Nev felt Wyatt’s sudden fear, and she tried to focus on what they couldn’t see. Suddenly a voice whispered in her ear. Her blood went cold. She could hear the prowler’s thoughts and desires. They were not focused on her. Wyatt! Hide! Nev screamed in her mind. She panicked as she felt Wyatt hesitate.
Wyatt had heard her, but if he became unseen, then Nev would be instantly visible.
Sagrine moved within a foot of Wyatt. He wanted to see the Tink’s face when the truth was revealed. “Know that what comes next will not be my failure,” he sneered.
Nev’s thoughts screamed, Trust me. Hide! Now!
“It will be yours!” Sagrine yelled as he lunged towards Wyatt and then landed on the ground. He immediately jumped up and swung his sword around. Seeing Nev, he grinned ravenously. “Still playing tricks, I see,” Sagrine said as he surged towards Nev with his sword drawn.
The prowler’s blade had hit Wyatt across his side, but it was not the lethal wound as intended. Wyatt struggled to remain hidden as the sting of the cut seared through his mind, and blood began to soak his shirt. Wyatt’s head was now pounding intensely. Keeping himself unseen was a much larger strain on his mind than he anticipated, and the mixture of pain and exertion were taking their toll quickly. He desperately wanted to help Nev, but he knew he had to trust her as she had him. Wyatt crawled behind a tree and tried to refocus his thoughts.
Nev parried Sagrine’s initial blow, and now they were circling each other like caged animals.
Sagrine grinned at Nev and then lunged at Nellis, striking with unabashed intensity.
Nev reacted instantly. She leaped in front of Sagrine’s blade, barely blocking it from slicing through Nellis’ throat.
Stumbling back, Nellis immediately realized he had come within an inch of death.
Seeing Nellis’ near-fatal encounter, Addi sprung to Nellis’ side. She swiftly helped pull him back from the fray. “I don’t know how we can help her,” she admitted to Nellis. “We need to find Wyatt and put some distance between that prowler and us, instructed Addi as she searched the area for her brother.
Nodding reluctantly, Nellis agreed. “Yeah. We are only going to make it harder for her if she has to keep protecting us,” he sighed.
Wyatt could no longer see straight and let out a loud groan as he collapsed to the ground, completely visible.
Sagrine heard the sound, and his eyes flashed with hatred. “There you are,” he screeched as he turned to head towards Wyatt.
“Get Wyatt back to the house, now! He will kill you all. Go!” Nev screamed at Addi and Nellis. As she ordered their retreat, Nev lunged toward Sagrine, her dagger’s blade landing a small slice across the back of his right arm.
They nodded and ran to Wyatt and found him barely clinging to consciousness. Nellis grabbed him and began dragging him back and into the house. Addi stood guard as they made their retreat.
Sagrine ignored the pain of his wound. His fury exploded as he screamed at the house, “I will kill all of you!” Turning to face Nev, he glared at her. “Except for you, lost heiress. You, I will take. You, I will have. And as you beg for death, your pleas shall go unanswered,” he seethed. In a flash, he turned all his fury and rage on the one remaining target, Nev.
Nev heard him approaching. Instead of charging to meet him, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Remember your training, she heard her father’s voice say. Nev opened her eyes and extended her hand towards Sagrine, beckoning him to her.
Sagrine paced in front of her, his barely visible eyes blackened by anger and insatiable hunger. “I was meant to kill the boy and then take you, but I prefer it this way. I have hunted you all your life. Today I shall finally have my prize. And after you are mine, I will slowly and meticulously torture him before your eyes. The same way I tortured your father while you surely watched,” he hissed at her.
Unlike when she faced him before, her mind was calm. She could feel Wyatt, and he was hurting but safe. With her first promise to herself fulfilled, it was time to make things right. Quieter, swifter, and cleverer is the predator than the prey. Though I am hunted, I am no one’s prey, she thought as she raised her sword and dagger.
Wyatt was moaning, unable to stand and barely able to keep his eyes open. He struggled to crawl to the door, but Nellis and Addi grabbed his shoulders and sat him back on the floor of the house. “You are staying here,” Addi stated firmly. “Nellis, bandages now,” she ordered as she pulled her brother’s sash from his belt. Pressing it to the wound on his stomach.
“I made a promise,” Wyatt groaned.
Addi gestured towards the outside. “Wyatt, you did your part. And you did great, little brother. Now it is time to let Nev do her part,” she directed, pulling out the vial of pills and attempted to give Wyatt one.
Wyatt grumbled in protest but, he knew she was right. If he went back outside, Sagrine would use him to distract Nev. Plus, his head hurt so bad he could barely focus on Addi, who was leaning directly over him. “Leaves. In my pouch. They are better than the pills,” he informed as he felt his balance try to give way.
Nev matched the prowler’s blows and managed to land another cut with her dagger
