Page 15 of Blackheart

The heavy sword had me tripping over my feet. Nausea overcame me, erupting from my mouth. I felt every bit of worthlessness as I spewed up the consequence of using my Nature.

The Sapphire chuckled darkly as he approached me.

Luna froze. This was how I was going to die, soaked in rain and bile.

She stood with wobbly legs, hands trembling and eyes watering. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed.

Then she ran.

Time may as well have stopped. Her short brown hair flopped against her shoulders as she bolted, not bothering to glance back as she disappeared into the chaotic streets.

The air escaped my lungs. She’d left me.

Looming above, the Sapphire beamed. “I should use your blood. You clearly don’t have the stomach for it,” he seethed, towering over me.

I wouldn’t die of hunger, or from the cold, or even from the sickness season. Thoughts of my family surfaced. I’d never find my two brothers or ask around about my father. I’d never get to tell them about our mom and how she too had eventually left me. I’d never gossip with Trista again, or live to see if Princess Clayvarie would rule one day. I’d never marry or have a family of my own.

The Sapphire gripped my arm, yanking me to my feet. My Nature boiled within me, the taste of it on my tongue.

“I’m not afraid of you,” he said, rotting gums too close. His putrid breath would be the last thing I smelled in this life. I closed my eyes.

“But you should be afraid ofme,” a Draker growled before grasping the Sapphire’s head and twisting it until his necksnapped. I knew that voice. It didn’t matter that he wore the mask.

The Sapphire’s body fell, nearly pulling me down with it. I regained my balance and protectively pulled my hands to my chest as if someone might reach for me again.

“Thank you,” I said, chin tilted up at the man who’d saved me.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Riven promised. He gripped his sword, leaving me in the safety of the shadows.

It only took a moment to lose sight of him as violence littered the piss and rain-soaked streets. Thunder shook the ground relentlessly.

I tucked myself against a stack of meat crates. The poorly made building above slanted just enough to grant me the slightest coverage from the rain, my legs facing the worst of it.

Lightning cracked once more, followed by a resounding smack of bodies falling to the ground.

Another crack. Then another.

Nauseous and alone, I pulled my knees to my chest, pillowing my face into my forearm. I had no concept of time as the storm drowned out the sounds of screams and clashing metal.

It wasn’t until the downpour slowed that I peeked out of the alley, catching a glimpse of Lord Ansel and Lord Dronis putting their weapons away.

The streets were finally calm. It was over.

Scooting further into the alleyway, I rested my head back against the wall. The nausea was subsiding, but the anxiety was not. My home was gone. Luna, the only person I thought I could count on, had left me to die.

I flinched as steps approached, black boots splashing through red-soaked puddles.

“You have a leak, Blackheart,” Lord Ansel said.

I frowned, glancing at my hand.

Sure enough, poison was seeping out, begging for further release.

Well, fuck.

Chapter 5

Beyond Unforgivable