again.
The bare stone walls mocked us, the flames of the oil lamps flickering wildly as shadows stretched long and sharp. “Left,” I grunted at the end of the hall.
Skkrrraaang—closer still.
We veered hard left. We had one more bend and one more corridor. If we didn’t make it to the hidden passage, we were dead.
The scrape of the axe shrieked again with its sharp, rhythmic, merciless sound. Then it stopped, the pure silence deafening. A single breath passed.
“She’s gone!” a deep voice shouted.
“Prisoner escape!” another gravelly voice roared.
“You, check the other cells,” a male ordered. “You two, that way. Sound the alarm!” The heavy slamming of doors started as they searched, footsteps scuffing toward us.
I yanked Briar and Kaylen down the final corridor as chaos erupted behind us. My pulse thundered in my ears, too many voices too close to us in all directions. Briar cast a look back over her shoulder, her expression grim but fierce.
The alarm bell rang, low and heavy, vibrating the stone under our feet. Beside me, Briar kept pace, but something felt… off. Distant. Like she was present, but disconnected, her energy muted, like a tether stretched too thin.
We rounded the corner, and although we were less than four hundred feet away from our destination, the distance felt endless. I spotted the hidden pocket door in the wall, concealed by flickering shadows.
Another shout echoed. Then athwip.The sharp whistle of a bolt hurtling toward us.
I lunged sideways, dragging Briar with me, just as the crossbow bolt slammed into the wall inches from my face. Stone exploded across my cheek in a sting of grit and heat.
"Down!" I shoved Briar and Kaylen against the wall, my body automatically moving to shield Briar.
At the corridor’s opposite mouth stood a soldier in worn leather armor, already sliding another bolt into his crossbow.
Behind him, another voice shouted, “They’re over here!”
Feck!
The hidden door was about seven feet away, between the dancing flames of the oil lamps, with an armed guard blocking our path. And the bastard was already lining up his next shot. He'd have to be an incompetent fool to miss. A second guard appeared behind him, crossbow at the ready.
I drew my blade, the familiar weight in my hand grounding me to the present.Briar, get Kaylen down into the passage. I’ll deal with the guards. Keep right once you’re in. It will lead you to an outpost for?—
Briar shoved up, her own sword singing free.When will you get it through your head that I’m not leaving you?
My heart surged. By Fate, I loved this woman, but I also wanted to shove her through the wall to get her to safety.
Kaylen crouched and flattened against the stone wall, eyes wide with panic.
The first crossbowman growled. “One move, and I shoot the redhead between the eyes.”
Footsteps sounded behind us, then a third guard rounded the corner at the opposite end of the hall, sword drawn.
Fate must hate us.
Briar tensed, her blade ready and her jaw locked. Even with my wings spread wide to shield her, I knew she’d go down fighting at my side.
And that was about the only option we had left.
We were pinned in the middle of a hall with no cover and enemies in front of and behind us. There wasn’t anything to use for protection; not a crate, not a tapestry, not even a damn statue. And now two crossbows were aimed at our skulls. At this range, we wouldn’t survive the next shot.
Then an all too familiar voice sliced through the tension. “Well, well. Of all the things I expected tonight, someone breaking out Kaylen wasn’t on the list.” Calla Lily stepped into view, her silk skirts whispering as she passed between the guards. Her golden hair swayed around her shoulders, an onyx shadow-beast hairpin keeping her hair from falling in her face. She set her hands on her waist.
Her eyes widened, though, when she saw us. “Briar?” Her tone turned disbelieving. “You’re rescuing Kaylen? Youhateher.”
