Page 71 of Blackheart

It hadn’t felt great going in, but having it come backout? Shouldn’t he cut it and leave the head in? What if I bled too much?

He yanked it before I could protest.

I shrieked as another arrow flew by our heads. My leg bled onto the virgin sheet of snow.

Riven tossed the broken shaft to the ground. “Run.”

Running seemed impossible. Holding my arm, I limped through the frosted trails. Kostini had taken off on his own, spooked by the arrows. Riven stayed back, choosing to fight. Part of me wanted to join him, but I’d already made it this far. I could keep running.

As I turned onto the path, four Drakers were ready for me. Golden masks, hoods, and armor hid their identities, but the golden falcon on their chests represented exactly who they were.

Three had swords, and one, a bow. Was he the shithead responsible for my leg?

He aimed his bow at me and drew it back.

“Yield!”

I couldn’t outrun another arrow, but surrendering was just as stupid. We’d come so far already. It couldn’t end like this.

An arrow blasted through the archer's neck—a clean, lethal shot. I whipped around and spotted Riven notching another arrow for the remaining three Drakers.

“Go!” he yelled.

Pain or not, I ran in the opposite direction.

Down and down and down the path I ran, letting adrenaline fade the limp away. The blood from my leg left an inky trail, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Swords clashed behind me, but I pushed on towards the sound of moving water ahead—a river.

I hobbled down the bank, reaching the edge only to discover there was no easy way around. I could swim well enough, but there was ice floating through the water, and I only had one working arm. The temperature alone would be unbearable.

Five more Drakers came running down the bank, swords in hand. “Get the Blackheart!” one ordered.

My orb flickered at my waist as I took the first step into the water, my ankles going numb.

“We’ll be okay,” I promised the orb, as if it were sentient. Maybe I was losing my mind.

By the time the water was up to my waist, Drakers were joining me in the river. They were too fast, and I could barely walk.

Think, think, stupid mind. Please, think.

They were all in the water now, ankle deep and not far behind me.

“Fuck,it burns,” one of them bitched, splashing and swatting at his skin.

My leg was still bleeding, and while my blood alone wasn’t poisonous, black and violet streaks were mixed in, my Nature utilizing the wound as an outlet.

Hehadbeen burned.

I grinned maniacally, turning towards them. Riven caught up to the bank, running towards the water. I shook my head at him and he stopped, confused.

I looked right at the Drakers, directly where the mask hid each of their eyes.

I smiled. “You’re all dead.”

My Nature burst from every wound I had, bubbling out of my hands, my leg, even seeping from minor cuts I’d gotten from my run through the woods.

The Drakers scrambled, yelling and pushing one another out of the way as they scrambled back to shore, but it was too late. My poison had infested the water, eating away at their armor and skin.