Page 35

“Fuck you,” I spat, trying and failing to wriggle from his grasp.

Horus let out a sigh of annoyance, then lifted his free arm like hewas about to strike me. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for the hard hit that would probably knock me out cold.

I heard a loud grunt, and the next thing I felt was myself falling to the ground. But I hadn’t been hit. I opened my eyes to see Horus on his hands and knees, a dark-haired figure standing over him.

Elias.

Horus forced himself to stand, then turned around to face his new foe. Blood began dripping from his nose, and he wiped it with the back of his scarred hand. “Where the fuck did you come from?” he croaked.

Elias did not respond. He turned towards me and put out his hand which I took as he helped me up. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” I rasped.

Horus let out a low laugh, and Elias and I both turned to him. “So this is your accomplice.” He looked Elias up and down then did the same to me. “Did you do that to her?” he bellowed, referring to my bruised and scraped-up arms.

Elias’s eyes darkened. “The only one here who has put a hand on her is you,” he growled. “And I will gut you for it.”

My body stiffened. But before I could examine the words further, Horus stepped towards us, unsheathing his sword that lay at his side. Elias moved forward to shield me from my large assailant.

“Horus,” I demanded. “Just let us be. We don’t have to fight.”

I was completely ignored, as Horus dove straight for Elias. Elias pulled to the side, guiding Horus away from my direction. Horus missed, but immediately tried again. This time, Elias ducked down, causing Horus to jam his sword into a tree. While the Rimorian soldier stood trying to yank the sword back out, Elias swooped around and kicked him in the back of the knee, making him fall to the ground. Horus let out a loud yell as he violently tore his sword from the tree and swung it at Elias. Elias was able to back away justin time, narrowly missing the weapon.

“Stop!” I begged. I didn’t want either of them to get hurt. Horus may be an ass, but he was only doing his job as my father’s most trusted soldier. And even in all his ruthlessness, he had always protected me. He was a good man, despite his ferocity.

Neither of the two men listened to my pleas. I watched in horror as they continued to battle in front of me. Even with Horus’s brute strength and speed, Elias was able to avoid every strike. He didn’t bother unsheathing the dagger at his side, maybe because it would not do much against a sword, or maybe because he didn’t even need it. Or maybe he was hearing my pleas after all, and not using his weapon on purpose. It was impossible to tell.

After another missed blow from Horus, Elias was able to trip the soldier, causing him to fall to the ground. His sword flung wildly and landed a few feet away. Horus was quick to get back on his feet, and I watched as the battle turned to hand-to-hand combat. Every punch thrown towards Elias was countered with threefold brutality. The ruthless guard was losing, and I could barely believe it.

The fighting continued for another few minutes before another punch from Elias sent Horus hurling to the ground once more. Elias closed in on the guard, preparing for a final blow. What Elias couldn’t see from his angle, however, was that Horus was slowly inching backwards, reaching for the hilt of his fallen sword.

“No!” I screamed as I ran towards them. With the force of my entire body, I shoved Elias out of the way just as Horus launched his sword. We both fell to the ground, and a burning pain erupted from my left forearm. A scream escaped my lips and I grabbed at my arm, only to feel the warm blood pouring from the wound.

“Aura!”

“Princess Aurelia!”

The two men shouted in unison.

Elias immediately rushed to my side and noted the deep wound in my arm. He began tearing the sleeve off his own tunic and tightly wrapping it around my injury to stop the bleeding. I winced.

“Are you alright?” he asked, now holding firm pressure on the wound.

“I’m okay,” I assured him. “I don’t think it’s that deep.”

Elias looked up from the wound and into my eyes, nothing but worry shown in his gaze. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“I…I think so,” I said, unable to tear my eyes from his.

Finally, I looked down at the makeshift bandage, already coated red in my blood. But I could already feel the blood subsiding while Elias maintained pressure.

Heavy armor clanked as Horus stood. “Princess, I…I didn’t mean…”

“I know, Horus. It’s alright,” I interrupted. Elias shot him a glare so deadly it could have stopped a man’s heart, clearly thinking otherwise. I touched the back of Elias’s now sleeveless arm with my uninjured hand, the strange but familiar energy emanating from the touch. He looked back at me and I looked into his eyes, silently letting him know I was okay and not to unleash himself on Horus. As if he could understand, he slowly let go of my arm, then helped me stand.

Horus watched us in awe before burying his face in his hands. I had never seen him like that before in my life. He looked defeated, like hurting me was the worst thing he had ever done and he would never forgive himself. I started walking over to him, but Elias gently grabbed my arm to stop me.

“It’s okay,” I said, giving him a reassuring look. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds more before reluctantly letting me go.