Five more men joined Bash, forming a barrier around us as we cut across the hall and dodged into the receiving room. They didn’t speak, and yet somehow, they moved as one, ushering me out of harm’s way as fast as my feet could take me. Every few steps I’m ducking or being pushed out of the of way in time to stop a sword from running me through.

The men surrounding us fired at targets rapidly closing in. I felt like a coward running away as we broke through a pair of doors into a small, enclosed garden.

Blades swarmed in after us.

Bash shoved me behind a huge planter. I tumbled, bruising my knees on the gravel. The air stirred around me. I looked up, and he’d leapt several feet—clearing a fountain and landing on the other side to join his men while firing at the enemy.

He moved like a dancer, light and graceful on his feet, in the few moments my eyes were fast enough to keep track of him. Half the time, he and his men were flashes of motion, cutting down the Blades’ numbers.

Not a word passed between them. They were a blur, shadows firing bullets, dodging swords that sliced through the air at mind-boggling speed. Still, he was faster, his aim true and deadly.

In a matter of seconds, he was by my side, pulling me to my feet, and we were on the move. We swept through another set of doors and broke into a run, racing down a long hall at full speed.

Where was Olida and the others, had they made it out or where they still inside, fighting for their lives?

“Where are we going?” I asked Bash.

“Too many ears listening, Pretty, best I don’t say.”

“Aunty Olida, she was with me and Papa.” I tried to explain.

It was as if my mind understood more than I did, it needed to focus on something other than the fear seeping into my bones or it would crack, forever.

“Don’t worry about O, she can take care of herself,” Bash said, steering me down yet another hall.

This one was more a narrow passage, used by the staff, evidenced by the low ceiling, stone floor and plain walls.

“Please.”

We were halfway down the passage, heading toward an old looking door. I needed to stop. The world began to spin. I braced a hand against the wall.

I didn’t know if it was the cloying smell of cleaning agents in the air or the nauseating images of dead bodies playing on a loop in my mind. But I couldn’t go any further.

Bash grabbed my chin in a firm grip and tilted my head, so I meet his red gaze. “Do you want to die?”

I shook my head, big fat tears slipping down my cheeks. “No.” I choaked back a sob. 

As I looked around, I saw for the first time of the men that had been with us, only two remained.

The realization broke me. A wretched sound burst from my chest. I tried to stop it, to catch my breath. No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t stop. Chest heaving, tears flooding my eyes, I cried like a baby.

A door banged opened nearby, and there was no mistaking the fight was catching up to us.

“Fuck.” Bash palmed the back of my head and crashed his mouth over mine.

He kissed me until I was breathless. When he broke the kiss, it may be strange to believe, but it did the trick in shutting me up.

Chest rising with each breath, I stared up at him. My mouth opened and closed, trying to find words that refused to form. 

“Do you want to live?”

I nodded.

“Run.” He pointed a finger toward the old door as a handful of Blades burst through the doors we just passed through.

Behind them, the silent maiden.

“Pretty, run, and don’t you fucking look back.”

Of course it goes without saying, I ran. Like my life depended on it. Because guess what?

It fucking did.