Page 24 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)

Panic gave way to fury, and I bit down hard on the slender bone . There was a sickening crunch at the joint, causing her to scream and jerk away. That quick movement alone caused me to rip half her finger clean off her hand.

I stumbled to my feet and spat the tip of her finger out in disgust, coughing and gagging as the taste of iron mixed with the salt in my mouth.

Blood poured from her wound, but I didn’t waste any more time.

It was pointless to try for the sword, now half buried in the dredged-up sand and being fought over by several other females desperate for an advantage to stay alive.

I pushed my feet through the soft sand past them all, doing my best to keep my balance without slowing down.

I didn’t look behind to see whether Liv followed.

The dunes were so close. If I could just?—

Pain erupted up my side as Liv suddenly attacked me yet again, this time with the sword in hand.

I cried out as the salt water soaking my clothes touched the fresh wound.

By the gods, did she ever quit?! Her pale face twisted in a sneer, her wet brown hair clinging to her cheeks.

She raised the blade above her head with both hands, blood streaming from her severed finger.

I prayed to Ryvia that this was not my end.

I looked into Liv’s frenzied eyes and said a silent goodbye.

But before she could bring the blade down on my head, a long shard of steel impaled through her stomach.

Liv’s brown eyes widened as she looked down at the sword point.

The bearer removed it, yanking forcefully and painfully, causing a spray of blood to mist over the shallow water.

Her brows knitted together before she fell to her knees, dropping her arms to her sides.

Her brown eyes turned black as her eyes dilated, and she was dead before her body hit the ground.

“Akira?” I gasped as I looked up at my ally standing behind Liv’s body.

She smiled grimly, then plucked Liv’s blade from her hand and tossed it to me.“Go,” she urged. “Get somewhere safe. I’ll come find you when I can.”

“Where are you going? Where’s Sherai?” I asked. I hadn’t had a chance to really look, but it was too dark to make out distinct features anyway.

Another female charged at Akira before she could answer. She blocked the hit just in time, then adjusted her stance. I made to step forward, to help in any way I could, but a wave of dizziness washed over me and I winced, clutching at my side.

“Get out of here, Aeris,” Akira hissed. “Now!”

Guilt weighed down my bones as I did as commanded and ran.

It was odd that such an emotion could defy even the most base survival instinct.

I’d only ever needed to look out for myself.

I had made it this far in my life by keeping a low profile and doing as much as possible to avoid my father’s wrath.

I looked out for myself, which is how it had always needed to be.

And yet … leaving Akira behind felt like a betrayal.

Like someone had plunged a knife into my heart and twisted.

We’d only just met. Why did I feel this way?

Maybe it was something my mother had said in her note.

We must stop allowing the males to divide us. We need each other.

I shook my head and focused on scaling the soft terrain of the upper dunes.

Blood stained the white sand as I climbed, but I ignored the pain as much as possible.

Shouts rang out behind me, and I chanced one quick look over my shoulder before I cleared the rise entirely.

Below, I could make out bodies scattered across the scarlet-stained beach.

At least five females were dead, with likely more injured.

I caught a glimpse of Akira finishing off her opponent and heaved a sigh of relief. She was okay.

The last thing I saw before I turned and disappeared from view of the beach was the wrath on Portia’s beautiful face as she stood over Liz’s fallen body.

She would come for me, I knew that already, but now she had even more reason to.

I would be prepared when she did. I would find both Sherai and Akira, and we would face her together when I was better equipped.

I left the beach and didn’t look back as I entered the strange thick of flora.

I ran through the shrubbery and cursed as spiky branches prodded and scraped at the flimsy, wet material of my pyjamas.

Those fuckers hadn’t even allowed us to change before stealing us away.

My skin prickled, my whole body tense from the cold and the pain racking up my side.

My soaked clothes clung to me, bitingly slowing my movements.

Just. Keep. Moving. I ran past more sandy dunes filled with needle-like bushes and into a forest populated with palms and beech trees until my chest ached and my salt-ravaged throat burned.

Then I ran some more, until I found some ruins with half-crumbled pillars and landings.

I decided that would make for a good vantage point and made my way up a broken column.

I climbed, ignoring the bark of my limbs as my muscles strained in protest. My injury sent fresh waves of searing pain across my ribs, but I had to push on.

I didn’t think it was more than a flesh wound, nothing broken, nothing punctured; otherwise, there’d be significantly more blood, and I’d likely have passed out by now.

I needed to make sure no one could abuse my vulnerability, though.

Higher ground meant I would have an advantage against attackers, and I’d be able to see anyone approaching.

I groaned as I heaved myself up over the last ledge and rolled onto the stone until I was staring up at the midnight blue that was shifting to periwinkle, then slowly into pink.

Dawn. When the real fun would begin. But first, I needed to tend to myself.

My hand came back sticky and wet as I pressed it to my wound.

The greatest threat right now was the blood loss sapping away at my strength.

I could lose consciousness and be killed while I was completely helpless.

Then there was the risk of infection ...

If I didn’t do something about the wound soon, I’d be lucky to see another dawn at all.