One of the guys snorted. “You won’t kill us.”
He wouldn’t be the first. I’d killed several in self-defense and that was what this was. Berman wasn’t just going to take me, have me make a few crystals to fix the castles, and let me go.
Yeah, right. And if I was captive, they were going to find out I was a fairy. That put all my people on the line, and my life. So yeah, this was self-defense and protecting the people I loved.
“Tamsin, please,” Craftsman begged me.
“Sorry, Doc, but I’m protecting you too,” I whispered before lowering the wall between me and the dragons.
A guy on the side felt it and jogged over, making the mistake of thinking this was a completely easy task. His thoughts were absolutely sure I was all bluster. He slashed his sword forward to try and take mine from me.
And instead, I had his out of his hands in two moves and my sword at his throat. His eyes were wide as I stared up at him.
“I warned you. Yield, and call this off, ask for help from the royals. That’s your best chance for—” I didn’t get to finish as another one rushed me.
I jumped out of the way and in the opposite direction from the first—making sure not to move closer to the other six. He came right for me still and I blocked his strike, slicing up his arm and then down his thigh before I had someone else to deal with. I was out of options with them trying to overpower me, and I couldn’t even try for incapacitating them.
So be it.
The next I dodged, and stabbed up into his neck before slicing off his hand that was holding his sword, just to make sure he didn’t try for some last blow before he died. The first guy had recovered his sword and was coming for me again. Flipping over his swing, I stabbed out and hit him between the right ribs to pierce his heart, pulling my sword out in a fluid motion before he even realized it had happened.
They didn’t even have time to blink and I was on the next one, slicing the whole side of his neck as I ducked his blow. That took out three and one was badly injured, the remaining four trying to charge me together when they realized I was a serious problem, not a joke little girl.
The dilemma was if I fought like I wanted to, I could get caught, as even witches had to write ruins. But, I also didn’t want to show my full hand and how good I was, even in these circumstances. It wasn’t about being cocky or full of myself, but realistic. I hadn’t been training with a sword for even a year, and I could already beat Trigger Rothchild.
Yeah, I could kick Mel’s dad’s ass in swords. For real. I was that good.
And it was hysterical to piss the dragon off when I did. He was a good sport, but it really did infuriate him that I’d gotten so good, so fast.
I stabbed one in the stomach and took another one’s knee out. I flipped and dipped and jumped and used all my sparring training to get the fuck out of the way as I cut what I could. It was exhausting, but it would pay off in the end and not get me caught as people would see the endurance, the training, and the running I did every day.
Not the fairy or runes I could simply think of.
Oh fuck, I still have to rescue hobgoblins today, or people will figure out it’s me.
Okay, I slipped in a few slight speed boosts after that. Very slight. And I would need a crazy refuel. Crap.
Professor Pillay would be cool with that. I was fairly sure.
I chastised myself for thinking about other things during a fight when a sword got close enough to my head that I could feel the air from it. It made me realize I was squaring off with the lead guy, not the others anymore.
And he was pissed.
I realized why when I glanced around and saw all his guys were dead. Well, one was still bleeding out, but he was going to be dead shortly, so yeah, they were all dead.
“How? How can one fucking girl do all of this?” he roared. “Why are you so fucking important he’ll risk everything and we have to die for you?”
I shrugged. “Blame me all you want, mate, but you made your bed going in with a guy who took out a whole royal family and dragon ninja bloodline for power. You always knew he was this guy. I’m just his next conquest. They were expendable. Now, you are. You helped put him in power, and now he stabbed you in the back, just like he stabbed them. And you’re shocked?”
He let out a roar that sounded more dragon than man and launched himself at me. He was better than the others, but nothing even close to Colton’s level. I ran my sword across his throat in five moves, looking away when blood spurted all over the place and his head hung funny as he crumbled to the ground.
Taking in and letting out several slow breaths, I forced myself to look at the damage and death I’d caused. I reminded myself what they’d come here to do and who they were fine to hurt in the process, and then forgave myself as best as I could.
I glanced around and found Mel’s gaze, reassured when I saw the pride in her eyes, giving me a firm nod that I’d done the right thing. I nodded back.
And then I winced when I saw people recording me.
Fuck.
“For
